Not to be lost during the recent wonderful holiday season: the USDA’s quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report, which came out just before Christmas. As of Dec. 1, the U.S. hog and pig inventory was 2 percent larger than the previous year but still .3 percent smaller than 2012. The really good news was that despite PEDv, hog producers expanded the herd during the last year at levels that mirror my waistline after the holidays. The Dec. 1 swine breeding herd was a whopping 3.7 bigger than the prior year, the largest annual gain since the Broncos were on their way to their first Super Bowl win in 1997. Good news for pork buyers. From The Maloni Report and www.AmericanRestaurantAssociation.com.