Starting from Scratch - Advice Welcomed!

MattJVR85

Member
Livestock Farmer
Hi All,

I am after some advise here if possible.

I would like to get in to pig farming as I have decided to call it quits with the corporate world. I am in the process of selling my house so would be using the money from this to start if I can. The only way I can see this happening is to buy 10 acres, and then pop a caravan on it till I can start getting some cash flow in. ( I am familiar with the legislation around this) I cant afford the current small holding prices! I would start with about 20 Gilts, a rare breed that will be targeted towards restaurants etc.

Is agricultural land a good investment, as I am essentially using my life savings or I am just being crazy for doing this?
 

bluebell

Member
seems a cheap? way round to get a house, dwelling in the countryside, everyone about seen it done, abused, time and time again, councils and local authorities have now got wise to it, unless you class yourself a traveller, or gipsy then all the rules and regulations applicable about building, developing ,,living in the greenbelt with no permissions dont apply? Back to my point when i wanted to build live on my holding, the process i started 10 years ago, was both costly and through, you had to show both a need, for animal welfare, and finanticial figures, backed up by history and investment, in my case going back 20 odd years,
 

BRB John

Member
BASIS
Location
Aberdeenshire
Hey

I have £130,000
5 years experience

no customer base at the moment, but have had interest from a buying group. Will be looking to get contracts in place initially if I can start
£130,000 plus your house?
It's certainly do able but it's not going to be easy.
I'm not involved in the pig industry but as I understand it's not particularly profitable so maybe farmers markets is your best shot at maximising profits.
 

Flatlander

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lorette Manitoba
Very admirable that your willing to put all you have into a new venture. I did when moving here but to sell your home and give up a job to raise a relatively small number of pigs and expect to make a living needs to be looked into a lot deeper. Feed prices are an all time high and I think recession is around the corner so won’t be many consumers want to pay extra for ethically raised pork. As said find a place to rent a pig barn and see how it goes before you dig the hole too deep and potentially loose everything. Even a open shed could be used to loose house grower pigs if sectioned off fir sizes
 

delilah

Member
Only do it if you will be adding value to the land, ie getting some of it made brown field, that way you have an exit strategy.
And then only do it if you have at least 3 abattoirs to choose from (one will shut in the next 5 years, one will rob you, you need the third).
And then only do it if you are prepared to get butchery trained; if you pay the abattoir to do the cutting there will be no margin.
And then only do it if you have a large population to sell to. Less than 5% will be interested.
 

BigBarl

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
South Notts
I would not be putting any of my savings into pig farming at the moment! I would stick with your corporate job and try to borrow some cash to start something up alongside until your in a point where you can live off the pigs. The corporate world may be a pain but it pays the bills - 20 gilts won’t.
 

Tamar

Member
Ag land is probably a good investment, but I think what you will gain on the land you will lose on the pigs !!

If you can find the land, make sure there is an abattoir that kills pigs close at hand and a good butcher.

Good luck. I think you might need it.
 

Veryfruity

Member
Sell direct to consumers, and be very professional.

Push yourself up the food chain by adding value, bacon, sausages, hog roast. Make good sausages and bacon and they will come.

People talk about rare breeds, rather than eat them. If you’re going that way cross rare sows them to a meaty terminal. Or go for Hampshires that look like a rare breed.

Be careful to think big enough, you can get trapped being too busy breaking even to make money. And being skint Wears thin.

Pigs are straightforward but make sure you’ve got an experienced stockman to help.

Good on you. A man’s reach should exceed his grasp. Else whats a heaven for.
 
I'm looking to get out of pig farming and get a proper job.

Sorry, being a bit flippant. When things are good, pig farming is great. When not so good it is utter misery.
I started at age 22 in 1987 with 60 sows on 8 rented acres. Had good times and bad, built up to 1250 outdoor sows selling weaners and more latterly 450 selling free range finished pigs. The last year in particular has been utter misery and soon there will be virtually no independent pig producers left, it will be all corporate, with independent farmers keeping pigs on contract for the corporates.
There are a few people doing the niche thing that you propose. It isn't easy.
Maybe, now things are still dreadful, is the perfect time to start?
 

Bald n Grumpy

Member
Livestock Farmer
Not sure what part of the country your in but good luck , 130k probably won't buy you 10 acres around here and zero chance of planning for a caravan with a view to a permanent dwelling.
 

Chieftain

Member
Mixed Farmer
£130k will soon disappear if you're buying any decent land, breeding stock, and feed, so be aware a loan might be necessary. Would recommend the hog roast business if you're going down this small herd route, can make a lot of money in a short space of time if you do local ag shows, corporate events, weddings ect. Obviously, that will take time to build a name and customer base so you will inevitably lose before you earn and it will take a lot of effort to get to where you need to be. But once you've built a name, then you can look at restaurants and butchers and people will (hopefully) buy your stuff on reputation and you've got a living for yourself.

With regards to land, depends a lot on your local area. Smaller plots of land can either be worthless or a fortune depending on who's buying so you'll have to use your own judgment on what is worth what. Definitely better than money in the bank at the moment though.
 
A local who started up a few years ago who was selling to farm shops has just pulled out. He was small scale.

Everyone is selling fancy pork sausages with pretty logos on but no one, especially in this current climate is paying the prices for it.

Think very long and hard, in 4 yrs you could have lost it all and smell of pig sh1t for your troubles…
 

Grass And Grain

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Yorks
Hi All,

I am after some advise here if possible.

I would like to get in to pig farming as I have decided to call it quits with the corporate world. I am in the process of selling my house so would be using the money from this to start if I can. The only way I can see this happening is to buy 10 acres, and then pop a caravan on it till I can start getting some cash flow in. ( I am familiar with the legislation around this) I cant afford the current small holding prices! I would start with about 20 Gilts, a rare breed that will be targeted towards restaurants etc.

Is agricultural land a good investment, as I am essentially using my life savings or I am just being crazy for doing this?
How about renting a field for a few years. You can raise pigs in arcs, tents, cheap moveable saleable accommodation. See how it goes for a few years.
Maybe, to start with, even buy in the pigs ready for slaughter? Sort of come at it from the opposite way. If you can sell to restaurants and build a business, then get your own sows. Appreciate this doesn't have the full provenance story.
 

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