As of March 1, there were 65.9 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms, seven percent more than a year ago, according to the USDA Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report.

Of the total, 5.98 million hogs were kept for breeding and producers intend to have 2.87 million sows farrow between March and May 2015, and 2.93 million sows farrow between June and August 2015.

Between December 2014 and February 2015, 28.8 million pigs were weaned on U.S. farms, up 9 percent from the same time period one year earlier and producers weaned an average of 10.17 pigs per litter.

The Pork Checkoff sponsored a conference call following the report release on Friday featuring reactions from three agricultural economists:
Chris Hurt, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University
Robert Brown, Independent Market Analyst, Edmond, OK
Dan Vaught, Economist, Doane Advisory Services, St. Louis, MO

Listen to or download the call here: Analysis of Hogs and Pigs Inventory