There were 71.5 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms as of Dec. 1, up 4% from December 2015, and up slightly from Sept. 1, 2016, according to the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report published today by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Other key findings in the report were:
-Of the 71.5 million hogs and pigs, 65.4 million were market hogs, while 6.09 million were kept for breeding.
-Between September and November 2016, there were 32.3 million pigs weaned on U.S. farms, up 5 percent from the same time period one year earlier.
-From September through November 2016, U.S. hog and pig producers weaned a record high average of 10.63 pigs per litter.
-U.S. hog producers intend to have 2.97 million sows farrow between December 2016 and February 2017, and 3.00 million sows farrow between March and May 2017.
-Iowa hog producers accounted for the largest inventory among the states, at 22.4 million head. North Carolina and Minnesota had the second and third largest inventories with 9.30 million and 8.30 million head, respectively.

NASS surveyed approximately 10,500 operators across the nation during the first half of December. Data were collected by electronic data reporting, mail, telephone and through face-to-face interviews

The Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report and all other NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov.