News Pigs
American sow herd more productive but smaller
The size of the American pig herd has increased slightly. However, the sow herd did shrink. This is the result of weak US pork prices. However, a higher number of piglets per sow compensates for the shrinkage, as shown by the June count.
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The US pig herd has grown by 1% compared to the previous count, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). This represents a limited increase compared to the same period a year ago.
In total, the United States had 1 million pigs on June 74,5. 68,5 million of these are fattening pigs. The country also has 6 million sows. In contrast to the overall pig herd, the sow herd has decreased in size. Compared to a year ago, the country has 3% fewer sows. Most of the decline occurred earlier. Compared to the penultimate count, the decrease was nil. The lower sow herd is offset by a higher piglet production per breeding sow of 1,7%.
Low pig price
The relative stagnation of the pig herd is consistent with the price trend of the American pig herd. The US pork price has improved since January due to a strong export position. At the beginning of the year the pig price was $1,01 per kilo. By Wednesday, June 26, the price had risen to $1,96 per kilo. That is still not enough to compensate for the losses from earlier this year.