SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Field Office of NASS has released the USDA’s Dec. 1 Hogs and Pigs Report.

The number of hogs and pigs in Illinois on Dec. 1, 2012, was 4.60 million head, down 1 percent from Dec. 1, 2011. Breeding hogs on hand were estimated at 490,000 head, up 2 percent from a year ago. Market hogs, at 4.11 million head, were down 1 percent from a year ago.

The pig crop during September, October and November of 2012 was 2.50 million pigs, down 1 percent from the same period in 2011. There were 250,000 sows that farrowed, down 2 percent from a year earlier. The litter rate for the quarter averaged 10.00 pigs saved, up from 9.90 for the same quarter last year.