November 1, 2013
US hog farm numbers decrease on high operation costs
A USDA report released last week revealed that US hog farm numbers fell by 70% from 1991-2009, while hog farm inventories remained steady.
According to Economic Research Service (ERS) the declining hog farm numbers suggest that the increased size of hog operations likely led to many small, high-cost operations ceasing to exist.
The report specifically said the average hog farm grew from 945 head of hogs sold or removed under contract in 1992 to 8,389 head in 2009. Specialised finishing operations increased their share of production from 22% to 77% during 1992-2004, while the share of production from farrow-to-finish operations fell from 65% to 18%.
Higher corn and soy prices during 2007-2009 raised feed costs considerably, the ERS report said.
Since 1992 substantial productivity gains for hog farms were attributable to increases in the scale of production and technological innovation. The increased size of operations accounted for almost half of the total increase in hog farm productivity since 1992.
Data from USDA surveys of US hog producers conducted for 1992, 1998, 2004 and 2009 were used in this report. Summaries of each data year were used to describe hog farm differences by producer type according to size, business organisation, region, and production technology.