USDA released its Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report on June 24. The report showed on June 1, 2021: 

  • Inventory of all hogs and pigs on June 1, 2021, was 75.7 million head. This was down 2% from June 1, 2020, but up 1% from March 1, 2021. 
  • Breeding inventory, at 6.23 million head, was down 2% from last year, but up slightly from the previous quarter. 
  • Market hog inventory, at 69.4 million head, was down 2% from last year, but up 1% from last quarter. 

Hogs and Pigs Report Analysts 

The Pork Checkoff hosted a webinar for pork producers following the report release and invited guest analysts to share their insights and analysis of the report. 

Guest analysts included: 

  • Dr. Steve Meyer – Partners for Production Agriculture    
  • Dr. Lee Schulz – Iowa State University     
  • Dr. Tyler Cozzens – Livestock Marketing Information Center     
  • Kevin Grier – Kevin Grier Market Analysis and Consulting    

Report Overview  

Dr. Steve Meyer, analyst with Partners for Production Agriculture, shares an overview of the report numbers. 

Analyst Highlights  

Dr. Tyler Cozzens, representative from the Livestock Marketing Information Center, explains his insight on the pigs per litter data.  

“The pigs per litter is down .5% this quarter, which is different than the pre-report estimates. The March data was 10.66, which is quite a bit lower than normal trends, which drug the pigs per litter number. It jumped back up in April and May.”  

Dr. Tyler Cozzens, Livestock Marketing Information Center

Dr. Lee Schulz, professor at Iowa State University, shares insights on the report by discussing the lack of revisions from USDA. Listen to his recording to hear comments about pigs saved per litter and farrowing intention.  

“There is a lack of revision in the report. They accounted for most of the changes in December 2020, which helps from a market reaction standpoint and interpretation of the report.” 

Dr. Lee Schulz, Iowa State University professor

Kevin Grier from Kevin Grier Market Analysis and Consulting shared why he revised his remainder of the year slaughter forecast.  

“I revised my slaughter forecast lower after seeing the report because of one revision to the pig crop and reassessment of the actual pig crop from March to May compared to what I was expecting.” 

Kevin Grier, from Kevin Grier Market Analysis and Consulting

Watch Full Webinar Recording

The views expressed in this webinar by our invited guests are theirs and not those of the National Pork Board. The National Pork Board does not advocate or endorse any particular production or marketing direction.