U.S. Hog Inventory Rises Year-Over-Year

As 2024 drew to a close, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service issued its quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, finding there were 75.8 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms as of December 1, 2024. That is up 1% from December 2023 but down slightly from September 1, when the last inventory was tallied.

Of that total, 69.8 million are market hogs, up slightly from 69.5 million in December 2023. The 6.004 million kept for breeding is up from the 5.999 million counted December 1, 2023.

Another key stat that jumps out points to the improvement that U.S. hog producers continue to make in getting pigs out of the farrowing room. Although sows farrowing between September and November were down slightly from 2023, the trajectory of average pigs saved per litter continues its upward trend. The latest average of 11.92 tops 11.66 pigs per litter saved for the same period a year ago. Weaned pigs per litter translates to 35.2 million pigs weaned between September and November of last year, up 2% from the same time period one year earlier.

Per usual, the big three hog-producing states remain at the top, with Iowa having the largest inventory of 24.6 million head. Minnesota has the second-largest inventory at 9.5 million head, and North Carolina comes next with 8.2 million head.

EDITOR’S TAKE:

Not a huge increase from 2023 to 2024, but enough to keep market supply at a pretty stable level. Also, producers plan to farrow more pigs going forward, which is good news for consumers. In fact, the National Pork Producers Council is launching a significant consumer-oriented campaign to further enhance demand. This is a positive step from NPPC that should help stabilize or improve prices by increasing demand at a faster pace than producers increase supply. Pork producers in your area can benefit from programs like CADFI. CADFI is designed to even out payments on loans for ag producers. In fact, it can help pork producers pay off loans as they ship pigs to market.