Iowa Hog Inventory Down 1 Percent from 2021

On December 1, 2022, there were 23.6 million hogs and pigs on Iowa farms, according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Hogs and Pigs report. Inventory was up 1 percent from the previous quarter but down 1 percent from the previous year.

The September-November 2022 quarterly pig crop was 5.89 million head, up 2 percent from the previous quarter but down 2 percent from last year. A total of 510,000 sows farrowed during this quarter. The average pigs saved per litter was 11.55 for the quarter.

As of December 1, producers planned to farrow 500,000 sows and gilts in the December 2022-February 2023 quarter and 515,000 head during the March-May 2023 quarter.

United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on December 1, 2022, was 73.1 million head. This was down 2 percent from December 1, 2021, and down 1 percent from September 1, 2022.

Breeding inventory, at 6.15 million head, was up slightly from last year, and up slightly from the previous quarter. Market hog inventory, at 67.0 million head, was down 2 percent from last year, and down 1 percent from last quarter.

The September-November 2022 pig crop, at 33.7 million head, was down 1 percent from 2021. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 3.00 million head, down 1 percent from 2021. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 49 percent of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was 11.22 for the September-November period, compared to 11.19 last year.

United States hog producers intend to have 2.95 million sows farrow during the December 2022-February 2023 quarter, up 1 percent from the actual farrowings during the same period one year earlier, and up 1 percent from the same period two years earlier. Intended farrowings for March-May 2023, at 2.98 million sows, are up slightly from the same period one year earlier, but down 2 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 48 percent of the total United States hog inventory, up 1 percent from the previous year.