There were 74.3 million hogs and pigs on US farms on 1 September 2026, down 2% from September 2025 but up 2% from 1 June 2026, according to the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report published on 24 September by the US Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Of that total, 68.4 million were market hogs and 5.87 million were kept for breeding. Between June and August 2026 producers weaned 34.5 million pigs, 2% fewer than in the same months a year earlier, at an average of 11.96 pigs per litter.

Farrowing intentions point to the next few months of supply: producers expect 2.85 million sows to farrow between September and November 2026 and 2.80 million between December 2026 and February 2027.

Iowa again held the largest inventory of any state, at 24.7 million head, followed by Minnesota with 9.30 million and North Carolina with 7.60 million.

NASS built the estimate from a survey of 4,258 operators across the country during the first half of September, with answers collected online through its Respondent Portal, by mail, by telephone and in face-to-face interviews. The quarterly report is the department's regular count of the US swine herd, and the breeding-herd and farrowing figures are the ones the pork trade reads for supply ahead.

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service