Friday March 28 Hogs & Pigs Report + Ag News

NEBRASKA HOG INVENTORY DOWN 5%

Nebraska inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1, 2025, was 3.55 million head, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. This was down 5% from March 1, 2024, but unchanged from December 1, 2024. Breeding hog inventory, at 410,000 head, was up 3% from March 1, 2024, but down 5% from last quarter. Market hog inventory, at 3.14 million head, was down 6% from last year, but up 1% from last quarter.

The December 2024 – February 2025 Nebraska pig crop, at 2.12 million head, was down 8% from 2024. Sows farrowed during the period totaled 180,000 head, down 5% from last year. The average pigs saved per litter was 11.80 for the December – February period, compared to 12.10 last year.

Nebraska hog producers intend to farrow 185,000 sows during the March – May 2025 quarter, up 6% from the actual farrowings during the same period a year ago. Intended farrowings for June – August 2025 are 190,000 sows, unchanged from the actual farrowings during the same period a year ago.



Iowa Hog Inventory Down 4%

On March 1, 2025, there were 24.3 million hogs and pigs on Iowa farms, according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Hogs and Pigs report. Inventory was up slightly from the previous quarter but down 4 percent from the previous year.

The December 2024-February 2025 quarterly pig crop was 5.16 million head, down 6 percent from the previous quarter and down 1 percent from last year. A total of 445,000 sows farrowed during this quarter. The average pigs saved per litter was 11.60 for the quarter.

As of March 1, producers planned to farrow 470,000 sows and gilts in the March-May 2025 quarter and 485,000 head during the June-August 2025 quarter.



United States Hog Inventory Down Slightly

United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1, 2025 was 74.5 million head. This was down slightly from March 1, 2024, and down 1 percent from December 1, 2024. Breeding inventory, at 5.98 million head, was down 1 percent from last year, and down slightly from the previous quarter. Market hog inventory, at 68.5 million head, was down slightly from last year, and down 1 percent from last quarter.

The December 2024-February 2025 pig crop, at 33.7 million head, was down slightly from last year. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 2.89 million head, down 1 percent from previous year. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 48 percent of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was 11.65 for the December 2024-February 2025 period, compared to 11.53 last year.

United States hog producers intend to have 2.91 million sows farrow during the March-May 2025 quarter, down slightly from the actual farrowings during the same period one year earlier, and down 1 percent from the same period two years earlier. Intended farrowings for June-August 2025, at 2.96 million sows, are down 1 percent from the same period one year earlier, and down 2 percent from the same period two years earlier.

The total number of hogs under contract owned by operations with over 5,000 head, but raised by contractees, accounted for 52 percent of the total United States hog inventory, unchanged from the previous year.



Payday for cow-calf operators
Alfredo DiCostanzo, Nebraska Extension Beef Systems Educator

News about record-breaking feeder cattle prices abound. A few references were made previously in this column about the reasons this is occurring and what might support high feeder calf prices in the future.

This is all great news! Yet, as for many things in agricultural production, these prices will only last so long. Eventually, the supply of feeder calves will meet demand, and prices will be back to moderate levels.

Perhaps, this is a good time for cow-calf operators to consider the interactions between weaning percentage, weaning weight and annual cow cost and their effect on profit. Before we proceed to delve into these interactions, a few terms should be defined:
· Calc crop—number of calves born based on number of cows exposed to breeding.
· Weaning weight—actual weight of calves sold at weaning (or weighed around weaning time for a reference weight at weaning).
· Effective weaning weight—the weight of all calves sold (or weighed at weaning) divided by the number of cows exposed to breeding.
· Annual cow costs—the total of costs associated with running the cow-calf operation up to weaning age. These costs include feed, labor, utilities, veterinary and medicine, equipment, repairs, fuel and oil, taxes, depreciation, and interest. Incidentally, in 2023, it costs a Nebraska cow-calf operator $1,300 annually to keep a cow.

The following hypothetical scenario may help understand these terms:
· A cow-calf operator exposes 100 cows to bulls the summer of 2024.
· Out of the 100 cows, there were 95 calves born alive in the spring of 2025.
· Out of the 95 calves born alive, 90 calves survived through weaning in the fall of 2025.
· All 90 calves weighed 45,000 lb at weaning.
o Calf crop = 90 calves born to 100 cows exposed to the breeding season, 90%
o Weaning weight = 45,000 lb from 90 calves that reached weaning, 500 lb
o Effective weaning weight, 45,000 lb from 100 cows exposed to breeding, 450 lb

Using the average cow cost for 2023, this hypothetical herd spent $130,000 to feed and care for 100 cows for one year. The cost of carrying a calf to weaning was $1,444.44 ($130,000 divided by 90 calves). Alternatively, one could express this as the dollars required to breakeven on a per pound basis: $2.88/lb ($130,000 divided by 45,000 lb).

Firstly, after considering costs, high feeder calf prices do not seem so high. Secondly, when it is expensive to carry a cow, as in Nebraska, there are only two strategies to offset costs: growth (for greater weaning weight) and fertility and health maintenance (to get the most calves from cows exposed to breeding).

Consider for a minute a change in cost from either $1,300 to $1,200 or from $1,300 to $1,400 annually per cow in this scenario with no change in effective weaning weight. The corresponding change in breakeven would be from $2.88 to $2.67/lb or from $2.88 to $3.11/lb.

Alternatively, consider a change in weaned weight from 45,000 to 50,000 lb. (For instance, the producer still weans 90 calves but now they each weigh ~555 lb each at weaning). At $1,300 per cow annual cost, breakeven price per pound would be $2.60/lb. Similarly, the producer could achieve the same total weaning weight of 50,000 by achieving 100% calf crop at weaning (and each calf weighing 500 lb at weaning).

In both these cases, the breakeven price would improve from $2.88/lb for a herd producing 45,000 lb at weaning with an annual cow cost of $1,300/cow to $2.60/lb either for a herd producing 50,000 lb at weaning with the same annual cow cost but with greater weaning weight (50,000 from 90 calves weaned) or greater calf crop (50,000 from 100 calves weighing 500 lb each at weaning).

Altering cow cost requires first that we know these costs for each operation and that we understand what areas to focus on. Although this requires analysis and intervention, both of which

take time, producers should not dismiss it as a continued strategy to improve profitability.

Improving reproductive success is also the result of multiple strategies that require analysis and focused intervention to yield improvements and, also, should be constantly pursued.

This leaves two areas of improvement to work on as calves grow, particularly as producers approach calving and the pre-weaning period: maintenance of health of the calf and nutrition of calf (and cow).

A review of health protocols with the operation’s veterinarian and timely implementation of these should contribute to preserve health of the calves. Also, consideration of strategies that enhance calf growth pre-weaning such as use of calf implants and creep feeding should be made.

After all, this is payday for cow-calf operators, and it may not last long.



Nebraska Beef Council April Board Meeting Notice
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The Nebraska Beef Council Board of Directors will meet at the NBC office in Kearney, NE located at 1319 Central Ave. on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, beginning at 10:00 a.m. CST. The NBC Board of Directors will review the 2025-2026 Strategic Priorities and receive program updates from staff members. For more information and the complete meeting agenda, contact the Nebraska Beef Council at info@nebeef.org.



Smith, Larson, Fischbach, Panetta Reintroduce Bill to Expand Access to Veterinarians in Rural Areas

Thursday Reps. Adrian Smith (R-NE), John Larson (D-CT), Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) introduced the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act, legislation to help address the shortages in essential veterinary services facing rural communities.

Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

The members released the following statements:

“Veterinarians are vital to the work of Americas farmers and ranchers and the integrity of our food supply chain. Yet many areas of the country suffer from lack of access to their services," said Rep. Smith. "This bipartisan bill would make commonsense tax relief available to veterinarians who choose to live and work in the communities which need their help to care for their livestock and protect the agriculture industry from pests and disease. I thank my colleagues for joining me to reintroduce it."

“Veterinarians are essential not just to the health of our beloved pets, but the well-being of livestock and the safety of our food supply in Connecticut and across the country,” said Rep. Larson. “By expanding access to veterinarian student loan reimbursement, our bipartisan legislation will help alleviate care disparities for livestock in our rural communities and make it more affordable for students to pursue a veterinary career path.”

“The Rural Veterinary Workforce Act will eliminate unnecessary taxes to ensure quality treatment for veterinarians in rural communities like those in Minnesota’s Seventh District so they can continue their important work caring for America’s livestock and maintaining our supply chains,” said Rep. Fischbach. “I am proud to introduce this legislation with my Ways and Means colleagues to maximize the impact of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program for rural America.”

“Rural communities across the country continue to face shortages of veterinarians, putting strain on farmers, ranchers, and our food supply,” said Rep. Panetta. “The Rural Veterinary Workforce Act would fix an outdated tax policy that limits the impact of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program by making those loan repayments tax-exempt.  By strengthening this program, we can ensure rural areas throughout the country have access to the veterinary care they need.”

Additional cosponsors of the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act include: Randy Feenstra (R-IA), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), David Rouzer (R-NC), Mike Carey (R-OH), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Don Davis (D-NC), Trent Kelly (R-MS), Brad Finstad (R-MN), and Betty McCollum (D-MN)

The legislation is supported by the American Veterinary Medial Association (AVMA). AVMA released the following statement on the legislation:

“Recruiting and retaining veterinarians through the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act is key to protecting our nation’s food supply, preserving animal welfare, and upholding public health,” said Dr. Sandra Faeh, AVMA President. “Livestock and public health veterinarians are essential to strengthening the nation’s animal health infrastructure and agricultural economy. We urge Congress to address this increasingly important issue by passing the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act.”

The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) provides student loan reimbursement to veterinarians who chose to practice for three years in federally designated shortage areas. A similar program, the National Health Service Corps, provides loan repayments to medical doctors and other human health practitioners.

Despite the similarity of these programs, National Health Service Corps loan repayments are exempt from federal withholding tax, while VMLRP payments are not. To address this inconsistency, The Rural Veterinary Workforce Act would codify a similar exemption for VMLRP.



Ricketts Questions EPA General Counsel Nominee on Need to “Follow the Law” in the Renewable Fuel Standard

U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, this week pushed for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to follow the law and issue timely Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs). Ricketts questioned Sean Donahue, who has been nominated to be the top attorney at EPA.

“As the general counsel, you'll give the advice to the agency with regard to what they're supposed to be doing to follow the law,” Ricketts said. “One of those laws, the Renewable Fuel Standard, very clearly mandates periodic rulemakings for the Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs). This is something where the last administration failed to comply with the law. In June of 2022, the Biden administration published retroactive rulemakings in 2020-2021 and 2022 that under-protected biofuel volumes by billions of gallons. The 2023 RVOs were published a year later, too late in the year for producers or the fuel markets to adjust. The 2026 RVOs were due November 2024, but won't actually be published until December 2025. Again, the last administration failed to follow the law.”

“What the EPA is supposed to be doing with regards to their obligations on the RVOs, getting those published in a timely matter,” Ricketts said. “What I'm asking you is you will you give the administration, the EPA, the advice that they need to follow the statutory RVOs and do it in a timely manner as the law prescribes?”

“We will follow the law, Senator,” Donahue said.

Ricketts made the comments in a nominations hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The hearing considered the nominations of Brian Nesvik to be Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Jessica Kramer to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Sean Donahue to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.



Iowa Corn Farmers Gather at the State Capitol to Discuss ‘25 Policy Priorities

This week, Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) members gathered at the State Capitol for the “Iowa Corn Day on the Hill” lobbying event. The delegation included the ICGA Board, county leaders, grassroots members and student FFA members from across the state.  

Members in attendance pushed for extending the 9 cent E15 tax credit to support fuel retailers as they begin selling or work to update pump infrastructure to sell more E15 under the Biofuels Access Standard. They also advocated for consistent and clear crop protection labeling that aligns with the EPA’s own determinations for safety and health warnings, allowing farmers to continue utilizing crop protection tools while having clear guidelines for use. Members also shared the value of the Iowa Corn Checkoff by discussing current research, market development and education projects that are increasing and driving corn demand around the world.  

“As ICGA members, we understand how important it is to let our voices be heard,” said Stu Swanson, ICGA President and farmer from Galt, Iowa. “’Iowa Corn Day on the Hill’ allows farmers to connect one-on-one with legislators to share our ICGA policy priorities while sharing our personal stories. It is an important day with an incredible amount of value for Iowa corn farmers.”

In honor of Iowa Ag Week, “Day on the Hill” participants also donated non-perishable food items to the Food Bank of Iowa. Over 49 pounds of food and personal care items were donated to help support Iowans facing food insecurity.

As a long-standing, well-respected agricultural organization, the Iowa Corn Growers Association serves as a collective voice for Iowa’s corn farmers on agricultural issues at the state and federal level. Grassroots members from across the state are the backbone of our organization and the driving force behind our policy development and implementation efforts. We continue to work towards policies that protect the interest of our members and the Iowa corn industry.

If you missed this Day on the Hill event, we encourage you to contact your legislators by other means, including by participating in calls to action or attending local town halls. To see ICGA’s full list of state and federal priorities for 2025, visit iowacorn.org/policy.



ASA Congratulates New USDA FPAC Leadership

USDA last week announced key presidential appointments to the Farm Production and Conservation FPAC mission area, including several familiar soy faces.

The FPAC mission area includes the Farm Service Agency, Risk Management Agency, and Natural Resources Conservation Service. These agencies play a vital role in delivering USDA programs directly to farmers and ranchers across the country, including disaster assistance, risk management and conservation efforts.

Pat Swanson, Administrator for the Risk Management Agency
American Soybean Association Director Pat Swanson (IA) will serve as the administrator for the Risk Management Agency within Farm Production and Conservation. Most recently, Swanson completed her term on the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board. Along with her husband, Don, Pat has experience running a crop insurance agency, helping farmers in southeastern Iowa manage risk through crop, forage, pasture and livestock insurance.

Swanson and her family run a seventh-generation farm near Ottumwa, Iowa. They raise soybeans, corn, and have a cow-calf operation. Swanson is an alumna of Iowa State University and is passionate about advocating for farmers through her involvement with Iowa 4-H, CommonGround Iowa and her work with ASA.

Brooke Appleton, Deputy Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation
Brooke Shupe Appleton serves as the deputy under secretary for Farm Production and Conservation. Appleton was most recently the head of government affairs for NCGA and before that served as ASA CEO Stephen Censky's first Chief of Staff during his time as Deputy Secretary of USDA under the first Trump administration. Prior to her time at USDA, Appleton worked at the National Association of Wheat Growers and started her career on Capitol Hill working for U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (MO).

Bill Beam, Administrator for the Farm Service Agency
Bill Beam will serve as the administrator for the Farm Service Agency within Farm Production and Conservation. Beam is a long-time ASA member and was deputy administrator of FSA during the first Trump administration.

Beam is from Elverson, Pennsylvania, where he owns and operates Beam Farms, Inc. with his family. He’s served on various boards and committees including the Pennsylvania Soybean Board, United Soybean Board, United States Soybean Export Council, Rural Investment to Protect Our Environment and Tel Hai Board.

Aubrey Bettencourt, Chief of the Natural Resource Conservation Service
Aubrey Bettencourt will serve as Chief of the Natural Resource Conservation Service. She is a prominent leader in agriculture, water, and sustainability, most recently serving as the global director of government relations and external affairs for Netafim, an Orbia Company. Her previous roles include serving as president and CEO of the Almond Alliance and deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of the Interior in the first Trump administration.



USDA releases Census of Agriculture data for the U.S. Virgin Islands

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the 2023 Census of Agriculture data for the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) today.

The most widely used statistics in the agriculture industry, the Census of Agriculture, is conducted every five years and provides the most comprehensive and impartial agriculture data at the island level. “We thank the producers who gave their time to complete the questionnaire. The Census of Agriculture data tells their agriculture story,” said NASS Administrator Joseph Parsons. “The agricultural census data provides vital data that helps shape policies, allocate resources, and support the growth and sustainability of agriculture in the U.S. Virgin Islands.”

Federal and local governments, agribusinesses, organizations, universities, and many more use the Census of Agriculture data to support funding research and programs to improve farming techniques and equipment, building infrastructure for high-speed internet, providing effective production and distribution systems as well as natural disaster preparation, response, and recovery assistance.

Highlights from the 2023 Census of Agriculture for USVI:
    There were 619 farms, up by 54 farms from the last census. Land in farms totaled 8,092 acres, with an average farm size of 13.1 acres.
    The total value of sales was $4.2 million, with an average value of $6,787 per farm.
    Vegetables represented the largest category of production, with sales of $2.2 million.
 
The Census of Agriculture in USVI defined a farm as any place from which $500 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, in 2023.

The full Census of Agriculture report as well as publication dates for additional data products from the census can be found at nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.