American hog producers have a lot of animals on their farms.
The USDA says the total hog and pig inventory on September 1st was 68 point 4 million head - 4 per cent higher than it was a year ago - and the highest inventory since quarterly U-S estimates began in 1988.
U-S breeding inventory on September 1st was up 1 per cent from a year ago - the market hog inventory up 4 per cent.
The department reports the June to August 2015 pig crop of 30 point 6 million head was up 1 per cent from 2014.
U-S farrowing intentions for the September-November quarter are down 2 per cent from a year ago, while the December to February intentions are down 1 per cent.