Good News in the pig trade

[Suffolk Serf]

Our good news on the pig front: Young lady started coming to the farm couple of years ago for her DofE volunteering, no farming background, realised she loved working with livestock so carried on coming. A few months ago a chap wanted a steer calf off us, against my better judgement we swapped it for a sow and piglets on the basis I would have nothing to do with them, Aoife was made pig manager and has had sole responsibility for them, last week she sold her first batch of pork boxes, the experience has got her a place at Plumpton for September. Feckin sow is back in pig so I guess we are now pig farmers .

View attachment 1019736

Best time to start, when the only way is up.

 

[Suffolk Serf]

It is a job to trim numbers when the next lot is coming along for next week though.

All round my processor has been pretty fair, they have asked for a few more pigs odd times to keep the weights down, the private butchers that take most of my pigs haven't let the bottom drop out of the gilt sales which is good, boars are more of a problem, they have asked me to castrate which despite not being RT I am not about to do, I haven't done that for well over 30 years.

We used Improvac for a while for a berkshire cross job. Not sure what's worse, castrating a piglet while in danger of being attacked by a very cross sow or jabbing boars twice in the finishing pens.

 

[Pan mixer]

I see that the German price is up by a few cents and the cull sow job has gone up a bit too. Maybe green shoots.

Sadly due to the Ukrainian situation the cost of production has gone up by more than that this week.

 

[Gerbert]

Is three a big price difference between regular and organic? Going organic might be an option then but not a short term fix I know.
Worked for me.

 

[Tim G]

Is three a big price difference between regular and organic? Going organic might be an option then but not a short term fix I know.
Worked for me.

I suspect that it would be a case of inputs costing a whole heap more and output increasing very little.

 

[LT1]

• European price up 4.33p/kg last week
• German price up 6.26p/kg in the last week or approx. 10p/kg over the last two weeks
• Spain up 9.32p/kg over the last two weeks
• Belgium up 12.8p/kg in the last two weeks

These are a few glimmers of hope out of Europe in the last few weeks, hopefully the SPP follows the above in picking up

 

[Pan mixer]

I suspect that it would be a case of inputs costing a whole heap more and output increasing very little.

and some difficulty with organic people being only minutely differentiated from vegetarians.

 

[Pan mixer]

• European price up 4.33p/kg last week
• German price up 6.26p/kg in the last week or approx. 10p/kg over the last two weeks
• Spain up 9.32p/kg over the last two weeks
• Belgium up 12.8p/kg in the last two weeks

These are a few glimmers of hope out of Europe in the last few weeks, hopefully the SPP follows the above in picking up

Exactly the sort of thing that I started this thread for, thanks.

 

[Suffolk Serf]

Is three a big price difference between regular and organic? Going organic might be an option then but not a short term fix I know.
Worked for me.

I'm outdoor bred and free range finished so almost organic. The problem is that costs are much higher and the market very limited when you consider that nearly 50% of Uk sows are kept outdoors, aiming at a premium market also.

 

[Suffolk Serf]

Continental pig prices up about 12 euro cents this week, on the back of tighter supplies. Our SPP up a mighty 0.57p, here we go!

 

[Pan mixer]

Continental pig prices up about 12 euro cents this week, on the back of tighter supplies. Our SPP up a mighty 0.57p, here we go!

Any little ski-jump at the end of that downward slope is extremely lovely.

 

[Suffolk Serf]

Any little ski-jump at the end of that downward slope is extremely lovely.

PC was quite bullish when I spoke to him a few minutes ago. Maybe soon we can start thread like the "combinable crop prices" one that I can't bear to read but do.

 

[Pan mixer]

PC was quite bullish when I spoke to him a few minutes ago. Maybe soon we can start thread like the "combinable crop prices" one that I can't bear to read but do.

PC being bullish is almost the best sign

 

[bitwrx]

I mean, basically, that's all we can do.

 

[radar]

Movement off farm would be better if Morrisons didn't break down so often - another week with none gone!

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Okay, i've had two separate indirect approaches from niche London wholesalers. Not really my thing I think as they want rare breeds, might think about it if they pay plenty.

Surely you have whatever breed they want?

 

[bitwrx]

Movement off farm would be better if Morrisons didn't break down so often - another week with none gone!

Not just pilgrim's then? Keep getting bumped from Wed to Thurs/Fri. Happy to be moving pigs, obv, but doesn't half knacker up the routine!

 

[LT1]

this is the current German pig price; notice the big spike in the last few weeks! It’s 20p/kg
Hopefully this will cause the SPP to respond especially as at that price it can’t be cheaper to import it with delivery on that cost

 

[Suffolk Serf]

Movement off farm would be better if Morrisons didn't break down so often - another week with none gone!

Not just pilgrim's then? Keep getting bumped from Wed to Thurs/Fri. Happy to be moving pigs, obv, but doesn't half knacker up the routine!

So far, early days, only been selling to them for a couple of months, Karro have been superb. Same time slot each week, same numbers. It means loading at 4am every Friday, but that's better than the alternative.

 

[Pan mixer]

I am predicting that, at those German prices, the backlog of pigs will disappear very quickly and mysteriously.