WASHINGTON – The inventory of all hogs and pigs on June 1, 2022 was 72.5 million head, down 1% from a year ago and down slightly from March 1, 2022 according to data from the US Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Breeding inventory was down 1% from a year ago and down 1% from the previous quarter at 6.17 million head, according to NASS. 

Market hog inventory also slipped 1% to 66.4 million head. The inventory declined slightly from the previous quarter.

The pig crop during March through May stood at 32.9 million head, down 1% from 2021. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 2.99 million head, down 1% from 2021. 

The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 49% of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was 11.00 for the March-May period, compared to 10.95 last year.

According to the NASS data, hog producers intend to have 3.02 million sows farrow during the June-August 2022 quarter. This would be down 1% from the actual farrowings during the same period one year earlier, and down 7% from the same period two years earlier.

Intended farrowings for September-November 2022, still sit at 3.01 million sows, and would be down 1% from the same period one year earlier, and down 5% 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 50% of the total US hog inventory, up 1% from the previous year.