If you want to know if pig farming is profitable business you’ve come to the right place.
In the following article we present detailed information on the profitability of pig farming.

In preparing this article, we have thoroughly researched whether pig farming is profitable. We have analyzed the profitability of pig farming in the US and around the world. At the bottom of this article we listed sources for the most interesting of the information that we have included in this article.

In this article you will ready that:

• Pig farming can be very profitable if you process meat yourself
• There are several best pig farming strategies
• Acquiring own customers and meat buyers is crucial for profitable farming
• It is necessary for pig farming to meet specific legal and sanitary requirements

SO IS PIG FARMING PROFITABLE BUSINESS?

The profitability of pig farming vary depending on how and in what form you want to sell produced pork. Generally, in the US from 1 pig, you can get a net profit of  100- $ 500 after half a year of farming depending on how you sell the pig’s meat, (whether you will process its meat or no and how you will feed it). 

1 pound pork is usually sold for $ 3-5. Most often the price is around $ 4 per pound.
After butchering and processing, market swine yield about 55% (+/- 10%) meat. In the worst cases, pigs can have as little as 40% meat in carcass. So with an average pig that weighs around 265 pounds, the yield will be around 146 pounds of meat. So, average pig meat without processing will be worth around $ 584.

Pig farm can also earn in other ways than selling pork (raw, frozen or processed). Pig farmers can also make money through selling newborn pigs and selling pig manure which is used for fertilizing. It depends on you which of these things you make the main source of income, most often you can earn on them simultaneously. But definitely the main element of income is meat, which is why we will focus on meat here.

Pig meat that we process by making sausages, etc. will be worth a lot more. To realize the earnings on pig farming and it’s profitability, we recommend watching this short video by Our Wyoming Life. It presents the exact costs and profits of breeding 7 pigs for half a year. In the their film below there is shown example of pig farming which brought income at about 428 $ per pig  after six months of farming. This was the result of selling meat that had previously been processed by the farmer himself.

COSTS OF PIG FARMING

• Feed accounts for about three-fourths the cost of raising a pig.
• Market pigs sell for between $2.00 and $4.00 a pound with an average price of $3.50 per pound.
  So if you want to buy 80 pound piglet you will pay for it about $280.
• Breeding stock pigs sell for $400 each up to more than $3,000 for the ones with the best genetics.
• Wheat, corn, soybean, barley. It’s the main pig food. Their price will be crucial when breeding them.
• Significant costs also come from creating a fence for pigs, building a pigsty, or other shelter in which they will stay.
• During lifetime, each pig will usually eat about 225 pounds of food.

We highly recommend you watch this video (from 2017). The owner of a small pig farm presents the exact costs and income of pig farming there. His recipe for the most profitable pig farming is to buy small 8-week pigs for around $ 100 and keep them by the end of the year, to process them before winter. 

According to this farmer, the full cost of raising 1 pig is on average about $ 500 for him. It is a large investment, but despite all this, he says, it pays off very well, because on average he sells 1 pig for $ 800, and as he emphasizes $ 800 is the minimum.

Read also: Is Farming Profitable in the 21st Century? – Ultimate Guide

THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO START PIG FARMING

• Pigs need a large enough space. Little pigs will fit in a smaller room. They will need minimum 4 to 24 square feet per pig until they reach 100 pounds. Bigger pigs over 250 pounds will need at least 9 square feet. The truth is, however, that if we have the opportunity, it is good to provide pigs with more space that should have a positive effect on animal growth and health.
• Pig farms usually smell bad, so should be placed away from the homes of your neighbors.
  EPA does not regulate the distance of hog farms from homes, but in some states it is regulated by law. But if the farm smells bad, then neighbors can cause problems for the farm even if they live a little further.
• Before you even start a pig farming business, it is very important that you plan exactly who will be your buyers. It’s good to get in touch with the chefs of local restaurants, you can also sell on farmers market, and to individual customers.
• Every pig farm must meet legal and sanitary standards.It’s mainly about EPA standards that you can find here https://www.epa.gov/agriculture/laws-and-regulations-apply-your-agricultural-operation-farm-activity
• At the time of the sale, market swine usually weighs between 200 and 280 pounds.

PROCESSING PORK ON YOUR OWN 

As we have already mentioned above, one of the best ways to maximize pig farming income is own meat processing followed by the sale of already processed pork.

To do that you will need USDA mark of inspection EST. 34060 (inspected and passed by Department of Agriculture)  – this will allow you to prepare pig meat (for example processed bacon) and sell it on your own, just like a grocery store.

You can sell on farmer’s markets, or sell directly to customers, restaurants, shops, etc. The most profitable products to produce from your own pork are:

• chops
• roasts
• bacon
• sausages
• ham

Read also: 20 Highly Profitable Meat Business Ideas 2023

BREEDING PIGS AND SELLING PIGLETS TO OTHER FARMERS ETC. 

Another attractive and profitable way to earn pig farming is to breed and sell small pigs.
On average, a sow has 2 litters a year. Should successfully raise an average of 16 pigs per sow.
Under natural conditions, there is a fairly high mortality rate of newborn pigs of up to 30-40%. 
The most common causes of death for newborn pigs are first of all suffocation from being overlain by the sow. Other common causes of deaths are chilling, failure of colostrum intake diarrhoea or birth defects.

Sows usually give birth at night. That is why it is particularly important for a man to be near the sow when it is giving birth. Thanks to the presence of man, it is possible to significantly reduce the mortality of newborn pigs.

By breeding your own pigs, you can sell small pigs to other farmers. You can also use these little pigs for breeding and selling for meat.

If you don’t have experience with pig farming yet, this video may be useful to you.

PORK MARKET IN 2021

The situation on the US pig market is currently quite good and the forecasts also promise to be positive. The international pork market is strongly influenced by African Swine Fever, which fortunately has not affected the US. African swine fever has  attacked China, Vietnam, Russia, Eastern Europe, and the countries of Central and South Africa.

Because there are epidemics of African Swine Fever in many countries around the world American pork finds many customers abroad. In July 2019, US pork exports to China increased by almost 36% year over year. On the other hand China produced 24.7 million tonnes of pork in the first six months of 2019, down 5.5% from a year earlier, according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, amid a severe epidemic of African swine fever.

In addition, it is worth being aware of that the profitability of pork industry is directly related to grain prices and hog prices on the market. When market prices for pigs are high and grain prices are low, then profitability is the highest.

Read also: Is Dairy Farming Profitable in 2022? Ultimate Analysis

If you need more inspiration for business check out Business Ideas List with over 170 ideas for your business!

Sources:

https://www.nationalhogfarmer.com/marketing/finally-rally-hog-prices

https://rensingsporkandbeef.com/3.html

https://www.nationalhogfarmer.com/mag/farming_ten_simple_rules

The cost of raising pigs (small number of pigs)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6Qo4P-iMmc

Breeding pigs
https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/how-to-breed-pigs-zmaz80jazraw

Mortality of newborn pigs
https://www.pigprogress.net/Home/General/2014/6/Major-problems-in-piglet-health-and-management-1503030W/

How much space do pigs need
https://animals.mom.me/much-space-needed-pigs-10934.html

Pork market situation in 2020
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/animal-products/hogs-pork/market-outlook/

Map of swine fever
https://www.pigprogress.net/Health/African-Swine-Fever/

Calculating profitability and costs of pig farming
https://www.iowapork.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IPCMabryProfit2008.pdf

Swine fever in China
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-output-pork/chinas-first-half-pork-output-falls-amid-disease-outbreak-idUSKCN1UA046