There also was a surprising drop of 32 percent in the breeding herd in South Dakota and 23 percent in Kentucky. States not among the largest 17 had breeding herds up an estimated 28 percent. He says most of the expansion is expected in Texas, Colorado, and Utah. Farrowing intentions for Iowa are down 11 percent and 14 percent for the next two quarters, respectively. In Nebraska, they're down 11 and 9 percent.
Farrowings also continue to drop in Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, South Dakota and Kentucky.
However, Hurt says family hog farms have a strong incentive to come back, because of the high profit potential. The corn crop is large in the western Corn Belt, and prices are sharply lower. Many of the families have little or no debt on buildings and equipment. They can respond more quickly to current market conditions than corporate farms. Pork supplies are expected to be down about 4 percent through March.