Wallaces Farmer

Though some numbers may indicate industry exits, talk of a mass exodus are premature.

Kevin Schulz, Editor

September 25, 2020

5 Min Read
Hog farm in Iowa
National Pork Board

USDA's Hogs and Pigs Report was issued Thursday afternoon, and the numbers presented therein paint a picture of where the U.S hog industry may be headed.

According to the report, all hogs and pigs in the United States on Sept. 1 were 79.1 million head. This number is up 1% from Sept. 1, 2019, but down 1% from June 1 of this year. Breeding inventory, at 6.33 million head, was down 2% from last year, but up slightly from the previous quarter.

Market hog inventory, at 72.8 million head, was up 1% from last year, but down 1% from last quarter.

Steve Meyer, economist with Partners for Production Agriculture, kicked off a National Pork Board-sponsored webinar Thursday by presenting the numbers in the report, and he says things "get interesting, as it did in June."

Meyer says the under 50-pounders at 22.559 million head were down 3.5% from last year, with analysts predicting that to be down 2%; 50-119 pounds at 20.490 million head, down 3.5% from last year, with analysts expecting that number to be down only 0.3%. Hogs in the 120 to 179 pound grouping came in at 15.547 million head, up 6.1%, with analysts predicting that group would only be up 1.5% year-on-year growth, and the 180-pounds and over group came in at 14.169 million head, up 9.8% from one year ago. Analysts has expected that number to be up 2.6%, "so there were large deviations to the top, to the upside on the two heaviest weight categories," Meyer says. Analyst estimates Meyer uses are averages of pre-report estimates as surveyed by Urner Barry.

According to the report, the June-August 2020 pig crop, at 35.1 million head, was down 3% from 2019. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 3.18 million head, down 3% from 2019. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 50% of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was 11.04 for the June-August period, compared to 11.11 last year. This is the first time since 2014 that pigs per litter has gone down.

Do these numbers point to a new direction, one of contraction, in the U.S. swine industry?

Market analysts Len Steiner, president of the Steiner Consulting Group; Ron Plain, professor emeritus of the University of Missouri-Columbia; and Kevin Bost, president of Procurement Strategies Inc., all weighed in their best guesses during the webinar.

"I would propose that the breeding herd being down indicates that some people are leaving the industry, and how quickly they do that and how far they carry it forward remains to be seen at this point," says Steiner. "The magnitude of the sow slaughter the last few months, along with the reduction in the breeding herd which is a combination of how many gilts you hold back and how many sows you send to market is an indication that yes there is some reduction in the industry at this time."

Plain agrees with Steiner. "The hog industry has always reacted to profitability. This has been a very tough year for a lot of producers financially, and so you should expect to see fewer numbers. … sow slaughter I think it's been up every week of the year compared to a year ago. So yes, unfortunately we are losing hog producers during this stressful time."

One thing to consider during this COVID year, is that increased sow slaughter numbers, which have been up every week of this year, may be a product of work stoppage at slaughter plants.

"There were what I'd call butcher hogs being slaughtered in sow plants," Bost says. "I think that those barrows and gilts probably wound up being classified as 'sows' since they were being processed in sow plants. I'm not sure if that is still going on in a large scale, but it was pretty common, pretty prevalent, in May and June. But that still doesn't hide the fact that sow slaughter as a percentage of the breeding herd has been pretty high and it's been consistent with the reduction in the breeding herd we're looking at right now."

Steiner wrote in Friday morning's Daily Livestock Report, "The smaller breeding herd would suggest a modest decline in pork production next year although that is not a given due to the multiple ways producers have to bolster production (farrowing rate, pigs saved per litter, carcass weights). Talk of supply contraction is premature."

Price outlook
"Number of hogs is headed down," Plain acknowledges, "it's been a tough year and so the industry is responding with the less production. Fewer hogs is going to translate into less pork. It looks like demand will stay strong to grow so higher prices next year than this year. So there's silver lining to this dark cloud. How long we stay down will depend on just how good prices are. Eventually producers respond to profits." Basing his projections on the Iowa-southern Minnesota negotiated prices, Plain sees fourth quarter prices around $56 on carcass prices, $57 in the first quarter of 2021, $62 in the second quarter, around $60 in the third quarter and around $51 to close out 2021.

Steiner says 2020 fourth quarter will be a slight "oddball" as fourth quarter prices are usually lower than in the third quarter, "but this year we've got them up about $11 a hundredweight," for the CME Index.

"We're guessing that the third quarter is going to come in about $55.27 for the CME index on average. And we've got the fourth quarter at $66.67, up a little over $11. For the year we've got prices in 2021 about almost $11 higher. This year it should average about $59.04 for the CME Index. Next year we've got it plugged in right now at $69.83, with first quarter at $68.67, second quarter $75.67, third quarter $73.33, and then the fourth quarter of next year, following the seasonal pattern down to $61.67."

Steiner adds that this "oddball" fourth quarter should be good for producers. "And next year should give them a little higher prices, and hopefully that slows up many people that are exiting the industry."

Bost also uses the CME Lean Hog Index, and see October, November and December coming in at $68, $66 and $69, respectively, for a fourth quarter average of $68. He also projects an average of $68 for the first quarter of 2021, and then a $73 in April, $79 in May, and $83 in June, for a second quarter average of $78.

Click here to view the National Pork Board webinar in its entirety.

About the Author(s)

Kevin Schulz

Editor, The Farmer

Kevin Schulz joined The Farmer as editor in January of 2023, after spending two years as senior staff writer for Dakota Farmer and Nebraska Farmer magazines. Prior to joining these two magazines, he spent six years in a similar capacity with National Hog Farmer. Prior to joining National Hog Farmer, Schulz spent a long career as the editor of The Land magazine, an agricultural-rural life publication based in Mankato, Minn.

During his tenure at The Land, the publication grew from covering 55 Minnesota counties to encompassing the entire state, as well as 30 counties in northern Iowa. Covering all facets of Minnesota and Iowa agriculture, Schulz was able to stay close to his roots as a southern Minnesota farm boy raised on a corn, soybean and hog finishing farm.

One particular area where he stayed close to his roots is working with the FFA organization.

Covering the FFA programs stayed near and dear to his heart, and he has been recognized for such coverage over the years. He has received the Minnesota FFA Communicator of the Year award, was honored with the Minnesota Honorary FFA Degree in 2014 and inducted into the Minnesota FFA Hall of Fame in 2018.

Schulz attended South Dakota State University, majoring in agricultural journalism. He was also a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and now belongs to its alumni organization.

His family continues to live on a southern Minnesota farm near where he grew up. He and his wife, Carol, have raised two daughters: Kristi, a 2014 University of Minnesota graduate who is married to Eric Van Otterloo and teaches at Mankato (Minn.) East High School, and Haley, a 2018 graduate of University of Wisconsin-River Falls. She is married to John Peake and teaches in Hayward, Wis. 

When not covering the agriculture industry on behalf of The Farmer's readers, Schulz enjoys spending time traveling with family, making it a quest to reach all 50 states — 47 so far — and three countries. He also enjoys reading, music, photography, playing basketball, and enjoying nature and campfires with friends and family.

[email protected]

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