Nation's hog inventory up 3 percent

There were 72.9 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms as of March 1, which is a three percent increase from March 2017 but down a percent from December 1, 2017.

Friday’s Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service also showed 66.7 million of the total number were market hogs, which 6.2 million were kept for breeding. Between December and February, 32.3 million pigs were weaned on U.S. farms. That’s up four percent from the same time period a year ago.

Illinois Hogs and Pigs Report:

Illinois inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1, 2018 was 5.30 million head, down 1 percent from December 1, 2017 but up 1 percent from last year. Breeding inventory, at 540,000 head, was up 10,000 from the previous quarter but unchanged from last year.

Market hog inventory, at 4.76 million head, was down 1 percent from last quarter but up 1 percent from last year. The December-February 2018 pig crop, at 2.76 million head, was up 2 percent from 2017. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 260,000 head, down 5,000 from a year ago. The average pigs saved per litter was 10.60 for the December-February period, compared with 10.20 last year.