Indiana’s total hog and pig inventory on December 1 was estimated at 3.75 million head, up 50,000 head from a year ago, according to Greg Matli, State Statistician of the USDA, NASS, Indiana Field Office. Breeding hog inventory, at 270,000 head, was down 20,000 from last December. Market hog inventory, at 3,480,000 head, was up 2.1 percent from last year. The average pigs saved per litter for the September to November quarter at 10.4 was up 0.2 pigs from last year.
United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on December 1, 2015 was 68.3 million head. This was up 1 percent from December 1, 2014, and up slightly from September 1, 2015. This is the highest inventory of all hogs and pigs since quarterly United States estimates began in 1988. Breeding inventory, at 6.00 million head, was up 1 percent from last year, and up slightly from the previous quarter. Market hog inventory, at 62.3 million head, was up 1 percent from last year, and up slightly from last quarter. This is the highest market hog inventory since quarterly United States estimates began in 1988.
The September-November 2015 pig crop, at 30.3 million head, was down 1 percent from 2014. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 2.88 million head, down 4 percent from 2014. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 48 percent of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was a record high 10.53 for the September-November period, compared to 10.23 last year. Pigs saved per litter by size of operation ranged from 8.20 for operations with 1-99 hogs and pigs to 10.60 for operations with more than 5,000 hogs and pigs.
United States hog producers intend to have 2.84 million sows farrow during the December-February 2016 quarter, down 2 percent from the actual farrowings during the same period in 2015, but up 3 percent from 2014. Intended farrowings for March-May 2016, at 2.85 million sows, are down slightly from 2015, but up 1 percent from 2014.
