Iowa paced the nation in hog production in May, a month which turned out to be a record breaker.
The United States Department of Agriculture?s (USDA) National Ag Statistics Service (NASS) says there were an estimated 73.5 million head of hogs in May, the highest estimate ever since record keeping began in 1954. ?The March-May 2018 quarterly pig crop was 6.33 million head, up 167,000 head from the previous quarter and 13 percent above last year. A total of 570,000 sows farrowed during this quarter. The average pigs saved per litter was 11.1, up slightly from last quarter.?
Iowa paced the United States with 22.7 million hogs. Roughly two and a half times more than second place North Carolina. In fact, Iowa just fell short of out pacing the second, third and fourth highest states, which also included Minnesota and Illinois.
