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Author Topic: Pig crisis  (Read 9994 times)

Mrs Snoodles

  • Joined Aug 2012
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #15 on: December 03, 2012, 01:05:13 pm »
Having done meat pigs for years (just small batches) I am now breeding as I should be able to give myself a small part time job this way.  We only have 4 sows but I can allow myself a basic hourly wage and can manage this small amount of pigs plus litters day to day by myself. No more than that, but in these times it's not bad and I get to be outside doing something that I really want to.
I am incredibly fortunate in that I have access to good land and lots of it, outbuildings and brilliant extra help.  We also have enough money to buy in feed ahead which means that we don't have to sell weaners necessarily, and can make our money on half boxes.   

I would have to give up if my back got knackered or if I didn't have access to help especially when moving arks or doing the more physical stuff. We are also very grateful for 'cover' when we go on holidays....if we didnt have this, it  would become an issue.

We are very careful with our costings and have very good business heads.  If our pigs do not pay me a wage then it is a no go.   Will try my damned hardest though to make it work.   There aren't so many Smallholders around here and people are very interested in the prospect of buying direct.  Weaners are still selling here, I was recently put in touch with 2 disappointed customers who had lost out on some large blacks.







rispainfarm

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • longniddry
    • The Porky Quines
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #16 on: December 03, 2012, 01:26:12 pm »
Crikey i don't know of anyone who keeps this number of pigs paying themselves a wage, how on earth do you manage that.  :thumbsup:
Author of Choosing and Keeping Pigs and Pigs for the Freezer, A Smallholders Guide

www.porkyquines.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/linda-mcdonald-brown/23/ab6/4a7/

kja

  • Joined Oct 2012
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #17 on: December 03, 2012, 01:57:44 pm »
Crikey i don't know of anyone who keeps this number of pigs paying themselves a wage, how on earth do you manage that.  :thumbsup:

my thinking too

btw i was in the slaughterhouses butcher shop today special offer of the week 1/2 lamb £60 1/2 pig £78 some poor sod has lost out on his pig rearing costs for them to be selling at that. the butcher in question is a very old fashioned family butchers selling quality local produce very sad.
we can still learn if we are willing to listen.

Mrs Snoodles

  • Joined Aug 2012
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #18 on: December 03, 2012, 05:26:06 pm »
It does depend
- on a min 10 for cross breed litters and 8 for large blacks and keeping sows for 4 years only  :'(.   
- selling by half box for the vast majority. 
- ruling out set up costs such as trailer and houses and electrics which we we keep or resell
OH is an accountant so believe me, all my sums are checked and rechecked.  What I do is kind of a partnership with a local landowner so it has to work as a viable sustainable enterprise.

My hourly rate is a 'work hard' rate ie: truly, if I just got on with it - feed, water, do straw, fences etc as opposed to stroking bellies, digging up veg, chatting etc  which I do alot of  :eyelashes:

I went on a pig paradise course years ago and have always based my costings on most of what Tony York lays out. I also noted what the abattoir chaps had to say abut my carcasses - sending them earlier rather later  ;)
« Last Edit: December 03, 2012, 05:54:55 pm by Mrs Snoodles »

cleopatra

  • Guest
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #19 on: December 03, 2012, 06:33:16 pm »
the fact people are shocked that anyone can earn a wage from pigs, highlights the reasons why keeping pigs is difficult at the moment.

rispainfarm

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • longniddry
    • The Porky Quines
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #20 on: December 03, 2012, 07:16:52 pm »
has any smallholder ever being able to give themselves a wage through pigs  :thinking:
« Last Edit: December 03, 2012, 07:18:52 pm by rispainfarm »
Author of Choosing and Keeping Pigs and Pigs for the Freezer, A Smallholders Guide

www.porkyquines.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/linda-mcdonald-brown/23/ab6/4a7/

primrosepig

  • Joined Apr 2012
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #21 on: December 03, 2012, 10:26:44 pm »
We have been breeding pedigree Gloucesters since 1995, inherited a pedigree herd of Large Blacks after my Father died and also have some saddleback crosses that were originally rescued from the abattoir. At the moment we have 22 sows, 3 breeding boars and approx 220 others - litters to finished pigs. Currently use 7-8 tonnes of food per month - a mixture of sow rolls and bulk finisher ration.
In Feb 2010 a sow sent to the abattior was thought to have bTB and 8 weeks later our holdings were placed under restriction when the sample tested positive. Since that time I have been unable to move any live animal apart from direct to slaughter, cull animals cannot be sent to Cheales and have to be put down on farm. AHVLA were supposed to pay to have them tested but changed their minds when a request to do so was made, We have 2 options- 2 x 60 day clear cattle tests or slaughter all our adult stock neither of which I have been prepared to do.
The only way I have been able to keep our herd is to step up the meat business we have always had and  in order to keep up with demand also buy in from another 4 or 5 breeders of traditional breed pigs with same ethics as ourselves. We pay them a good price which enables them to keep more sows whilst knowing they have a guaranteed market for weaners they are unable to sell for breeding.
At the moment we slaughter 20 or so pigs each week. Much of the carcases are turned into sausages and dry cured bacon and we have won many awards from BPEX, Great Taste Awards, tatse of the West Awards etc. We have a large demand from chefs in pubs, hotels and restaurants even though our prices are much higher than our commercial competitors.
It's very hard work especially juggling it with 3 children and other family commitments. We emply a stockman, 2 part time butchers, our student daughter on a part time basis and my Husband and I have a salary. I work 7 days a week and on average would spend 60-70 hours a week working and with this nightmare weather do question my sanity.
However, I will not give up my pigs without a huge fight. The Large Blacks were lucky to survive the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001. A friend only a mile and a half away lost all his animals including pigs a week before my Father died but at the time the contiguous culling had not begun so his herd was spared.  I will not allow the rare lines of pigs to be taken by AHVLA and although it has had a huge impact on our family especially our 2 youngest who grew up from babies showing pigs I will win this battle.
I remember how difficult it was to sell weaners in the late '90's- you couldn't give them away. I then started fattening for half pigs and found that became difficult and so started at Farmers markets and it has grown from there. Fortunately, I have ever a very long suffering Husband who plays his part - makes sausages, butchers the meat, delivers the finished article and sells at a weekly Farmers market.
The price we pay is the lack of time off especially holidays which we hope to address when our daughter joins the business next year after graduating.
To ensure our traditional pig breeds survive we need to get the mesaage across that our products are the best, are high quality and value for money. My customers know that our bacon does not shrink, our sausages contain the best meat and although the base price might be higher they do not need to use as many rashers/sausages so no worse off.
 
 
 
 
 

rispainfarm

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • longniddry
    • The Porky Quines
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #22 on: December 04, 2012, 07:22:38 am »
Primrosepig, its sound fantastic what you are doing and well worth your hard work. You sound passionate about your animals as well as having a good business head on. It is a pleasure to hear about somewho who is making a success of your business. Well done :thumbsup: :trophy:
Author of Choosing and Keeping Pigs and Pigs for the Freezer, A Smallholders Guide

www.porkyquines.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/linda-mcdonald-brown/23/ab6/4a7/

deepinthewoods

  • Guest
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #23 on: December 04, 2012, 07:38:20 am »
hear hear!! :thumbsup:

Fowgill Farm

  • Joined Feb 2009
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #24 on: December 05, 2012, 08:51:10 am »
Just been on the GOS website and there are so many pigs for sale all over the country, there are some good pigs to be had but i fear a lot of them :'( will end up as sausages. The GOS breed looks good on paper 1600+ but 800+ of those are in one herd (M&S supply) and its the smaller herds that are selling up and that is the real worry. It just shows how fragile the traditional breeds of pig are, my breed is one of the larger numbered so its not threatened yet i fear for the breeds that are small in numbers like the lops, large blacks & whites which are already low. When the breed surveys are done next year i think there will be big number reductions across the board. :gloomy:
Mandy :pig:

kja

  • Joined Oct 2012
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #25 on: December 05, 2012, 09:06:20 am »
Just been on the GOS website and there are so many pigs for sale all over the country, there are some good pigs to be had but i fear a lot of them :'( will end up as sausages. The GOS breed looks good on paper 1600+ but 800+ of those are in one herd (M&S supply) and its the smaller herds that are selling up and that is the real worry. It just shows how fragile the traditional breeds of pig are, my breed is one of the larger numbered so its not threatened yet i fear for the breeds that are small in numbers like the lops, large blacks & whites which are already low. When the breed surveys are done next year i think there will be big number reductions across the board. :gloomy:
Mandy :pig:

i think the nubers will be desperate when they are out next year i have advertised a lop sow for a while now a couple of i could do with a good sow comments from local breeders but no follow up one guy down south has shown interest but has not got time to come and look. she is 2 yrs old and has produced some fantastic pigs inc a gilt and boar in the poy the gilt going down to the last 2 traditionals, its a shame but we are now breeding from her daughters and we want to keep our prefix so she is going to be weighed in next week not the way we wanted to go but we need the space with 3 gilts farrowing next month. she is not the rarest line but there are not many of them either.
we can still learn if we are willing to listen.

rispainfarm

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • longniddry
    • The Porky Quines
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #26 on: December 05, 2012, 10:33:50 am »
You are right mandy, people don't realise how fragile these lines are and how quickly the number of traditional breeds can decline. No matter how "up" the numbers are, it can very quickly go the other way. It really gets my goat when you get veggies on some sites saying we shouldn't breed and we certainly should not eat them. If we didn't they would die out.
Author of Choosing and Keeping Pigs and Pigs for the Freezer, A Smallholders Guide

www.porkyquines.co.uk
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/linda-mcdonald-brown/23/ab6/4a7/

hughesy

  • Joined Feb 2010
  • Anglesey
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #27 on: December 05, 2012, 11:31:50 am »
Without a doubt some rare lines will be pushed to the brink due to the economic crisis. Our saddlebacks are fairly common bloodlines I wish now that I'd taken the trouble to find rarer ones when we started.
That's really worrying about the GOS having so many of the herdbook all on one farm especially knowing the pressure that the supermarkets apply to their suppliers.

Penninehillbilly

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • West Yorks
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #28 on: December 05, 2012, 12:18:27 pm »
Last time I was in a supermarket, (might be a few months ago) I struggled to find any British bacon, only some fancy wiltshire cured, I just wanted some nice plain back. the rest was Danish. Both Te**o & A**a, didn't get my bacon  :( .
If the supermarkets aren't dealing with british farmers and making known what good produce we have, majority of people in urban areas probably don't know you exist.
 

cleopatra

  • Guest
Re: Pig crisis
« Reply #29 on: December 05, 2012, 01:33:42 pm »
Last time I was in a supermarket, (might be a few months ago) I struggled to find any British bacon, only some fancy wiltshire cured, I just wanted some nice plain back. the rest was Danish. Both Te**o & A**a, didn't get my bacon  :( .
If the supermarkets aren't dealing with british farmers and making known what good produce we have, majority of people in urban areas probably don't know you exist.

our local butcher imports his bacon from denmark.

 

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