March 31, 2008

US hog inventory up 7 percent

US inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1, 2008 was 65.9 million head up 7 percent from March 1, 2007, but down 2 percent from December 1, 2007.                                                                          

Breeding inventory, at 6.14 million head, was up less than 1 percent from last year, but down slightly from the previous quarter.  Market hog inventory, at 59.8 million head, was up 7 percent from last year, but down 2 percent from last quarter.                                                                           

The December 2007-February 2008 pig crop, at 28.1 million head, was up 6 percent from 2007 and up 9 percent from 2006. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 3.05 million head, up 5 percent from 2007 and up 7 percent from 2006. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 50 percent of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was 9.21 for the December 2007-February 2008 period, compared to 9.09 last year.

US hog producers intend to have 3.05 million sows farrow during the March-May 2008 quarter, up slightly from the actual farrowings during the same period in 2007, and up 4 percent from 2006.  Intended farrowings for June-August 2008, at 3.04 million sows, are down 2 percent from 2007 but up 4 percent from 2006

The total number of hogs under contract, owned by operations with over 5,000 head, accounted for 40 percent of the total US hog inventory, up from 39 percent last year.