August 24, 2009
US and Canada's hog inventory sees sow culling
A report on US and Canadian hog inventories showed Canadian sows farrowed in June, at 738,500, were down seven percent from last year, indicating that necessary North American sow culling is underway.
The joint report by USDA and Statistics Canada pairs US quarterly hog and pig data on June 1 with Canadian hog data on July 1.
Sow culling was good news to the beleaguered hog farming industry as fewer hogs would contribute to higher prices, J.P. Morgan analyst Ken Goldman said.
Goldman said the report was marginally positive for Smithfield, because it could charge higher prices for its animals as fewer hogs in the world.
The USDA data showed that US sow farrowing fell by 2.7 percent in the quarter ended June 1 compared to a year ago.
