Pigs!

[cowman]

I was reading an article where pigmen are rapidly going the way of the dinosaur! Extinct! This article said we are down to only about 2000 pork producers in Alberta!
At first I was amazed but thinking about it I realize they just may be right? It seems we have lost all of the smaller operations around here in the last ten years or so. The ones who are left are in that 250-600 sow range and it seems they all want out too! One guy I know told me he's not breeding anything after Oct. 1st. He has 600 farrow to finish and two employees. Trying to sell the barns but he says there are no buyers. He has sort of been letting things slide and his barns will soon need some major work. He said why keep losing money?
I assume the really big outfits will pick up the slack? Personally I don't mind if pigs dissappear from around here. I really don't like the smell! But without a doubt they were once a good little money maker and kept a lot of farms viable.

[paladin]

Cowman, an interesting read which opened my eyes about the state of the hog industry in this country is Ingeborg Boyens' book "Another Season's Promise: Hope & Despair in Canada's Farm Country" (published in 2001). Although largely centered in Man. and Sask. - the situation is virtually identical here in Alberta. There are indeed fewer and fewer independent operators all the time.

[cowman]

I read that book. It was a good one. It is pretty amazing how fast the pig business changed when you think about it. In fact how quick all of agriculture has changed in the last thirty years or so.
I wonder if the cow/calf business is entering a period of rapid change too. It seems like the 60-80 cow herds are disappearing pretty fast. It's almost like you get big or get out. I went to a grazing seminar a couple of years ago where they had some expert from the States who said if you don't have at least 250 cows you should quit. Now that is fine but 250 cows take a lot of work and require a lot of land and money! Once I had 160 cows and it was about all I could handle! And I was fairly young then and still had my dad around to give me a hand!
I suspect a lot of the pig farmers just got too old to handle the work anymore. I helped my neighbor out in his barn once, when he'd hurt his back, and it is hard work! Maybe a lot of them just played out?

[navena]

I am one of the hog farmers who have left the industry and will not return. In 1998, we decided to empty out, clean the place up, renovate and start fresh after nonstop operation for 22 years. My dad and I ran a 110 sow farrow to finish operation and were very good at it.We won carcass awards several times and were very proud of our production.
Fortunately, we sold all our stock before the market fell apart in mid 1998. Upon starting to renovate, we soon realized that our facilities needed some very intimidating and expensive upgrading. The market remained down in the doldrums for approx 16 months by which time we decided not to return.
I know that there are many farmers like me who concluded that it was no fun working seven days a week and getting hammered financially.
Our size of operation used 25,000 bu of barley per year, we bought peas for supplement, used trucking services and our pig dollars purchased many other community services. We were proud to raise hogs.

I suspect that 'small 'outfits like me are an exception now and perhaps can only survive if they begin 'farm gate' marketing (which is easier said than done).

I am sure that the academics will state that this enormous change in the pig business was inevitable.

Maybe so but it is sure a sad development to watch!

[cowman]

navena: You are sure right about the smaller hog farmer putting a lot of money into the economy. We used to sell just about all of our feed barley to a small(200 farrow/finish) hog farmer. Always treated us real good and an excellent neighbor. Only had to haul it a couple of miles and we neighbored back and forth for years. Now he is gone and the barns sit while the mice eat them up! What a waste.