WASHINGTON– The inventory of all hogs and pigs on Sept. 1, 2022, was 73.8 million head, down 1% from a year ago but up 2% from June 1, 2022, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

The agency noted that 6.15 million of the 73.8 million hogs and pigs were part of the breeding inventory, which was down 1%.

Market hog inventory also slipped 1% to 67.6 million head. The inventory went up 2% from the previous quarter.

The pig crop during June through August stood at 33.6 million head, down 1% from 2021. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 3.02 million head, down 1% from 2021. 

The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 49% of the breeding herd. The average number of pigs saved per litter was 11.13 for June-August period, which is unchanged from last year.

According to the NASS data, hog producers intend to have 2.97 million sows farrow during the September-November 2022 quarter. This would be down 2% from the actual farrowings during the same period one year earlier, and down 6% from the same period two years earlier.

Intended farrowings for December 2022-February 2023, still sit at 2.90 million sows, and would be down 1% from the same period one year earlier, and down 1% 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 contracted producers, accounted for 50% of the total US hog inventory, up 1% from the previous year.

Iowa hog producers accounted for the largest inventory among the states, at 23.4 million head. Minnesota had the second-largest inventory at 8.80 million head. North Carolina was third with 8.30 million head.