The US inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1, was down from last quarter and from a year ago as the number of market hogs declined, according to the USDA’s Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report Thursday.
HOG INVENTORY DOWN
The US hog herd totaled 74.512 million head on March 1, down 179,000, or 0.24%, from 74.691 million on March 1, 2024, and down 393,000, or 0.52%, from 74.905 million on Dec. 1, 2024.
Of that, 68.532 million head were market hogs, down 144,000, or 0.21%, from 68.676 million a year earlier and down 52,000, or 0.08%, from 68.584 million in the previous quarter.
Another 5.980 million head were kept for breeding, down 36,000, or 0.60%, from 6.016 million a year earlier and down 0.02%, from 6.004 million in the previous quarter.
MARKET HOGS BY WEIGHT GROUPS
Broken down into four weight groups, the USDA reported declines in the two lightest weights and mixed numbers in the heaviest weights.
Market hogs weighing less than 50 pounds totaled 21.301 million head, down 68,000, or 0.32%, from 21.369 million a year earlier and down 283,000, or 1.31%, from 21.584 million a quarter earlier. Those weighing 50 to 119 pounds totaled 19.032 million head, down 81,000, or 0.42%, from 19.113 million a month earlier and down 24,000, or 0.13%, from 19.056 million a quarter earlier.
Market hogs weighing 120 to 179 pounds totaled 15.700 million head, down 54,000, or 0.34%, from 15.754 million in 2024 but up 916,000, or 6.20%, from 14.784 million in the previous quarter. Those weighing 180 pounds or more totaled 12.499 million head, up 59,000, or 0.47%, from 12.440 million a year earlier but down 978,000, or 7.26%, from 13.477 million in the previous quarter.
PIG CROP DOWN SLIGHTLY
The December 2024-February 2025 pig crop, at 33.701 million head, was down from 33.756 million last year. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 2.892 million head, down from 2.929 million the previous year.
The sows farrowed during the December 2024-February 2025 quarter represented 48% of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was 11.65 for the December 2024-February 2025 period, compared with 11.53 last year and 11.02 the year before that.
Producers expected to farrow 2.913 million sows in the March-May quarter, down from 2.920 million in the year-ago quarter and down from 2.941 million in the 2023 quarter.
The anticipated farrowing 2.961 million in the June-August quarter, down from 2.985 million last year and down from 3.026 million in the 2023 quarter.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
The USDA reported formula and contract base prices for live FOB steers and heifers this week ranged from $202.49 per cwt to $213.49, compared with last week’s range of $199.50 to $210.11 per cwt. FOB dressed steers, and heifers went for $319.17 per cwt to $333.52, compared with $311.12 to $323.01.
The USDA choice cutout Thursday was down $2.58 per cwt at $335.72 while select was up $2.91 at $319.44. The choice/select spread narrowed to $16.28 from $21.77 with 83 loads of fabricated product and 34 loads of trimmings and grinds sold into the spot market.
The USDA-listed the weighted average wholesale price for fresh 90% lean beef was $380.94 per cwt, and 50% beef was $118.05.
The USDA said basis bids for corn from feeders in the Southern Plains were unchanged at $1.20 to $1.32 a bushel over the May corn contract, which settled at $4.50, down $0.01 1/4.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index for the seven days ended Wednesday was $287.67 per cwt, up $0.67. This compares with Thursday’s Mar contract settlement of $287.65, up $0.85 and Apr’s $287.55, up $1.67.