Two reports, released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week, showed the U.S. cattle and hog inventories are shrinking compared to last year.

The quarterly hogs and pigs report, released Sept. 24, showed the U.S. hog herd stood at 75.4 million head on Sept. 1, down 4% from 2020. Similarly, Iowa’s hog population shrank by 3% to 23.6 million head.

Nationally, the hog breeding inventory, at 6.19 million head, was down 2% from last year. Market hog inventory, at 69.2 million head, was down 4% from last year but up 1% from last quarter. The June-August 2021 pig crop,...