WASHINGTON — The Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, published on Sept. 28 by the US Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), showed there were 74.3 million hogs and pigs on US farms as of Sept. 1. This is up slightly from September 2022 and up 2% from June 1, 2023.

The NASS surveyed roughly 4,500 operators across the United States during the first half of September for an accurate measurement of the US swine industry collecting data via electronic recording, mail, telephone and face-to-face interviews.

Other key findings in the report included:

• 68.2 million of the 74.3 million hogs and pigs were market hogs, while 6.08 million were kept for breeding.
• 34.2 million pigs were weaned on US farms between June 2023 and August 2023, up slightly from one year earlier.
• US hog and pig producers weaned an average of 11.61 pigs per litter from June 2023 through August 2023.
• US hog producers intend to have 2.93 million sows farrow between September 2023 and November 2023, and 2.91 million sows farrow between December and February 2024.
• Iowa hog producers accounted for the largest inventory among the states, with 24.4 million head. Minnesota had the second largest inventory at 8.70 million head. North Carolina was third with 8.00 million head.

The Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report and all other NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov.