DES MOINES, Iowa — On March 1, 2024, there were 25.2 million hogs and pigs on Iowa farms, according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Hogs and Pigs report. Inventory was unchanged from the previous quarter but up 6 percent from the previous year.
The December 2023-February 2024 quarterly pig crop was 5.25 million head, down 3 percent from the previous quarter and down 4 percent from last year. A total of 445,000 sows farrowed in Iowa during this quarter. The average pigs saved per litter was 11.80 for the quarter.
As of March 1, producers planned to farrow 465,000 sows and gilts in the March-May 2024 quarter and 470,000 head during the June-August 2024 quarter.
United States Hogs and Pigs
United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1, 2024, was 74.6 million head. This was up 1 percent from March 1, 2023, but down 2 percent from December 1, 2023.
Breeding inventory, at 6.02 million head, was down 2 percent from last year, but up slightly from the previous quarter.
Market hog inventory, at 68.6 million head, was up 1 percent from last year, but down 2 percent from last quarter.
The December 2023-February 2024 pig crop, at 33.1 million head, was up 2 percent from last year. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 2.88 million head, down 3 percent from previous year. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 48 percent of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was 11.53 for the December 2023-February 2024 period, compared to 11.02 last year.
United States hog producers intend to have 2.92 million sows farrow during the March-May 2024 quarter, down 1 percent from the actual farrowings during the same period one year earlier, and down 2 percent from the same period two years earlier. Intended farrowings for June-August 2024, at 2.99 million sows, are down 2 percent from the same period one year earlier, and down 3 percent from the same period two years earlier.
The total number of hogs under contract owned by operations with over 5,000 head, but raised by contractees, accounted for 52 percent of the total United States hog inventory, up 1 percent from the previous year.
Revisions
All inventory and pig crop estimates for March 2023 through December 2023 were reviewed using final pig crop, official slaughter, death loss, and updated import and export data. The revision made to the December 2023 all hogs and pigs inventory was 1.1 percent. A revision of 0.5 percent was made to the September 2023-November 2023 pig crop. The net revision made to the September 2023 all hogs and pigs inventory was 2.4 percent. A net revision of 3.1 percent was made to the June-August 2023 pig crop.
The complete report can be found on the USDA NASS website at www.nass.usda.gov/Publications.
— USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service