The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is changing the market hogs and pigs weight groups beginning with the December 2009 Quarterly Hogs and Pigs release.
The market weight group under 60 pounds will be changed to under 50 pounds. The market weight group 60-119 pounds will be changed to 50-119 pounds. The 120-179 pounds and 180 pounds and over weight groups will remain the same.
These changes align NASS market hogs and pigs weight groups more closely with international trade data. Statistics Canada is making similar changes to the Canadian market hogs and pigs categories. This will allow for a more uniform analysis of the U.S. and Canadian hog inventories.
Estimates will be published in the December 2009 Quarterly Hogs and Pigs release for the new weight groups dating back to March 2008 at the U.S. and state levels using slaughter data and current import and export data. These estimates will allow for historical analysis of the new weight groups and will provide a point of reference for proceeding quarters.
Following each quarterly hog report, NASS and Statistics Canada release the United States and Canadian Hogs report. This report combines NASS hog and pig estimates with quarterly hog statistics released by Statistics Canada. These and all NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov.
For more information, call the NASS Minnesota Field Office at (800) 453-7502.
