As of March 1, there were 72.9 million hogs and pigs on United States farms, up slightly from March 2022 but down 2% from Dec. 1, 2022, according to the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report published March 30 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Other key findings in the report were as follows:
• Of the 72.9 million hogs and pigs, 66.7 million were market hogs, while 6.13 million were kept for breeding.
• Between December 2022 and February 2023, 32.1 million pigs were weaned on U.S. farms, up slightly from the same time period one year earlier.
• From December 2022 through February 2023, U.S. hog and pig producers weaned an average of 11.02 pigs per litter.
• U.S. hog producers intend to have 2.93 million sows farrow between March and May 2023, and 2.97 million sows farrow between June and August 2023.
• Iowa hog producers accounted for the largest inventory among the states, at 23.4 million head. Minnesota had the second largest inventory at 8.90 million head. North Carolina was third with 8.00 million head.
To obtain an accurate measurement of the U.S. swine industry, NASS surveyed roughly 4,500 operators across the nation during the first half of March. The data collected were received by electronic data recording, mail, telephone and through face-to-face interviews.
