UK pig population: further decline for the female breeding herd

Published 2024년 12월 17일

Tridge summary

The UK pig population has seen a slight increase of 0.7%, reaching 4.30 million head, due to a rise in fattening pigs. Despite this, the female breeding herd has experienced a third consecutive year of decline, dropping by 3.1% to 327,000 head. This is largely attributed to a decrease in the number of gilts in pig and other sows, although gilts intended for first-time breeding have seen a growth of 4.6%. Overall, breeding pig numbers have decreased by 1.7% to 421,000 head. Scotland has witnessed the most significant change in pig numbers out of the three main regions, which are England (78% of the population), Northern Ireland (15%), and Wales (less than 1%). These findings are based on a sample survey by the UK Agriculture departments June Survey/Census of Agriculture and are subject to sampling error.
Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The small year-on-year increase of 0.7% (32,000 head) seen in the overall UK pig population has been driven by an uplift in the number of fattening pigs. At 4.30 million head, fattening pig numbers have grown just shy of 1% (40,000 head) year-on-year but remain significantly lower than the 10-year average. However, the female breeding herd recorded a loss for the third consecutive year, back 11,000 head (3.1%) to 327,000 head as of 1 June 2024. Half of this decline was driven by a fall in the number of gilts in pig, with other sows (those either being suckled or dry sows kept for further breeding) also recoding significant losses. Sows in pig saw a smaller decline. Boars being used for service also fell for the third year in a row. On the contrary, gilts intended for first time breeding grew by 4,000 head (4.6%), offsetting some of the decline. This has resulted in total breeding pig numbers standing at 421,000 head, a 1.7% loss (7,000 head) compared to the same point in 2023. ...
Source: Ahdb

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