Nothing is more sickening to a farmer or rancher than waking up to a field damaged by wild pigs. New research from the University of Georgia (UGA) is putting a number on the startling damage inflicted on farms and crops by this invasive species.
After viewing thousands of acres of damaged fields and wild pig activity in southwest Georgia, the research team estimates $107,000 in crop value lost per year. This did not include worker wages or equipment.
“Unfortunately, these pigs and their impact go just beyond what you might think,” says Justine Smith, lead author of the study and a doctoral student at UGA. “They impact our native wildlife and plants, both directly and indirectly. They’re incredibly disruptive. They cause a lot of damage.”
Wild pigs have been in the U.S. since the 1500s, but experts say their rampage on crops has increased over the last few decades as they uproot the seeds of crops once planted, trample plants in their early stages of growing and sometimes even chew through parts of farming equipment.
“Think of a mouse or rabbit and how quickly and how much they reproduce. Now make that into a large mammal and introduce it to an area where there’s no natural predators except for people,” Smith says. “Wild pig populations basically just exploded, and it has been a growing problem ever since.”
Smith says recent efforts to limit the wild pig population are helping, but it’s not an easy fix.
“You can’t take your foot off the pedal. If there hadn’t been continuous removal, we can think about how much more damage there would be. It speaks to the fact that these agriculture-based landscapes need more boots on the ground,” Smith says.
Eliminating Feral Hogs
Culling and trapping can cut down on the number of pigs in an area, researchers say, but it is still hard to keep up with the pigs’ high birth rate. Feral hogs reproduce rapidly, with sows breeding by 6 months of age and birthing two or three litters of six to 12 piglets a year.
Trapping feral hogs is neither simple nor quick because they become trap-shy and scatter when threatened, says Kevin Crider, University of Missouri Extension cooperative feral hog outreach educator. Pressured hogs move to new areas and begin breeding again.
He says wild pigs hide under the cover of dense forests and travel primarily at night. They root up ground in search of acorns, plant roots, earthworms and grubs. They tear up smaller trees by rubbing them. Both male and female feral hogs have tusks, which they use for defense. The males also use them to establish dominance. They make large wallows in moist areas and root up holes the size of truck tires in pastures.
Since 2014, 12 states have eradicated feral swine, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Efforts to curb the population growth of wild pigs is estimated to result in $40.2 billion in protected crop revenue.
“Missouri ranks second in the U.S. for total number of farms, so feral hogs are a problem Missouri ag producers cannot afford,” Crider says.
Feral hog occupancy of Missouri watersheds has fallen 84% since 2016, when the state’s Feral Hog Elimination Partnership began. This effort, funded by the U.S. farm bill and managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation, comprises 18 federal and state entities that work together to eliminate feral hogs on public and private lands.
Crider says 5,105 feral hogs were removed from Missouri watershed areas by aerial operations and trapping in 2024 alone. This compares to 7,880 the previous year. Experts say this is good news: It means there are fewer hogs out there.
Trump Addresses Gap in Funding
The 2018 farm bill authorized the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program (FSCP), a $75-million joint initiative administered by APHIS and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
The program has since supported 34 active projects across 12 Southern states, targeting some of the nation’s most heavily impacted agricultural regions. These projects combine on-the-ground hog removal by APHIS, restoration activities by NRCS and direct assistance to landowners through cost-share programs and community-led cooperatives.
“In Alabama, for example, producers across 173,000 acres participated in trapping initiatives that were credited with improving crop yields and water quality. In Georgia, corn yield losses dropped from 65% to 14% following project implementation, while in Mississippi, producers saved 85 hours per month on control efforts, translating to substantial labor cost savings,” writes Daniel Munch, an American Farm Bureau Federation economist.
Despite its demonstrated success, FSCP was not included in the most recent short-term extension of the 2018 farm bill. Unlike many permanent farm bill programs, FSCP was originally established as a temporary pilot initiative without baseline funding and was therefore excluded from automatic renewal when Congress passed the extension in 2024.
However, that gap has now been addressed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, which extends the FSCP through 2031 with renewed funding. The program’s inclusion ensures continued support for feral swine control efforts nationwide — particularly critical as invasive wild pigs now cause an estimated $1.6 billion in agricultural damages annually.
By providing long-term certainty, the reauthorization enables USDA and landowners to build on prior progress and expand successful removal, restoration and prevention efforts in affected areas.
Report Sightings
Organizations, agencies and researchers cannot be everywhere, and APHIS needs everyone’s help to report feral swine sightings. These reports of sick or dead pigs are important for early detection of diseases.
“Methods and strategies for managing the threat of an invasive species are determined by utilizing the most up-to-date information available,” APHIS says. “The best and most accurate data is obtained by many, including you.”
