About this Publication

This publication is part of a series 

of NASS Highlights providing 

sector summaries drawn from the 

regular surveys that USDA’s National 

Agricultural Statistics Service conducts 

and publishes. The data included 

here cover the period 1994 to 2014; 

they are drawn from a statistical 

report published in October 2015. 

Most of the analysis covers the two 

decade period, but some comparisons 

are also made with 2008, the latest 

data when NASS last published an 

overview of the hog industry.

View both the 2009 and the 2015 

statistical overview reports at 

http://bit.ly/US_HogIndustryOverview.

Over two decades, the U.S. hog industry has increased substantially in 

value, as has the income producers receive, even though total inventory has 

remained relatively constant. The industry continues to be concentrated in a 

small number of states but how it is organized and operates has changed.

Overview 

Between 1994 and 2014, gross income for U.S. hog and pig producers 

increased 166 percent, from $9.9 billion to $26.5 billion (Fig. 1). The value 

per head and the total value of the herd increased similarly, with the value 

per head going from $53 to $144 between 1994 and 2014, and the total 

value nearly tripling from $3.2 billion to $9.5 billion (Fig. 2). Average annual 

inventory of hogs and pigs increased just 7 percent, from 60.1 million in 1994

Fig. 1. U.S. Hog and Pig Gross Income, 1994 - 2014 ($ billions)

0

10

20

30

1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014

Source: USDA NASS.

Fig. 2. Per Head and Total Value of U.S. Hogs and Pigs, 1994 - 2014

1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014

2

4

6

8

10

40

70

100

130

160

Per head ($) Total ($ billions)

Value per head Total value

Source: USDA NASS.

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service www.nass.usda.gov

U.S. Hog Industry, 1994–2014

NASS Highlights March 2016 • No. 2016-1
2 U.S. Hog Industry

Top States in Hog and Pig Inventory – 1994 and 2014

1994* 

U.S. Total = 59.7 million

2014* 

U.S. Total = 67.8 million

(% of total) (% of total)

Iowa 24.3 Iowa 31.4

North Carolina 11.7 North Carolina 13.0

Illinois 9.0 Minnesota 12.0

Minnesota 8.1 Illinois 6.9

Nebraska 7.3 Indiana 5.5

Indiana 7.2 Nebraska 4.7

Missouri 5.9 Missouri 4.2

Ohio 3.0 Ohio 3.3

South Dakota 2.9 Oklahoma 3.1

Kansas 2.3 Kansas 2.7

*Inventory on December 1.

Increased Production Efficiency 

Annual pig production fluctuated 

year by year but increased overall 

from 101.5 million pigs in 1994 

to 116.7 million in 2012. The 

subsequent declines in 2013 and 

2014 are widely attributed to the 

effects of the Porcine Epidemic 

Diarrhea Virus (PEDv) affecting hog 

and pig operations. (Fig. 4)

Producers were able to increase the 

pig crop by making the breeding 

herd more efficient while also 

increasing litter size. The breeding 

herd includes not just the sows that 

farrow pigs but also gilts (females 

that have never farrowed) and boars 

(males kept for breeding purposes). 

Between 1994 and 2014, producers 

Fig. 4. Annual U.S. Pig Crop, 1994 - 2014 (million head)

90

100

110

120

1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014

Source: USDA NASS.

Fig. 5. U.S. Breeding Herd, 1994 - 2014 (million head)

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014

Source: USDA NASS.

to 64.2 million in 2014, after rising to 

67.3 million in 2008 (Fig. 3).

The industry remains concentrated 

in a few states in the Midwest and 

North Carolina. Nine of the top ten 

states in hog and pig inventory were 

the same in 1994 and 2014, although 

the rank order among the states 

shifted slightly. In 1994, the top ten 

states accounted for 82 percent 

of inventory; by 2014, the top ten 

accounted for 87 percent.

Over the 20-year period, three 

major changes have occurred in 

the industry: increased efficiency in 

production, industry consolidation, 

and increased values per head.

Fig. 3. Average Annual U.S. Hog and Pig Inventory, 1994 - 2014 (million head)

1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014

50

55

60

65

70

Source: USDA NASS.
U.S. Hog Industry 3 www.nass.usda.gov

Industry Consolidation

Historically operations with fewer 

than 5,000 hogs and pigs (small 

operations) produced most 

of the annual pig crop. But in 

recent decades the industry has 

consolidated, many small operations 

have closed or merged with other 

operations, and operations with 

5,000 or more hogs and pigs (large 

operations) now produce most of the 

pig crop and hold most of the hog 

and pig inventory. 

In the mid-1990s, small and large 

operations reached equilibrium with 

each producing half the annual pig 

crop, but the long-term trend toward 

consolidation and increasingly 

larger operations continued. In 2014, 

operations with 5,000 or more hogs 

and pigs produced 93 percent of the 

annual pig crop, up from 27 percent 

in 1994 and 88 percent in 2008. 

Conversely, operations with fewer 

than 5,000 hogs and pigs accounted 

for 7 percent of the pig crop in 2014, 

down from 12 percent in 2008 and 

73 percent in 1994. (Fig. 7)

From the Census of Agriculture, 

we know that large operations 

accounted for only 5 percent of hog 

and pig operations in 2012, but they 

held 68 percent of the inventory. The 

95 percent of operations with fewer 

Fig. 7. Share of Annual Pig Crop by Size of Operation, 1994 - 2014 (percent)

1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014

0

20

40

60

80

100

Operations w <5,000 head Operations w 5,000+ head

Source: USDA NASS.

Fig. 8. Average Number of Pigs per Litter by Size of Operation, 1994 - 2014

1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014

7.5

8.0

8.5

9.0

9.5

10.0

10.5

All operations Operations w <5000 head Operations w 5000+ head

Source: USDA NASS.

decreased the size of the breeding 

herd 19 percent from 7.3 million to 

5.9 million (Fig. 5). During that time, 

the average number of pigs per 

litter increased from 8.2 in 1994 to 

9.9 in 2014; the average number per 

breeding animal per year increased 

from 13.9 to 19.5 (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6. Average Number of Pigs, per Litter and per Breeding Animal, 1994 - 2014

Per litter Per breeding animal

1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014

5

0

10

15

20

25

Source: USDA NASS.

than 5,000 head accounted for 32 percent of inventory in the 2012 Census. 

Although they are a small proportion of farms, large operations not only have 

more inventory but their sows also produce larger litters. In 1994, the average 

litter on small operations was 8.0 pigs, compared with 8.7 pigs on large 

operations. By 2014, the average size litter was 9.4 pigs for small operations, 

and 10.0 for large operations. (Fig. 8)
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 

www.nass.usda.gov

The increased value per head shown 

in Fig. 2 (from $53 in 1994 to $144 

in 2014) reflects both increases in 

average prices and increases in 

slaughter weights. Between 1994 

and 2014, average market prices 

nearly doubled, with considerable 

fluctuation in the intervening years: 

$40 per hundred pounds in 1994, 

$30 in 1999, $47 in 2008, and $77 in 

2014 (Fig. 9). 

Slaughter weights of federally 

inspected hogs increased steadily 

throughout the period, with dressed 

weights increasing at a quicker pace 

than live weight. In 2014, dressed 

weight accounted for 75 percent 

of the live weight, compared to 

72 percent in 1994, reflecting the 

increased proportion of the animals 

used for food or other purposes 

(Fig. 10).

Increased Value per Head

Fig. 9. Average Price for Hogs, 1994 - 2014 ($ per hundred pounds)

1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014

0

20

40

60

80

Source: USDA NASS.

Fig. 10. Dressing Percent of Hogs, 1994 - 2014 (dressed weight as percent of live weight)

1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014

72

73

74

75

76

Source: USDA NASS.