[rispainfarm]

As folks  as you would have seen under market threads, we were discussing the pig crisis. It just so happens i have been asked recently to write an article for PP by a BPA rep on this very subject. I obviously have my own thoughts but would really like to hear from everyone on here who keeps pigs as to why they think people are selling up, thousands of unwanted pigs at markets either selling for pennies or not selling at all etc etc.  We all know the cost of food is a huge problem, but I honestly believe that this is not the main problem, I think it goes alot deeper than that, but over to you lot.

[HappyHippy]

I think feed costs, rising fuel costs, and the bloody awful weather we've had this year might be a lot to do with it  Commercial units seem to be closing or downsizing in droves too.

I know that the EU sow stall ban early next year is being heralded as a great thing for UK pork (and it is) but it's something we've been doing in the UK for years (and having to shoulder the increased costs of), while the vast quantity of EU pork which is imported is cheaper because it doesn't have the same high welfare standards. It's all well and good telling folk prices and demand will go up soon, but how many folk have a never ending money pit to keep them going til that day comes 

At Yonderton we're making a shift away from a 50/50 split between 'big' pigs and Kunekunes to one which has more Kunekunes in an attempt to keep costs down but quality and quantity of pork up, while still letting us do a bit of conservation work with the Large Blacks (they are a heart over head option at the moment if I do the sums - so I just don't  ))

That's just my thoughts though, and I'm not sure how much sense they make 

[rispainfarm]

I agree karen, I think people are literally running out of money, that with not reading the market and still beeding amongst other reasons for the surplus of pigs that no one wants

[hughesy]

I think in the past a lot of people kept a few pigs on a sort of hobby basis and these people are now getting rid as without any serious business planning their hobby has become too expensive. There's no money to be made selling a few weaners or indeed selling half pigs or whatever on a sort of wholesale basis. Anyone sticking with pigs now needs to have a business head on.
As for the commercial pig farming industry they are totally at the mercy of wholesale buyers, supermarkets and suchlike and are unable to set their own prices, and so like many other sectors in farming are stuffed.

[kja]

i have seen this same scenario in the 80's with my parents and neighbouring pig keepers one of them had 3000 almost over night it went from in my parents case 10 - 20 pigs off a week to 0 they were lucky they managed to sell all theirs. vowing never would pigs be kept again (until i had a  ) some 5 or 6 farms local to me still have the empty pig sheds etc one still has the troughs in situ its a bit weird walking through sheds with only pigs missing but in reality no pig have been their for almost 30 years. i am sure things will turn around but how many breeders/keepers still in there who knows everyone has their limits and with feed prices rising pork sales flat and the cost of slaughter and fuel its not easy.

we have 3 litters due January fingers crossed the weaners will sell and we will have a good choice for the shows, in our case its a hobby for the preservation of  a breed we wanted to help (and a good social life) other things help subsidise the pigs else we could not do it but we purposely keep numbers down its just too easy to get carried away.


one friend had 300 sows this time last year he now has 0 he just fattens for another farmer in one unit the others are empty. after 40 yrs of pig breeding he says he should have got out earlier but he also adds he has had some good years that evened out the bad.

i think in the interest of the article you are working on it would be beneficial to talk to someone selling up or sold up we can all speculate and assume its x y or z but until the final decision has been made by any of us who knows the ins and outs of why they really packed the pis in.

[Bionic]

As a newbie pig keeper (we had 2 weaners earlier this year), I was prepared for the food cost but wasn't prepared for the b****y awful weather we have had.
I only ever intented to keep them until 26/27 weeks and to be honest it was a relief when they went because of the mud.
For those who keep pigs all year round it must be a nightmare trying to keep them free of some of the mud at least.
Sally

[SallyintNorth]

I'm not commercial about my pigs, they're for the love of pigs, pork, sausages and bacon.  But even I have had to face up to being unable to keep it going over winter without a big rethink.  For now we are going to try to keep one breeding sow and breed her once a year - but if we can't get that to work, then I'll have to go back to buying a couple of weaners in twice a year.  Expensive pork, I know - but we've just started the bacon from the last baconer and Oh . My . Goodness... it's soooooo worth it!   

[rispainfarm]

That was the plan sally to talk to a few people who are giving up as to their reasons why as like you say its all surmising otherwise. Apart from the usual though such as feed costs, weather  etc,  have any smallholders on here come across other types of pig problems that has made them think about giving up

[Rosemary]

The pig industry has always been cyclical - I can remember covering it at Uni, 30 years ago.

I agree that for those keeping a few pigs as a hobby, it's probably just become too expensive. I suspect it's a bad time of year as well - folk like us, who raise a few weaners aren't looking to buy at this time of year.

I do hope those with rare and traditional breeds can hang in there to protect the genetice though.

[Blinkers]

We're planning to hang in there and keep our Rare Breeds going (had a litter of 12 Berkshires last night  ).    The main problem around here is the lack of decent abattoirs.    We have to travel for about and hour and three quarters to take our porkers in for killing and cutting although we use a more local abattoir to supply the restaurant that we've been supplying carcases to for the last couple of years.   HOWEVER, that particular abattoir has had its problems and the word is that once the hot water thingy breaks down, they won't replace it and will stop doing pigs.  They have already hiked up the price of killing to a ridiculous level in the hopes (I think) that people will go elsewhere giving them even more reason to cease doing them.     Another comparatively local one and to which we take our lambs, was given a grant some years back (by the Welsh government) to kill and cut pigs.   They took the money, installed the equipment and then (apparently) got a big order from one of the BIG Supermarkets to supply all their lamb and so they took out and sold off the pig equipment  .

[feldar]

We gave up keepling pigs last year mainly because of the awful weather and having to see them stand in knee deep mud and also partly because our son had started working for a big commercial pig farm. They would be concerned if we had pigs due to cross contamination.
My Hubby is at market most weeks and said it is and has always been a very up and down trade. Some weeks you can pick a sow and pigglets up for mere pence and other weeks young pigs and porkers would go for silly money. We mainly wanted to rear our own pork and have a few to sell in market to make enough to cover some feed and a few extras, but now it's just not viable.
Our son's farm obviously sell direct to the supermarket so suppose prices are set for them.

[rispainfarm]

The continuing weather I think is quite a problem and is a big factor towards giving up.with some people. How the garden pet brigade are doing I don't know.  Trouble is smallholders don't usually have masses amount of land to continually move pigs about on. I know when we lived in Devon, we used to get mud but not like in scotland. i used to be so embarrassed sometimes running pig courses. The pens were large with trees but they would be knee deep in mud continually even in the summer. When we rotated them to fresh ground, the pens would be turned to mud within a week or so, it was a losing battle.

[Polished Arrow]

Well, we are a way off selling up, but we are counting the pennies rather than the pounds and scavenging and foraging for about half of the pigs' feed at the moment - while we can and before the hardest part of winter settles in.  I have also put our pigs back on sow and weaner, taking them off grower and finisher pellets as we sell by the pig rather than by weight. 


However, owing to the rain and consequential mud, and lack of space to rotate them further afield, we are shifting for the time being  to one litter a year for each of the sows.  We sell them for a high enough value to make them worth while doing - covering the cost of keeping them and also the cost of a couple for our own freezer - but only with the extra work in finding 'free' food. 

[Fowgill Farm]

I try to remain positive that things will get better but as with everything there are always people who jump on the band wagon and think they can make a quick buck from something whether it be pigs, property etc and then go in to deep and get their fingers burned. A lot of crisis are of their own making.
My pigs are my hobby and originally started off as being self financing but then i got into breeding & showing and it became a more expensive hobby as i now have pigs all year round. Main costs for me are feed and abattoir/butchering costs. Feed has gone up so much and so have my butcher costs, whereas before half a pig sale covered my costs it now more like a whole pig.
The weather this year has been the worst i have experienced (going into my 9th year of pig keeping) land has been continually wet & muddy and not being able to prepare this autumn for next spring will have knock on effects next year (pray for dry winter)
i am down to my lowest number of pigs ever for a winter but like KJA we have litters due in January & March for the show season and hope there will be people out there wanting to take weaners to rear thro spring & summer.
Like Polished Arrow i am unlikely to get out of pigs and continue looking at ways to improve & manage my cash flow.
Mandy

[rispainfarm]

I try to remain positive that things will get better but as with everything there are always people who jump on the band wagon and think they can make a quick buck from something whether it be pigs, property etc and then go in to deep and get their fingers burned. A lot of crisis are of their own making.

I think you are spot on mandy, certainly that was the case with the pet/micro saga. I also think many people buy pigs and don't really understand what is involved, costs, mud etc etc. They buy cheap for whatever reason with no understanding of pigs and the market. Many of these are crossbreds that are bought which really don't have any sell on value except to be bought by the meat man. Its these cross breeds that are showing in markets rather than pure breeds