The Rural Voice, 2002-05, Page 31way of creating more spare time.
Batch farrowing will create some
very busy periods each month when
you may need to hire help but it also
creates slower times when you can
leave the operation in the hands of a
helper.
In terms of efficiency, Blackwell
said there's not much money to be
gained in weaning under 28 days. "I
think we've proved that you don't
prevent disease weaning at 16 days
and you may create some more
diseases. Life gets a lot easier
weaning at 28 days."
As well, he said, subsequent litter
sizes are larger if you have a later
weaning date.
But he stressed the need to turning
sows around quickly, getting sows
rebred within seven days.
Ending in his inspirational way,
Blackwell said there wasn't
anything in agriculture that's
more -profitable than raising pigs and
"Where else would you rather be a
pork producer than here. It doesn't
get any better than this."
Blackwell's optimism was
reinforced by Ken McEwan, an
economist from Ridgetown College
who agreed that smaller producers
are at no disadvantage to their larger
colleagues. While there might be
economies of scale in pork
processing, "In production I think
management matters more than size."
McEwan showed figures from an
ongoing study of 20 independent
farms which showed generally strong
financial returns, despite some bad
times like 1998. "I think that pork
farming can be extremely attractive,"
he said, but the roller coaster effect
of the open market shows there is a
role for safety nets.
While costs tend to be relatively
stable, revenue per pig varied $40
between the good and bad years. The
resulting bottom line ranged from a
Toss of $20 per pig during the price
crash of 1998 to a profit of $30 per
pig in 2000.
The good prices of the last two
years have increased most producers'
equity he said. "Most people have
really prospered in the last few
years." The return on equity since
1996 has been 10-15 per cent, he
said. Yes, 1998 was a bad year but
"what other investment doesn't (have
bad years)?" The Dow Jones stock
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