USDA Hogs & Pigs Report               03/26 14:24

US March 1 Hog Inventory Up 4% From Year Ago 

                           2019               2020              2020 as
                                                                percent
                                                                of 2019
                       (1,000 head)       (1,000 head)         (percent)

All Hogs March 1         74,661              77,629               104
Kept for Breeding         6,349               6,375               100
Kept for Marketing       68,313              71,254               104

WEIGHT BREAKDOWN
Under 50 lbs.            21,373              22,221               104
50-119 lbs.              19,168              19,853               104
120-179 lbs.             15,001              15,581               104
180 lbs.                 12,771              13,598               106

FARROWINGS/INTENTIONS* 
Dec-Feb                   3,099               3,158               102
Mar-May*                  3,133               3,119               100
Jun-Aug*                  6,233               3,134                96
Dec-Feb Pig Crop         33,163              34,734               105

Dec-Feb Pigs Per Litter   10.70               11.00               103

OMAHA (DTN) -- United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1, 
2020 was 77.6 million head. This was up 4% from March 1, 2019, but down 1 
percent from December 1, 2019.   

Breeding inventory, at 6.38 million head, was up slightly from last year, 
but down 1 percent from the previous quarter.

Market hog inventory, at 71.3 million head, was up 4 percent from last 
year, but down 1 percent from last quarter. 
The December 2019-February 2020 pig crop, at 34.7 million head, was up 5 
percent from last year. Sows farrowing during this period totaled head, up 
2 percent from previous year. The sows farrowed during this quarter 
represented 49 percent of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per 
litter was a record high of 11.00 for the December 2019-February 2020 
period, compared to 10.70 last year. 

United States hog producers intend to have 3.12 million sows farrow during 
the March-May 2020 quarter, down slightly from the actual farrowings 
during the same period one year earlier, but up 2 percent from the same 
period two years earlier. Intended farrowings for June-August 2020, at 
3.13 million sows, are down 4 percent from the same period one year 
earlier, and down 1 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 49 percent of the 
total United States hog inventory, up 2 percent from the previous year.
"Thursday's USDA Hogs and Pigs report came out as expected -- more hogs," 
said DTN Livestock Analyst Shayle Stewart. "There are two take-aways from 
Thursday's report. 1. There are a lot more hogs in the country at this 
time than there were a year ago. 2. It is a shear blessing that packers 
have been processing at the high speeds they've been running at. 

"The industry hasn't seen this many hogs around the countryside since the 
late 1990s," Stewart continued. "It will be crucial for the hog industry 
to continue to export and harvest at vigorous speeds. It's fairly safe to 
assume that amid the COVID-19 storm, demand and packer productivity will 
stay elevated. But the real question is how will producers manage their 
herds knowing China is rebuilding its herd and demand domestically and 
internally could change once the COVID-19 virus has run its course?"

**
To view the full Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, visit 
https://www.nass.usda.gov/