The Quarterly Hogs & Pigs report released March 27th reported decreased hog inventories from the previous quarter and compared to year-ago inventories. Notably, the latest report reflected lower inventories than market analysts' pre-report estimates.
All Hogs & Pigs were down -0.5% or 393 thousand head under the revised inventory reported for December, bringing the latest inventory 179 thousand under last year. Kept for Breeding declined -0.4% or 24 thousand from the total in December, which is 36 thousand under a year earlier. Market hogs were -0.5% or 369 thousand head lower than the previous quarter, which is down 144 thousand head under last year. Market hogs weighing 180+ pounds were down the most from last reported, -7.3% or 978 thousand head lower, however the 120-179 pound category increased +6.2% or 916 thousand head - effectively demonstrating shift between the two groups and both weight categories were within 55-60 thousand head compared to last year. The remaining two lighter groups were lower both on the quarter and compared to a year earlier, with 50-119 pounds edging 24 thousand head lower or -0.1% from last reported and 81 thousand down on the year while the under 50 pounds category fell 283 thousand head or -1.3% from the December report and was 68 thousand head under last year.
The March pig crop declined 1,054 thousand head or -3.0% from previously reported, bringing the pig crop 55 thousand head under year-ago levels. Pigs per litter fell -2.3% from the previous quarter to 11.65 pigs/litter in the latest period (with the previous quarter representing a historical high of 11.92 pigs/litter for the Sep-Nov period), which is +1.0% higher than last year.
Revisions, as stated on the report:
“All inventory and pig crop estimates for March 2024 through December 2024 were reviewed using final pig crop, official slaughter, death loss, and updated import and export data. The revision made to the December 2024 all hogs and pigs inventory was 1.2 percent. A revision of 1.4 percent was made to the September 2024-November 2024 pig crop. The net revision made to the September 2024 all hogs and pigs inventory was 1.3 percent. A net revision of 0.1 percent was made to the June-August 2024 pig crop. The net revision made to the June 2024 all hogs and pigs inventory was 0.5 percent. A net revision of 0.8 percent was made to the March-May 2024 pig crop.”