News Pigs
US pig population shrinkage seems to have stopped
The pig population in the United States is developing quite flat at the moment. Compared to one year earlier, there is a small decrease, but compared to the count on 1 March this year, approximately the same number of pigs were counted.
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This is evident from the quarterly report on the pork market in the United States from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The total number of animals amounted to 72,5 million animals. That is about 0,6 million fewer (-0,8%) than on the same date last year. Compared to March 1 this year, the number of pigs was only slightly lower (-0,1%).
Sow herd slightly larger
Moreover, for the first time in a long time, the number of sows in the United States appears to be growing slightly. On June 1, 6,17 million sows were kept, about 7.000 more than on March 1. It may be the first signal that the number of pigs in the United States could start to grow again this year for the first time in a long time. The number of piglets and fattening pigs counted decreased slightly compared to March 1, by about 150.000 to a total of 66,35 million animals.
The productivity of the sows has been around last year's level in recent months. In the first six months, an average of 10,84 to 11,1 piglets were weaned per sow per day.