The total number of pigs in the United States on June 1, 2013, was 66.6 million head. This was down slightly from June 1, 2012, but up 2% from March 1 this year.
The number of sows was 5.88 million head, up slightly on the year and 1% from the previous quarter, but the number of rearing hogs was down slightly on the year at 60.8 million head, although this was 2% higher than the quarter ending March 1, 2013.
The average pigs reared/litter was a record high 10.31 for the March-May 2013 period, compared to 10.09 last year. Analysed by the size of operation, pigs reared/litter ranged from 7.70 for operations with 1-99 head to 10.40 for
operations with more than 5,000 pigs.