The US inventory of all hogs and pigs on June 1 was 75.7 million head, about in line with trade expectations.
A market analyst said after the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report Thursday that while the report may not cause near-term convulsions in the market, the presence of fewer hogs in the country should be somewhat supportive to prices.
LOWER HEAD COUNT
The total number of hogs and pigs in the US was 75.653 million, up 740,000, or 0.99%, from the March 1 total of 74.913 million but down 1.711 million, or 2.21%, from the 77.364 million shown last year.
Of that, 6.230 million head were breeding hogs, up 15,000, or 0.24%, from 6.215 million the previous quarter but down 96,000, or 1.52%, from 6.326 million a year earlier.
Also part of the total were market hogs, of which there were 69.423 million head, up 725,000, or 1.06%, from 68.698 million on March 1 but down 1.615 million, or 2.27%, from 71.038 million on June 1, 2020.
MARKET HOG WEIGHT GROUPINGS
Of the market hogs total, 21.474 million head weighed less than 50 pounds, 186,000, or 0.87%, more than the 21.288 million three months earlier but down 636,000, or 2.88%, from the 22.110 million of a year earlier.
Another 19.349 million weighed 50 to 119 pounds, up 231,000, or 1.21%, from 19.118 million a quarter earlier but down 541,000, or 2.72%, from 19.890 million a year earlier.
Also, there were 15.010 million head of market hogs that weighed 120 to 179 pounds, up 235,000, or 1.59%, from 14.775 million on March 1, but down 230,000, or 1.51%, from 15.240 million on June 1, 2020.
Finally, there were 13.589 million head of market hogs that weighed 180 pounds or more, up 73,000, or 0.54%, from 13.516 million three months earlier but down 208,000, or 1.51%, from 13.797 million a year earlier.
FARROWINGS DECLINE
The number of sows that farrowed in the March-May quarter was 3.067 million, up 26,000, or 0.85%, from 3.041 million in the previous quarter but down 82,000, or 2.60%, from 3.149 million in the same 2020 quarter.
The number of farrowings planned for the June-August quarter totaled 3.115 million, down 145,000, or 4.45%, from 3.260 million a year earlier.
September-November farrowings were pegged at 3.084 million, down 58,000, or 1.85%, from 3.142 million a year earlier.
The March-May pig crop totaled 33.584 million head, down 1.06 million, or 3.06%, from the 34.644 million seen in the same 2020 quarter.
But pigs per litter held fairly steady at 10.95, compared with 10.94 in the previous quarter and 11.00 in the 2020 quarter.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
Fed cattle traded this week is at $122 to $125 per cwt, up $1 to $2 from last week. Dressed-basis trading was at $197 to $198, up $2 to $8.
The USDA choice cutout Thursday was down $4.63 per cwt at $307.42, while select was up $0.73 at $276.14. The choice/select spread narrowed to $31.28 from $36.64 with 104 loads of fabricated product and 28 loads of trimmings and grinds sold into the spot market.
The USDA reported Thursday that basis bids for corn from livestock feeding operations in the Southern Plains were unchanged at $1.05 to $1.12 a bushel over the Jul futures and for southwest Kansas were unchanged at $0.70 over Jul, which settled at $6.53 1/4 a bushel, down $0.11.
No live cattle delivery notices were tendered Thursday against the Jun contract.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index for the seven days ended Tuesday was $145.44 per cwt up $0.20. This compares with Thursday’s Aug contract settlement of $157.15 per cwt, up $1.45.