[Fowlman]

About sums it up Hughesy    . I'm only in it so i know for a fact my pigs were raised ethically and if i cover costs and have a freezer full of pork i'm happy. I'm only dabbling admittedly as i dont have enough land.

[hughesy]

About sums it up Hughesy    . I'm only in it so i know for a fact my pigs were raised ethically and if i cover costs and have a freezer full of pork i'm happy. I'm only dabbling admittedly as i dont have enough land.

Which is absolutely great. I should point out that I wasn't having a go at anyone and that all pig keeping is great. Raising meat ethically is very important and many "hobby" breeders are doing great things to ensure the survival of our native breeds. And it is difficult to make any money out of it but not impossible.

[Fowlman]

Totally agree 

[RaisinHall Tamworths]

I've made this point before but there has to be a line drawn between hobby and business. it's not fair to compare to compare an enterprise which is seriously trying to make a living with one that is not. It does seem that often it's the people who have a wage paying job and keep pigs in their spare time that are the same people who tell us there's no money in pigs. And no point moaning about the cost of feed either we all know what the costs are and we have to cut our cloth to suit. Like I said before it is simple really. Turnover minus costs = profit or loss.

There is a big pig business near Penrith with thousands of sows that hasnt been able to make it pay and were going bust. Have heard that one of the big supermarkets have stepped in now to keep them going. Plenty have been selling up this year. A heck of a lot of big farms which appear to be expanded are purely funded by the bank and not by healthy profits. With the big ones it is either risk a lot and go bigger or pack up . So if the big ones cant make it pay not sure the little uns can either.
I would like to see pig feed come down and it has slightly this winter, wasnt moaning just commenting  . We will continue at the moment to breed what we do because we want to. We are happy and skint, obviously doing something wrong but who cares its only money

[hughesy]

I agree to some extent about the big farms. Trouble is they're at the mercy of the supermarkets and have no control of the price they will be paid for their output. It's totally different at the small end of the market. We have control over what we produce and when, and more importantly who we sell it to and what we charge for it. I firmly believe that to have any chance of success you've got to be in charge of some of the important decisions and the big farms that supply the supermarkets aren't.

[Curly Sue]

Wow, looks like I've dived into a hot topic here!! I too will have it work it out on paper and trial it in 2014. We've 2 small children who will love it so it will be worth it for them if nothing else. My father used to have a few and really enjoyed it, I know I will.
Turning to profitability, I can't see the price of pork changing much until consumers change their buying habits. At the moment they will buy as cheap as they can and the supermarkets will strive to meet that demand, turning the screw on producers to comply. The celebrity chefs have done a lot to educate the public but household budgets are tight. Most people want cheap convenience and good produce sadly doesn't fit into that category.
Putting that to one side, what breed creates the best bacon and how well is taste defined by the type of feed?? That question should stir a few comments over Christmas!!!!

[hughesy]

Luckily there are people out there who don't want cheap they want quality. Having said that I don't see a need to charge posh farmer's market prices either. We price ours at a similar level to what a decent butcher would charge for pork but we push the fact that it is outdoor, rare breed, high welfare, local, etc, etc.
As regards feeding regimes yes it will make a difference but not as much as outdoor vs indoor or rare breed vs commercial hybrid pig.