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Questions still unanswered following Hogs and Pigs report

Analysts say the September Hogs and Pigs report may have left producers with more questions than answers.

The total inventory for all hogs and pigs on September 1 was 79.1 million head – a record large for the quarter.  That’s up 1 percent from a year ago, but down 1 percent from the previous report. As analysts dug into the numbers, Len Steiner, president of Steiner Consulting Group says he’s perplexed by the number of market hogs in the heaviest category.

“We’re having a little trouble understanding how these roughly 1.5 million hogs keep getting moved forward in that 180-pound and up category,” he says.  “Producers must be very good at regulating the diets to make that happen.  It seems a little bit like magic to us.”

Exports, however, remain the wild card.  And Germany’s finding of African swine fever in its wild boar population could be the US pork industry’s Ace up its sleeve. Ron Plain is professor emeritus at the University of Missouri.  “When other countries have issues like African swine fever it makes US pork a little big more attractive alternative,” he says.  “I’m expecting continued strong exports in the coming months and quarters and that’s going to support hog prices.”