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Everyone involved with the hog
industry since the mid-1990s knows of rapid transformation that has
occurred. The following illustrations demonstrate the speed at which
these transformations have taken place. |
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Hog Inventory
•
Hog Operations
•
Average Farm
Size |
| Hog Inventory—The
most significant change is the emergence of hog production in North
Carolina since the mid-1990s and with the exceptions of Iowa and
Minnesota, a reduction in hog numbers in the Midwest. Also, note the
change in the geographic center of production has shifted slightly to
the East, but not as significantly as the increase in hog production in
North Carolina would imply. This is due to increases in hog production
in the Great Plains. |
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| Hog Operations—The
total number of hog operations has steadily declined since 1965, while
the geographic center of operations has shifted West. This shift in the
geographic center of production is due to the fewer number of large
operations in the East, large number of smaller-sized operations in the
Midwest, and increases in hog operations in the Great Plains. |
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| Average
Farm Size—Average farm size measures the average number of hogs
per operation and is not necessarily implied by looking at the Hog
Inventory and Hog Operations charts. Notice the steadiness of the chart
until the mid 1990s and then the rapid increase in average farm size.
This increase corresponds to the rapid consolidations that have occurred
since the mid 1990s and the subsequent concentration of hog production
by fewer and fewer operations. |
