July 10

7/10 – The USDA’s quarterly Hogs and Pigs report didn’t shed a whole lot of light on a confusing period in the pork industry. All hogs and pigs in the U.S. on June 1st totaled 72.4M head, up just 0.1% from a year ago. The market hog supply was up 0.2%, and the breeding herd down 0.4%. Farrowing intentions were all sharply negative: Mar-May -4.6%; Jun-Aug -5.6%; Sep-Nov -4.5%. Partially offsetting these numbers was a record high of 11.36 pigs per litter, up 3.3% from last year. The hog herd is liquidating due to poor margins that will likely be made worse by Prop-12. Regarding Prop-12, it was not (contrary to rumor) postponed until 2024. It was ruled that any pork produced prior to July 1 can still be sold in California for the balance of 2023. That means the 82.5M lbs of bellies currently in cold storage can help support CA until more compliant raw supplies and cooked inventory become available.