COLUMBUS, Ohio — The porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus that hit Ohio producers hard last year was expected to leave a horrible, lasting effect. But the USDA stated Ohio is reporting a 16 percent year-over-year increase in its pig population as of June 1.

The state herd of almost 2.4 million pigs as of June 1 was Ohio’s largest in 25 years. One reason given for the increase this year is that farmers anticipated another season of the deadly virus, but weren’t hit as hard this time.

“When you go through any type of crisis, you overcompensate for things,” said Pat Hord, of Hord Family Farms in Crawford County. Hord said he and other farmers he knows tried to breed more sows to be better prepared.

Federal agricul-ture officials say other states have also seen rebounds as producers responded to last year’s losses by breeding more pigs. The U.S herd had grown 9 percent, to nearly 67 million.

Consumers are expected to benefit from the surge in the pig population, with pork prices nationally falling nearly 7 percent from last May to this May, according to federal ag officials who say that trend is likely to continue. Steve Moeller, swine specialist with The Ohio State University extension, said Ohio’s swine growth should continue, even if it is at a slower, incremental rate.

“A couple of things are happening that are important for the swine industry in Ohio,” Moeller explained. “The industry overall is expanding. We have some forward-thinking producers in the state, and those producers have maintained positions to expand.

“Ohio farmers grow a lot of the food pigs eat, including corn, soybeans and byproducts of ethanol production. That makes pig production an easy add-on operation for many grain farmers.”

Nationally, worries about the PED virus are mostly over and producers, like those in Ohio, responded to last year’s losses by breeding more pigs. According to the Ohio Pork Council, the state is the nation’s eighth-largest pork producer, at 1.1 billion pounds and more than $1.8 billion in economic impact.

“Most of it is a reaction to trying to get back to previous levels,” said Doug Bounds, an agricultural statistician at the USDA.

Pork prices soared last year to record highs, putting pressure on consumers and food companies. For example, Bob Evans Farms, which makes pork sausage for retail sales and runs more than 500 restaurants, blamed part of its slump last year on high sow prices. The company is seeing better profits this year thanks in part to sow prices that have fallen 36 percent from a year ago.

“Falling prices might force producers to curb their growth a bit, but I don’t expect the state to maintain anything like double-digit growth,” Hord said. “It looks like we are in for some challenging pricing for a period of time, so there might be some more caution in the coming years.”

Ohio’s growth should continue at a slow, incremental rate, Moeller said. A new packing plant in Coldwater, Mich., which drew several Ohio investors, is making the state more favorable for raising pigs and expanding operations.

“Ohio producers are in a great location to help meet the plant’s demand for pigs,” he said.