The USDA’s September Hogs and Pigs report was a bit of a surprise. While many analysts expected some herd expansion, as the prior June report implied greater slaughter numbers than observed since, this report’s downward revisions of June 1 inventories by nearly 2% appear to be the alternative explanation. As such, the September 1 inventory of all hogs and pigs, at 74.5 million head, is up 1.02% from revised estimates for last quarter but down 1.35% from last year.
