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NASS briefing: U.S. hog inventory down 1.3% to 74.5 million, pig crop and sow productivity decline
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Summary
NASS reported U.S. all hogs and pigs inventory at 74.5 million head on Sept. 1, a 1.3% decline from 2024; NASS also reported a lower pig crop and small revisions to prior estimates while noting improved pigs-weaned-per-litter productivity.
Travis Averell, identified in the briefing as chief of the NASS Livestock Ranch, said the U.S. inventory of all hogs and pigs on Sept. 1 totaled 74,500,000 head, down 1.3% from a year earlier. "So for September 1, all hogs and pigs inventory is at 74,500,000 head, down 1.3% from previous year," Averell said.
The briefing, opened by Lance Honig, chair of the Agricultural Statistics Board at the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), was presented for the USDA secretary and other policymakers. Honig emphasized the report's status as "a principal federal economic indicator" and noted Office of Management and Budget guidance that limits public comment within 30 minutes of release; staff are available for follow-up questions by phone or e-mail.
NASS surveyed 4,479 operations in the quarterly program across 28 states, with data collection conducted Aug. 30–Sept. 15 by mail, internet, telephone and in-person interviews. Averell said NASS reviewed inventory and pig crop estimates from Sept. 2024 through June 2025 using final pick-crop counts, official slaughter and updated trade, import and export data when producing the current estimates.
Key headline numbers included a market-hog inventory of about 68.5 million head (down 1.3% year over year) and a U.S. pig crop for June–August 2025 of 34,078,000 head (down 2.6% from 2024). Averell also reported breeding-herd changes and quarterly flows: producers slaughtered about 780,000 head and added approximately 765,000, yielding a net decrease of 15,000 head for the quarter and an annual breeding-herd decline of roughly 110,000 head.
On productivity, NASS reported pigs weaned per litter rose to 11.82, compared with 11.72 a year earlier. "The sow efficiency continues to improve year over year," Averell said, pointing to the higher pigs-per-litter rate even as overall pig-crop totals fell.
State-level data showed Iowa leading with about 25,100,000 head; several other large producing states were down roughly 4% year over year while one listed state was up about 1%. NASS also detailed weight-group distributions for market hogs and presented trade and import context: Canadian imports were reported at about 1,700,000 head in 2025 (up 6.1% from 2024), of which roughly 78% were feeder pigs.
Averell contrasted NASS estimates with trade expectations, noting several series (all hogs and pigs, breeding hogs, market hogs, pig crop) were below trade averages. He also displayed ASB first estimates versus final estimates and said the ASB final estimate was within trade expectations in 5 of the last 12 occasions presented.
NASS noted small net revisions in some series (for example, a referenced net revision of 0.7% in one series) as staff incorporated updated slaughter, mortality and trade numbers into the estimates. All methodological notes and any discrepancies should be resolved by reference to the official published estimates on the NASS website, Averell and Honig said.
NASS listed upcoming release dates for related reports (including small-grain summary, grain stocks and agricultural prices on Sept. 30 and other crop and livestock releases through October) and reminded users of the USDA fall data-users meeting on Oct. 21.
The briefing ended with a reminder that NASS staff are available for follow-up questions and that the official published estimates are the authoritative record.
