Believed to be the first traditional agricultural commodity to be traded exclusively, lean hogs are domesticated specifically for meat production.
They are raised in hog farms or pig farms in the Midwest with Iowa being the leading producer among the states followed closely by Minnesota, North Carolina, Illinois, and Indiana.
Typically, the lean hogs' life cycle beings in a breeding facility where a female pig ( sow ) is impregnated, gives birth to a litter of piglets, is weaned from their mothers and is moved and raised to a nursing facility until they turn 50 pounds.
From there, they are transferred to the finishing facility and groomed until they reach 240 pounds, the standard weight for the harvesting phase. They will be transferred to a processing plant where they will be slaughtered, processed, and packaged for distribution and consumption.