Hogs stable

Friday, February 18, 2011

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

Ontario’s hog numbers are stabilizing, says a strategist with Ontario Pork.

Patrick O’Neil says a Statistics Canada livestock report reveals modest increases in both the province’s sow and market hog numbers. Released Thursday, the report estimated livestock numbers across the country as of Jan. 1.

O’Neil says market hog supplies in Ontario are also up nearly one per cent, which was slightly higher than the 0.6 per cent increase listed for national numbers. Nationally, hog producers recorded 11.9 million hogs Jan. 1, which marked the first increase in the national numbers year-over-year since April 2006, the StatsCan report said. Ontario’s market hog numbers stood at about 2.5 million on Jan. 1.

The national sow herd stood at 1.3 million sows and gilts, a drop of 1.1 per cent from the same date a year earlier and a drop of 5.5 per cent from 2009. Ontario’s sow herd, numbering about 344,500, bucked this trend with a one per cent increase. “It looks like the Ontario sow herd may be stabilizing after decreasing at a rate that was much faster than the rest of the national average,” says O’Neil. The provincial herd has dropped nearly 21 per cent since its peak in 2004, he notes.

The industry’s stabilization “after just losing so much” is welcome for all of those involved, O’Neil says. But he warns that hog supplies could become tight in April because the number of animals weighing between 20 and 60 kilograms are down 3.9 per cent compared to a year ago. “That’s traditionally a time when hog supplies are really tight anyway, so the fact that they would be that much tighter still certainly has implications for processors,” he says.

According to the StatsCan report, the Jan. 1 national cattle inventory of 12.5 million cattle reflects a drop of 3.4 per cent from the same date a year earlier. It’s the lowest level for the month of January since 1995. The total beef cattle inventory fell 2.7 per cent although beef replacement heifer numbers increased. The dairy cow herd increased 0.6 per cent.

Nationally, the number of ewes rose 1.1 per cent nationally and replacement lamb numbers rose 7.6 per cent between Jan. 1 2010 and Jan. 1 2011. “Stronger sheep prices in 2010 were an incentive for sheep producers to retain more animals in the breeding herd and cut down on market lambs,” the report said. BF