Iowa, US Hog Inventories Continue to Grow

IOWA - The number of hogs in Iowa and across the U.S. continues to increase. In fact, the latest USDA Hogs and Pigs survey shows Iowa had a record number of hogs on September 1^st.

29 September 2008

2 minute read

North America

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service says Iowa’s inventory of hogs and pigs hit a record 19.8 million head. The September numbers were up 900,000 from the same month last year.

The June to August 2008 pig crop was 4.79 million head. A total of 510,000 sows farrowed with an average litter size of 9.40 pigs per sow.

As of Sept. 1, producers planned to farrow 510,000 head of sows and gilts in the September to November 2008 quarter. Farrowing intentions for the December 2008 to February 2009 period were estimated at 490,000.

The total number of hogs and pigs in the U.S. was 68.7 million head on Sept. 1. That’s a 2 percent increase from Sept. 1, 2007, and 1 percent over the June 1, 2008, report.

This is the eighth consecutive year that the nation’s swine herd showed an increase in September.