Agricultural Surveys Program

	Hogs and Pigs Survey
United States Department of Agriculture		National Agricultural Statistics Service
		June 2007

The U. S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts a quarterly Hogs and Pigs Survey, measuring and reporting conditions and trends in the U.S. pork industry nationwide. NASS contacts pork producers, including contractors, to gather data about market hog and breeding stock inventories and farrowing intentions.

HOW ARE THE DATA COLLECTED?

The Hogs and Pigs Survey is conducted in December, March, June and September. Data are gathered from a sample of producers representing all U.S. facilities with the capacity to raise breeding or market hogs. Producers in the largest 30 hog-producing states are surveyed in March, June and September, and producers nationwide are surveyed in December.

Data collection methods include:

• Telephone – Computer-assisted telephone interviewing (or CATI) is the primary method.

• Mail – Participants fill out and mail back the questionnaire that was mailed to them.

• Internet – Secure, online reporting is the timeliest, most cost-effective option.

• Personal interviews – An interview with a NASS representative can be requested by the respondent.

HOW IS THE INFORMATION USED?

NASS publishes a quarterly Hogs and Pigs report with inventory and breeding information for each of the 17 largest hog producing states, which account for nearly 95 percent of the total U.S. inventory. In addition, a combined total for all other states is estimated in order to publish U.S.-level data. In December, NASS publishes hog information, by state, for all states.

Following each quarterly hog report, the United States and Canadian Hogs report is released. This report combines NASS hog and pig estimates with quarterly hog statistics released by Statistics Canada. NASS also publishes estimates of the number of hog operations by herd size groups and percent of inventory in the annual Farms, Land in Farms and Livestock Operations report, published in January.

All sectors of the U.S. pork industry rely on accurate hog and pig estimates to make sound business decisions. For example:

• The information helps producers develop and refine their marketing plans.

• Data on breeding stock inventory, farrowing intentions, the latest pig crop and average litter size allow analysts to forecast the expansion and contraction of pork production.

• The transportation sector, warehouse and storage companies, commodity traders and processors rely on the reports to anticipate volume for future months.

The information provided by survey respondents is confidential by law. NASS safeguards the confidentiality of all responses and publishes only state- and national-level data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified.

All reports are available through the NASS web site: www.nass.usda.gov. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Agricultural Statistics Hotline at (800) 727-9540.