Pennsylvania Hog Inventory Up 2 Percent

Pennsylvania inventory of all hogs and pigs on December 1, 2022, was 1.34 million head. This was up 2% from December 1, 2021, but the same as September 1, 2022, according to King Whetstone, director of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Northeastern Region.

Breeding inventory, at 135 thousand head, was down 7% from last year, and down 4% from the previous quarter.

Market hog inventory, at 1.21 million head, went up 3% from last year, and up slightly from last quarter.

The September-December 2022 pig crop, at 529 thousand head, was down 11% from 2021. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 46 thousand head, down 12% from 2021. The average pigs saved per litter was 11.50 for the Sept-Dec period, up 1% from as last year.

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.