Posted by DLMKA on November 25, 2015 at 12:26:28 from (65.121.44.50):
In Reply to: Butcher Hog Price posted by Matt E. on November 25, 2015 at 09:17:44:
I started raising pigs last year out on grass/dirt. Two sows, grind my own feed (have to buy corn, SBM, and mineral + occasionally some oats for sows). I'm attempting to move pigs to new paddocks every week or so to minimize parasite load in the soil and keep it from just getting mashed down to bare dirt. I have Bershires which are not the fast growing York/duroc/landrace crosses used in confinements. If I wanted tasteless pork I'd get it at the store. The first hogs we've taken to market have taken about 8 months to finish, I'm limit feeding in pans and not free feeding. It takes almost 1000 lbs of feed to finish one to 280-300lbs. You can't buy piglets for much less than $50-75 on Craigslist. If you JUST take into account feed and piglet cost (direct expenses) it costs about $240 to finish one.
At $1/lb your BIL is making $40-45 per head. Let's assume he's just doing it for fun and raising 10 at a time and it takes him 30 minutes twice a day to go feed and water, check fence, make repairs, etc. He makes about $1.80/hr for his labor. Throw in all the indirect expenses for feeders, waterers, bedding, fence, electricity for fencer and well and he's likely losing money.
I charge by hanging weight at locker, not live weight and get $2.75/lb hanging which works to be ~$2.06/lb live. I've got a waiting list on hogs with paid deposits through December next year. I figure I still make less than $10/hr. I'm not going to get rich doing it and sometimes I question why I waste my time but I enjoy doing it and I can feed my family better quality meat without antibiotics, dewormers, and confinement buildings. My pigs roll in mud, lay in the sun, eat grass and weeds, and root up dirt like pigs ought to. I feel good knowing every one I bring to the locker has had just one bad day in their life, I'm okay with that. Plus, it gives me a reason to buy tractors and old equipment and farm like my grandpa did.
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