U.S. Swine Herd is Expanding

The June USDA quarterly hog and pigs report showed an expanding U.S. swineherd. As of June 1st, there were 71.7 million hogs and pigs on American farms, up three percent from June of 2016 and the second largest inventory on record ever. National Hog Farmer Dot Com says the industry is in a growth mode, with the question now being how fast will the industry continue to grow. Despite record production for the industry, hog prices are decent, with expectations of an annual average of $15 per head. Iowa State University Livestock Economist Lee Schulz said swine profitability turned positive in June. While industry experts say the forecast is likely to prompt producers to expand the breeding herd, the growth of the breeding herd is at 6.07 million head, only a slight increase from the previous quarter. It’s also a mere two percent increase from 2016. Scott Brown of the University of Missouri Extension Service says the numbers in the breeding herd show stability in the industry.