Over the next few blog posts, I will try and address the considerations for a specific livestock species as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the project.
Swine Projects
- There are two project types for swine: market and breeding.
- Market swine are pigs being raised to produce pork. This could be a barrow (male) or a gilt (female).
- Breeding swine are pigs raised to become breeding stock and produce litters of baby pigs. The great majority are gilts kept to be bred, not boars.
- Each project has different costs, time frame and manners of ending the project
- The initial cost of a swine project can be as low as market value and go up from there. For a show quality pig, the minimum range is around $150 to $250 per pig, due to the amount of cost for a swine breeder to produce show pigs.
- The facilities costs are highly variable. The basic swine facility provides a shelter from sun, rain and cold. It has enough feeders or feeder space for each pig, and the same for waterers. There should be enough space for pigs to all lay down and stand up without stepping on each other, and easily turn around when full grown. The space should also be big enough to allow pigs to urinate and defecate away from their feeders and waterers.
- Breeding swine will have the added costs of farrowing equipment. This equipment can be home built or commercially produced. If this is a one time "try it and see", it would be advisable to borrow or rent the equipment.
- Feed is the most expensive production cost. For market swine, prices average around $15 to $16 per 50 lbs. bag of show feed. You will need to feed 600 to 800 lbs. of feed depending on how well your pig grows and the final desired weight. Doing the math (Total Feed ÷ 50 lbs. per bag = # bags x $15 per bag = Final Cost) around $175 to $250 in feed.
- There are also feed supplements that can also be included. How beneficial the supplement is, and how much cost it will add is widely variable. I would suggest you visit with the breeder of the pigs to find out which supplements if any they recommend
- There are different and additional costs if you decide to do a breeding swine project. They can include: extended feeding costs, breeding costs, farrowing costs and marketing costs.
- If the gilt was shown, then her costs are the same as the market swine above. Once the last show is over, feed costs will include feeding the gilt for additional time. This includes 21 to 45 days for breeding, 115 days of gestation and 30 to 45 days of nursing. This could mean feeding 181 to 205 days before the first litter is weaned. As a bred gilt, she will begin needing at least 5 lbs. of feed per day and may need up to 16 lbs. of feed per day as a sow nursing a litter. This could mean over another 1300 lbs. of feed. The good thing, sow feed is much cheaper, around $8 per 50 lbs. which equals another $200 or more in feed.
- Feed is also made available to the litter to help wean them off the sow's milk. This could be another 50 to 100 lbs. of feed, costing $20 to $50 depending on the type and quality of feed. The feeding will continue until the baby pigs are sold.
- Breeding costs can vary widely depending on the sire (boar) you choose to breed to. Most gilts are bred by artificial insemination (AI). Ordering a dose of semen can range from $100 to $300 per breeding. If it takes more than one time to get her bred, it can get expensive quick.
- Most gilts will be raised for show, then bred and farrowed. On average, this will take a calendar year to complete. The following years will include 2 breeding cycles per year, meaning $400 to $500 in feed plus breeding cost of $200 to $600.
- Some costs can be recovered and possibly a profit made by selling baby pigs. If a breeding produced show quality pigs to sell, a good income can be made. The amount of income depends on how many and how high quality the pigs are.
- A market swine project may only last 5 to 6 months. Pigs grow quickly. They are purchased a little after weaning around 4 to 6 weeks old. They can reach market weight of 230 to 280 pounds by the time they are 6 months old. Market swine are then sold once they have reached market weight.
- Breeding swine can live several years and produce multiple litters. Most breeding swine projects will include two litters produced each year averaging 8 to 12 pigs per litter. A sow who produces two litters per year for 4 years may have produced 90 or more offspring. Once a sow is done producing litters, she too can be sold.
- A project can be sold to a private buyer, a commercial buyer or kept for home consumption of the meat. Many county and state fairs will hold a sale to allow youth to sell their projects. Some have a commercial buyer available for them to sell their pigs to after the shows are over. If the decision is to use the meat for home consumption, the youth and their parents will be responsible for delivering the pig to a processor, the cost of processing and picking up the meat after processing is complete.
- No matter who buys the swine project, they are all eventually destined to be processed for pork. Market swine will be processed and used for fresh cuts such as pork chops, roasts, shoulders, bacon and hams. Breeding stock is mostly processed into ground pork products like sausage.
Advantages and Disadvantages
- The length of time for a swine project is short, 4 to 6 months for a market animal.
- Swine can be shown by exhibitors of any size or age.
- There does not need to be a lot of tack involved or needed for raising swine.
- Show swine projects are not always money makers. The difference between the cost of buying and feeding a show pig versus the market price received for the pig can be quiet noticeable. A good junior livestock sale is the best way to recover the investment. Selling show quality baby pigs can help to make a breeding project profitable.
Additional Resources
Here are some additional resources to help you in your decision making about a swine project:
Feed Budgets, Iowa State University
How to Raise and Show Pigs, Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Scott Stinnett
Extension Associate
Kit Carson County
Golden Plains Area
Colorado State University Extension
