Indiana on track to boost hog numbers, pork supply

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Indiana pork producers signaled their intentions to increase pig numbers and pork supplies, even as second quarter productivity increased in the state.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Great Lakes Region Indiana field office released the second quarter USDA Hogs and Pigs Report numbers for the state.

Indiana producers showed their intent to increase pork production in the second half of 2021. The September-November 2021 farrowing intentions, as of June 1, were 130,000 head, a 4% increase over actual farrowings last year, at 125,000 head. The June-August farrowing intentions stood at 135,000 head, up from 125,000 head of actual sows farrowed for the same time last year.

Compared to the national pigs-saved-per-litter number, which dropped, the Indiana pigs saved per litter showed a significant increase, with the March-May number at 10.9, an increase from 10.6 a year ago.

The March-May sows farrowed number remained steady from last year, with 125,000 head of sows farrowed. The March-May 2021 pig crop also increased over last year, at 1.363 million head, compared to 1.325 million head a year ago.

The total Indiana herd on June 1 numbered at 4.4 million head, steady with a year ago. The breeding herd increased slightly, at 260,000 head, slightly up over last year’s 250,000 head.

The market weight categories showed a mixture of up and down. The under 50 pound category, at 980,000, was down from 1.01 million a year ago; the 50 to 119 pound category at 1.270 million head, also was down from a year ago, when that number was 1.310 million head; the 120 to 179 pound category, at 930,000 head, was up slightly from last year’s 910,000 head; and the 180 pound and over category, at 960,000 head, was up from 920,000 head a year ago.