Butcher Hog Price

Matt E.

Member
My brother-in-law has raised a few hogs and wants to sell me one for butcher. Wants $1 lb live weight. Compared to the market price (anywhere from $0.40 to $0.57 lb) seems like its a little high to me.

But looking at craigslist people selling hogs for butcher, lowest is $1 lb up to $2 lb live. I'd butcher it myself so that isn't a cost, just my time. Have a big Hobart grinder and a stuffer. We did a cow that went down at my niece's farm last fall no problem. I have the freezer space also.

The BIL works at a feed mill so I'm sure he's getting scraps/leftover/spill feed for them. I'm sure they aren't getting gold leaf feed and fairy dust. lol. I can buy pork on sale at the store and not have to hassle with it for not much more per lb.

What are you guys paying for a butcher hog if you buy? Thoughts? I'm of the mind to pass unless it is a better deal.
 

Sounds a bit high to me. The last hogs I sold on a private basis I got sixty cents a pound live weight. What is his reason for that price?
 
That's the price he sold the others at is my guess. Price for hogs was higher recently though wasn't it?

Heck, I'd even go get the dumb thing from his barn. We'd butcher it at the niece's house 5 mile down the road. I like her husband better than the BIL, lol.
 
Kinda puts you in a bind. If you pay his price now, he's might always expect you to pay above market price. If you don't buy from him, in the future he probably won't sell you a hog at any price.

Decisions. Decisions.
 
If I remember correclty, the average pig will eat about 900 LBS of grain to reach market size. If grain sells for $18.00 a bag (100lbs bag) then he has $162.00 invested in feed. Add the cost of the pigglet, de-wormer, and other misolanious expencese and he is not making much.

Since he works at the mill, then he is probably getting grain at a better price and if he has grass to feed them with the grain then that will help reduce his cost.

If the pig is market size (250 lbs) and at $1.00 per pound he is not getting rich in his adventures. I would not take less than a $1.00 a pound and that does not mean I would be willing to pay $1.00 per pound either since you can buy pork in the store for a litttle more and have the hassles of butchering it.
 
(quoted from post at 10:17:44 11/25/15) My brother-in-law has raised a few hogs and wants to sell me one for butcher. Wants $1 lb live weight. Compared to the market price (anywhere from $0.40 to $0.57 lb) seems like its a little high to me.

But looking at craigslist people selling hogs for butcher, lowest is $1 lb up to $2 lb live. I'd butcher it myself so that isn't a cost, just my time. Have a big Hobart grinder and a stuffer. We did a cow that went down at my niece's farm last fall no problem. I have the freezer space also.

The BIL works at a feed mill so I'm sure he's getting scraps/leftover/spill feed for them. I'm sure they aren't getting gold leaf feed and fairy dust. lol. I can buy pork on sale at the store and not have to hassle with it for not much more per lb.

What are you guys paying for a butcher hog if you buy? Thoughts? I'm of the mind to pass unless it is a better deal.

Out here they use buzz words like "heritage" "pastured" "grass fed" "non-GMO fed" "stress free slaughter" and "grown with love" to get $4-$5 a lb hanging weight....seems to work.
 
Hi
I raise hogs (1200 or so) here on a custom feed basis for local Hutterites, Don't forget what you buy in the store is probably full of
antibiotics, and growth promoters. Hopefully this is more natural! . plus you don't know where it came from in the store. From what I see from my
deal, and when we used to buy and fatten our own hogs. The reason you can buy cheap pig is, imports or the fact We the farmer are subsidizing that
animal with the pittance we get from the slaughter houses and packers at the end. that big profit lasted about 3 months here in Canada, until the herd
in the U.S recovered from PEDV. That animal he has didn't raise it's self either he had to do the work and pay bills to.
If you want to be cheap buy the store junk, and don't complain when the home country farmers are out of business, and the cheap imports become
expensive,when there is no competition.
Regards Robert
 
I started raising pigs last year out on grass/dirt. Two sows, grind my own feed (have to buy corn, SBM, and mineral + occasionally some oats for sows). I'm attempting to move pigs to new paddocks every week or so to minimize parasite load in the soil and keep it from just getting mashed down to bare dirt. I have Bershires which are not the fast growing York/duroc/landrace crosses used in confinements. If I wanted tasteless pork I'd get it at the store. The first hogs we've taken to market have taken about 8 months to finish, I'm limit feeding in pans and not free feeding. It takes almost 1000 lbs of feed to finish one to 280-300lbs. You can't buy piglets for much less than $50-75 on Craigslist. If you JUST take into account feed and piglet cost (direct expenses) it costs about $240 to finish one.

At $1/lb your BIL is making $40-45 per head. Let's assume he's just doing it for fun and raising 10 at a time and it takes him 30 minutes twice a day to go feed and water, check fence, make repairs, etc. He makes about $1.80/hr for his labor. Throw in all the indirect expenses for feeders, waterers, bedding, fence, electricity for fencer and well and he's likely losing money.

I charge by hanging weight at locker, not live weight and get $2.75/lb hanging which works to be ~$2.06/lb live. I've got a waiting list on hogs with paid deposits through December next year. I figure I still make less than $10/hr. I'm not going to get rich doing it and sometimes I question why I waste my time but I enjoy doing it and I can feed my family better quality meat without antibiotics, dewormers, and confinement buildings. My pigs roll in mud, lay in the sun, eat grass and weeds, and root up dirt like pigs ought to. I feel good knowing every one I bring to the locker has had just one bad day in their life, I'm okay with that. Plus, it gives me a reason to buy tractors and old equipment and farm like my grandpa did.
 
(quoted from post at 13:26:28 11/25/15) I started raising pigs last year out on grass/dirt. Two sows, grind my own feed (have to buy corn, SBM, and mineral + occasionally some oats for sows). I'm attempting to move pigs to new paddocks every week or so to minimize parasite load in the soil and keep it from just getting mashed down to bare dirt. I have Bershires which are not the fast growing York/duroc/landrace crosses used in confinements. If I wanted tasteless pork I'd get it at the store. The first hogs we've taken to market have taken about 8 months to finish, I'm limit feeding in pans and not free feeding. It takes almost 1000 lbs of feed to finish one to 280-300lbs. You can't buy piglets for much less than $50-75 on Craigslist. If you JUST take into account feed and piglet cost (direct expenses) it costs about $240 to finish one.

At $1/lb your BIL is making $40-45 per head. Let's assume he's just doing it for fun and raising 10 at a time and it takes him 30 minutes twice a day to go feed and water, check fence, make repairs, etc. He makes about $1.80/hr for his labor. Throw in all the indirect expenses for feeders, waterers, bedding, fence, electricity for fencer and well and he's likely losing money.

I charge by hanging weight at locker, not live weight and get $2.75/lb hanging which works to be ~$2.06/lb live. I've got a waiting list on hogs with paid deposits through December next year. I figure I still make less than $10/hr. I'm not going to get rich doing it and sometimes I question why I waste my time but I enjoy doing it and I can feed my family better quality meat without antibiotics, dewormers, and confinement buildings. My pigs roll in mud, lay in the sun, eat grass and weeds, and root up dirt like pigs ought to. I feel good knowing every one I bring to the locker has had just one bad day in their life, I'm okay with that. Plus, it gives me a reason to buy tractors and old equipment and farm like my grandpa did.

So how do you worm your pigs? I sure wouldn't want to buy pork that is full of worms or cysts.....
 
So how do you worm your pigs? I sure wouldn't want to buy pork that is full of worms or cysts.....

I move them to a different paddock every 10-14 days and no matter what they don't come back on that spot for a minimum of 21 days which is the longest lifecycle of any of the parasitic worms in hogs. If the parasites don't have a host they die and the cycle is broken. I haven't had a problem with cysts or infections as of yet, I'm sure it will come up but so far the butcher has had nothing but praise for carcass quality. The last few that went in got away from me and were a little on the heavy side. When I called to make appointment to bring them in I was on a 6 week waiting list and they were already a little heavy. Backfat was 2"+ and hung close to 300lbs.
 
High? For pork you know the history of? Forget it. If
you want your cheap meat go to the store. I'm
guessing those saying he's high don't currently
raise hogs or take care of hogs and see what goes
into it. Buying meat live or just butchered has never
been a bargain.

I raise hogs. Farrow to finish. If someone wants one
they get it $1 a pound live weight or $1.50 a pound
hanging weight delivered to the packer. I probably
sell 50 a year that way. If you think he's making
good money there I have a bridge you can buy.
 
Hog market is relatively low now so $1.00 is way too much. Find a real hog producer that puts out lean, efficient,
modern hogs and you will get the most for your money. I do not have much patience for people who think feeding pigs
outside and going backwards in technology 75 years results in better food. The fact is the US food supply is the
safest and most economical in the world. All this fear over hormones and antibiotics is a huge over-reaction. If an
American dies early from pork it is due to gluttony because it is so affordable and delicious!
 
dlmka, I just want to point out that in my area whipworms eggs, can live in the ground for years and cause trouble in the smaller feeders when they're exposed. As for price we raise mostly Yorks and York crosses on a small scale. We get 1.25 hanging weight. It works out to about 90 or 95 cents a pound.We never have trouble selling them. jstpa
 
I can tell you the 'backwards' raised hogs I kill are 10X better eating than the tasteless stuff they call pork in the grocery store.If you only buy from the grocery store these days you don't have a clue what real sausage is supposed to taste like.
 
I sell hogs 250-280 lbs $225 per head. I haul to the butcher, they pay the butcher. I have a waiting list for piglets from sows that aren't even bred yet.

You're comparing the price of buying your hog from him to buying an uknown quality hog from a sale ring.
Think of it as how much per lb will the meat cost when you're done. Typically less than the store for much higher quality meat.
 
(quoted from post at 21:35:25 11/25/15) I can tell you the 'backwards' raised hogs I kill are 10X better eating than the tasteless stuff they call pork in the grocery store.If you only buy from the grocery store these days you don't have a clue what real sausage is supposed to taste like.

There is pork and there is PORK. I'll take a backwards dirt raised hog any day. That other white meat in the store is just a carrier for breading, salt, pepper, and whatever other seasoning and spices you can put on it to make it taste better.

The chops in my freezer is almost as red as beef and marbled like a prime steak. Cooks up tender and full of flavor.
 
Hi Ray
I raise hogs on a straw base in 6 biotec shelters, they are not climate controlled, other than by the outside weather or fed growth promoters at all the packers banned it here, because of export trade restrictions on the stuff. they don't get antibiotics after the first week they come in either. they are here 17 weeks and ship at about 250 lbs +. those hogs have a totally different look to hogs raised in closed environment barns on concrete, and pumped full of medication and stuff continually.
My barn renter has a conventional climate controlled barn he has pigs from on the truck when he comes here sometimes, they are the most anemic colorless pigs I have seen. They are fed the same food as mine, if i put 1 of mine in with his you would see it, it would stand out like it was painted green in the truck, chances are it will have so much energy it would beat his to death fighting as well. His have no energy due to being penned up in small spaces all the time, and are half scared to death of the world outside those conventional barns. The stupid things will sometimes drop dead with stress getting them in the truck,because they are not used to the Outside world of that totally enclosed barn.
When We ran our own animals locals would come buy and slaughter one of ours, they couldn't eat store bought as it made them ill, ours without all the junk no problem. seems to be there are lots of guys want "organic" or as close to for the same reason.
try telling the people that get sick there is no problem with all the drugs and junk fed to most of this store bought pork ! with raising them here the way we do , or the grass fed ones you are sayings wrong I know what I want to eat from my plate.
Regards Robert
 
I'd pass. One thing I can't stand is family taking advantage of family. I'd let him know too.
 
I'm selling butchered hogs for $1.50/lb hanging weight at the locker. Buyer pays processing. Kinda what I see on craigslist. If you're at
all uneasy about the pricing with a family member, try to avoid the deal, or be honest and talk about the price.
 
well, I spent the afternoon at his house for thanksgiving dinner. Even went out to the shed to look at an old chainsaw and I could hear the hogs on the other side of the wall. He never brought it up so he must have someone else lined up. No big deal.

I've had "family" deals with him before and our ideas of that are generally very different. I won't work for or with him for any reason because of it. But a young man learns that along the way about family,some family.

I can see there are two schools of thought for the people on this board. One is "too high, don't pay it". The other is "it's worth it, better than store bought"

I'm a little of both sides. I think he's above market price but if he can get that price from people than let them pay it. If it's the last hog and he can't get rid of it, why am I getting one nobody wants? I have no clue what they are being fed or injected. Not my fault if I want to pay market price and he needs more to break even. He shouldn't be raising hogs at a loss if the market isn't there for what he produced. If he could convince me that the quality of the hog is worth the price then I'd consider a higher price.

As far as taste compared to the store bought. I've been eating store bought for so long it's good to me. If I'm getting some extra chemicals along the way, so be it. I've gotten bigger doses of chemicals at work that I'm sure are much worse for me.

In the end, if he offers it to me the price would need to be lower. I don't want him to loose money but I'm not going to subsidize his poor choices either. When money changes hands, it doesn't matter if he is relation. He has made that clear from his actions in the past.

Good discussion, thanks.
 

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