questions for pig farmers

[spin cycle]

in our local paper (edp) the farming section carried a big article about how pigs were making a £10 loss/hd....peter crichton was quoted outlining problems

the next page peter crichton is advertising for largish amount of ground for client to run outdoor pigs

not having a go but what is the truth?....i mean joe public reading that today are going to be sceptical reading that

if you are loosing £10/pig how on earth do you stand it? ....i mean thats £400/wk per 100 sows

 

[JP1]

in our local paper (edp) the farming section carried a big article about how pigs were making a £10 loss/hd....peter crichton was quoted outlining problems

the next page peter crichton is advertising for largish amount of ground for client to run outdoor pigs

not having a go but what is the truth?....i mean joe public reading that today are going to be sceptical reading that

if you are loosing £10/pig how on earth do you stand it? ....i mean thats £400/wk per 100 sows

More pressure for sows to move outside and sow herd sizes to increase

I'm surprised on finishers it's only £10 / head right now, many of the independents are really hurting right now

 

[Suffolksucklers]

in our local paper (edp) the farming section carried a big article about how pigs were making a £10 loss/hd....peter crichton was quoted outlining problems

the next page peter crichton is advertising for largish amount of ground for client to run outdoor pigs

not having a go but what is the truth?....i mean joe public reading that today are going to be sceptical reading that

if you are loosing £10/pig how on earth do you stand it? ....i mean thats £400/wk per 100 sows

I saw that and thought the same thing

 

[Pan mixer]

I think that I am losing at least that much, the only good thing is that I am losing a lot less than I was a few months ago.

The ideal time to expand a pig herd is when the price is low. The big boys ( I am small and independent and indoors) want to expand the outdoor job where the capital cost is a mere fraction of indoor pig keeping - for sows at any rate.

I also woke up to the farming programme this morning going on about how soon we are going to have to rebuild our current crated farrowing houses, since none of the indoor free access crates work without the building being totally slatted I would have to build a slurry handling system and storage lagoons, pumps and so on as well as construct 4 new farrowing houses with the new kit in them.

I have no idea how much this will cost but assume that it will be well over a quarter of a million even if I could get planning.

I will be leaving the pig industry in that event for definite, the big processor/farmer combinations will be taking up the slack from people like me I suppose and the local butchers will no longer get a choice where they get their pigs and take down the signs that they display saying where the pork is born and reared on straw and without slats.

 

[Nukemall]

Stick or twist, it's Vegas baby ... but without the glamour.

You can't get out when you the stock is worth nothing, so you have to keep going.

Best time to expand is when the market is on the floor if your pockets are deep enough.
I'm sure there are a lot of arable farmers queuing up to get into pigs at the moment with the end of bps round the corner. In fact I am offering a few weeks of work experience at the moment cleaning out dirty summer finishing pens if there are any takers.

 

[Suffolk Serf]

I’m having to consider my position very much at the moment. I won’t say too much here publicly but it followed some pretty harsh treatment of me by a big integrator.
Thank goodness for a good neighbour my weaners aren’t totally homeless.

 

[Nukemall]

Sincerely hope all works out for you. Your not the first I have heard of being treated very unfairly.

 

[Suffolk Serf]

Sincerely hope all works out for you. Your not the first I have heard of being treated very unfairly.

A man who has worked for me for nearly 30 years told me a few months ago that if I "fall in sh!t you always come up smelling of roses" and so it proved after that bit of difficulty.
I had to ask him to repeat it again the other day.

 

[Suffolk Serf]

I saw that and thought the same thing

Reading between the lines, it is probably a contract breeder for one of the big outfits that has not got a fresh site to move to this autumn as the land isn't light enough- but has good references from the current landlord.

 

[spin cycle]

Reading between the lines, it is probably a contract breeder for one of the big outfits that has not got a fresh site to move to this autumn as the land isn't light enough- but has good references from the current landlord.

used to be just the sandy soils around here but increasingly you see pigs on grade 2 sandy clay loams

 

[Suffolk Serf]

used to be just the sandy soils around here but increasingly you see pigs on grade 2 sandy clay loams

Quite near to me an outdoor unit appeared on a totally unsuitable site, yes the topsoil was sandy loam, but underneath that was clay. The result was utter carnage for two or three years and some very upset neighbours.
I bought a lot of huts at the sale when the inevitable happened.