Did High Feed Costs Cause Us to Lose Money with Our Pigs?

In this video, we load our pigs to take to the processor and do a full cost analysis to see if we made any money with this herd. There were several variables that cut into our profit margin more than we wanted.
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[@StGroovy]

Another consideration is how much it would cost to buy premium pork and grass-fed beef at the supermarket. I live in a big city, and the price is easily twice the normal price. Also, if you are going to factor in your labour, you should subtract the cost of a gym membership that you don't need, and the health concerns about factory-farmed meat. Also, God gave you a full head of hair, and that is priceless.

[@terrywereb7639]

God only made a few perfect heads. The rest are covered in h air.

[@frankfigoni7299]

You forgot to add the cost of the pigs and the beef in the freezer... Because, if you had to buy the same beef and pork, it would also have a cost. Thus, if you take 400lbs of pork and (im guessing) 400lbs of beef, you have to add back the amount per pound you would normally spend on that item. (As per us labor stats average all cuts per pound Jan 2022) pork averages $3.665 per pound, beef is at $10.228 per pound. Add back that cost per pound you get $1,466 for the pork and $4,091 for the beef. You need to add back $5,557. Added to your numbers you get $5,369.71... You made a profit. :)

[@RedToolHouse]

I mentioned that at the end. I didn’t do a price breakout as it would be variable.

[@robertveronda4225]

Actually those numbers would be higher as these animals are pastured and not feed lot animals, so they command a higher price. But, definitely not a complete loss.

[@erikarichardson]

I grew up in Boone County, my mom was born in Lincoln County, and my dad was born in Kanawah County. We live in Florida now. I watch your channel when I get homesick.

[@petemarotti5747]

Troy, thanks for all of the great information. I think another video on your spreadsheet would be very valuable. Once again, thanks for taking the time to film all of this!

[@terrypomatto907]

Farmers are the biggest gamblers known to man. You are fighting Mother Nature, the market, and economics to be successful. If you want to win you have to be successful in all three areas. Some of the best laid plan can get confusing to the animals. They will not always go where or when you want them to go. Feed is always the best way to convince them to go along with your plans... I enjoy your videos and the assortment of programs that you present.

[@MAroughTop]

Troy, You're very generous with your financial information...great you're willing to do so while trying to help others. I'm enjoying watching your videos and wish you and your family all the best. I'm in the process of relocating onto a 10 acre property in VT we've been developing and we have a 5 acre field...thinking of how to best use it for our needs and to be more independent with our food. I'm late to the game still working to build the house and I'm going to be 63 this year...but being in an open much more natural setting is a wonderful opportunity for retirement...even though it might be a working retirement. Be well.

[@tanyajenkins919]

Wow havnt seen you guys n a long time ..Nice seeing you and the pigs 😂 thought your tractor wasn't going to start for a few min.

[@RedToolHouse]

It doesn’t like the cold. Welcome back!

[@BMXCARD]

When you are enjoying your pork chops and bacon and sausage, there’s also that intangible satisfaction of knowing exactly where your meal came from and how it was raised.

[@allanulen3809]

when you figured in the 4 pigs you didn't sell, was it for cash in? because those 4 pigs still are a positive. that's money you're not spending at the store. how much would cost in cash to buy the beef and pork? and with inflation that number will only go up. just a thought. really enjoyed this video. your loading went really well.

[@darrellmartin157]

Really enjoyed your video. I've raised 2 feeder pigs for myself and my kids families this year. I have learned a lot about feed cost and how to drop the cost some in these inflationary times. I really liked how you broke down you feed cost per pound of meat. Thanks

[@TheRetroFarmhouse]

Old school Lincoln Co. 😂😂😂 if your not from WV and near that area, you may not know what that means! Love it!

[@RedToolHouse]

Fake it till you make it!

[@ralphmills7322]

Troy one reason I like your channel is, you are not shy about talking about the cost of homesteading. The fact you need to plan to acquire land, find and maintain several sources of alternate income, reduce expenses and/or waste. Not to mention just plain hard work to put food on your table and in your freezer.

[@robertveronda4225]

I would definitely be interested in the spreadsheet as I like to know ALL the numbers. Plus I may be missing some and can add it to mine! The one cost you did forget, and I have not figured that cost either, is how they had a great life and clean living they had. Thanks

[@andrewvanada52]

I'm also interested.

[@rickayers3150]

Troy correct me if I'm wrong, if you are going to subtract your value in labor then I think you need to count that much in the profit side also. You are paying yourself, even if it isn't till the end.

[@BlackacreRanch]

Definitely provide the spreadsheet. I appreciate the analytics of ranching you provide. I try and do the same on my ranch.

[@slickdoglong3669]

Great job sewwwwyyyyyyy got to love the ol hog ranch raised hogs in Ohio for years I love that natural woods invioroment doesn't get much better and you have great common sense working with them God bless brother 🙏

[@thomaslinden7598]

Dang you made it look easy loading the pigs up

[@chux72vette]

Troy, excellent breakdown for us less swiney to understand. I think that at the current "C" situation, you still came out ahead or ROI. Meaning attaining all that great meat for the family for just under $200.00. I know of nowhere else you;d be able to buy that much for that price. I do know it's a tradeoff for the amount of work and investment but wow the dividends. I have a friend I'm trying to tell these things about since he moved from here in middle Alabama to W. Virginia onto 59 acres but not sure he is willing to invest the time. He's also a medically retired vet like myself. Stay tuned and we'll see. I know if I had more land, (2 1/2 acres), I'd do it in a minute. Gods Peace and Blessings~

[@darrel1954]

Yes, would like to see your spreadsheet, thank for sharing Darrel

[@terrywereb7639]

Considerations for feed conversion: yes, the mast crop. It usually fluctuates light to heavy depending on species and weather. Ambient daily temps- how much energy are the pigs using up to stay warm? Sunny vs overcast days...seems to me, a pig may forage more on a nice Spring day than on a gloomy one. My exs grandfather kept track of everything related to his life in Alaska....tides, rainfall, snowpack, river height, etc. He could watch the weather report and tell us the proportion of salmon to trout that would be entering the Kenai River where we fished...so what could we expect to catch. Statistic class showed that sometimes, an outlier can be significant.

[@lincsfencingandgardeningse9128]

I can't belive how much processing and how much people pay for pork your way .I'm getting out of pigs due to the fact feeds gone up and pig prices have plummeted dramatically. Like 6-8wk piglets are fecting £5-£10 at market which is $6-$11

[@thomasreto2997]

Like watching you tend to the pigs. Yes! Very valuable. I would watch another videos with cost analysis built in. I like the fact that you sold whole pigs and not individually cuts. USDA Regs…Someday when we move to rural Hawaii we plan on growing out a couple feeders a year but will probably go with a confined covered area with a carbon floor. (County mulch) because we will be in a rainforest (erosion )and I don’t think pasture pork will work in that environment however we got Mac nut trees and I’m thinking about growing pumpkin patches, sweet potatoes, papaya etc for finishing feed …Hawaii will be huge change from Pittsburgh and we are looking forward to it! Thank you Troy! We hope to see you at homesteaders of America conference in VA. Come October 🍄😃🌈🤙

[@bradleyhill4856]

Here are some feed options, I do not buy pig feed from stores like TSC, rural King. If it is pre bagged an in a pretty bag you pay extra for that. I buy feed at a feedmill, where I can get it in bulk or in plain bags, the price fluctuates with the grain market, also Farmers in the area will sell you shell corn the same price as they get for delivery at a grain elevator. You can mix shell corn ( yellow) with protein pellets at 3-1 racial ( corn 8% protein,40% protein pellets) that will give you a 16% complete feed,it is best to feed in some type of trough or on extremely flat hard surface, some of the shell corn will pass through the hog with no benefits, but if you have chickens or turkeys they will pick through it and scatter it. It's best to have it ground up together at the Mill less waste, also there is a bag feed called so cubes about the size of a persons thumb that you use to be able to buy it's around 32-38% ,can be fed to all classes of hogs mixed with corn of course, also if you are lucky enough to find a farmer that grow open pollinated corn it's higher in protein, also if you are grinding you can use corn, soybean meal, vitamin pack your local feed mill will know the combination for your hogs.hope this is helpful

[@derekbergdorf2085]

Yes that would be a good video to watch with the spreadsheet

[@belindagray3005]

yes to spread sheet please. JB seems to be better . Thanks. :)

[@ericc3327]

187.29 paid for a ton of meat and a couple thousand dollars made at a (admittedly low paying) second job is a pretty good deal. Especially if you have unpaid assistance in the form of kids (although that’s the most expensive labor pool I can imagine). Now if you amortize out both the cost of the land and infrastructure over time maybe it gets a bit rougher, but at some point you could theoretically realize a profit on those as well. Or the land at least anyways.

[@ShalomShalom-d5c]

If this is a side hustle for him, a loss on paper is a great thing bc it reduces his tax bill on his real job income. Most home based businesses are primarily for that reason, but with his, he gets good eats too.

[@joehackney4828]

Excellent vid with lots of great info. Infant stage of standing up a homestead, looking at different way to make it self-sufficient for grandkids, if they want it. I would love a vid on the pencil factors. And your cost for 2 pigs and a beef was 187.29. You did make a profit if not in money, in safe food. Thanks for the work.

[@mburke1211]

Great stuff. A little KC and the Sunshine Band serenade to boot!

[@PeterSedesse]

One interesting thing I would see is the food cost of your boars and sows per year vs the cost of buying 11 feeder pigs in February. There is so much that goes into keep boars and sows year round. Breeding at the right time, birthing etc.

[@Billy_Ruck]

Please do video of spread sheet! I raise pigs as well and have been wanting to come with some better way of tracking. My next batch of pigs will be here the week of feb 7th. It would be greatly appreciated to see how you keep up with all your cost.

[@jordaneubank]

Troy, yes, spreadsheet please

[@lpcfarm4611]

Question: Did your boars and sows eat for free? In other words; were your feed calculations for the total feed purchased, or did you break out just what was used by those that were processed? That should be something to consider as well.

[@RedToolHouse]

Tracked separately. This video only addressed the processing herd

[@rickayers3150]

Yes, we need to know where we are at to know where we are going.

[@bryancondrey6457]

Other factors might include the time based cost of your labor for repairs. Also you could factor the gain in property value by using living vacuums as a cleanup crew. Like goats, pigs can offset the cost of your labor, site maintenance,and various tool costs if you did not have that crew. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than I with engineering management skills could throw you a thousand or more factors. To get the most out of your labors you will need an algorithm that takes into account for too many variables. In the end, enjoying what you do to fill your time is priceless as long it remains fun and you don't get injured. Thanks for sharing your time and experience with the rest of us.

[@ShalomShalom-d5c]

Very well said.

[@terrywereb7639]

Brian....sometimes, using livestock for property management can som.etimes backfire. Like when your sheep put a cow sized hole in the bull pen!

[@FreeAmerican]

Yes - I would love to see the financial information. Great video as usual.

[@kencornelius9584]

Troy, please do the spreadsheet video. This WV hillbilly would like to see it. Thanks

[@stephenlindsey9233]

Yes that would very valuable to do that video on you spread sheet Annalise

[@issacf4416]

“A freezer full of beef and two full-size hogs worth of meat” is pretty good considering the quirky times we are experiencing.

[@3CreekFarms]

Definitely believe the spreadsheet video would be a valuable video Troy

[@twestgard2]

Agree

[@Chuck1929]

Interesting video. Sometimes feeding yourself is the most important part. If you take how many meals you got out of the pigs times $10 a meal you made out great.

[@littlewrenpastures3692]

I feel ya with that frozen ground I’m just down the road from you and I was struggling yesterday to drive t-posts!

[@necrokittie2291]

my goal when i get pigs is to get really fatty pigs because lean meat makes me feel fatigued. good to know keeping them a bit longer is how i'll feel energetic on my keto diet.

[@santiagogurule5306]

Thanks for the info. It would be great to see a spread sheet.

[@fiendeng]

Share That Sheet! 👍😁 hearing the numbers would be very informative

[@joemc111]

Another great show Troy. About January 8th at save a lot ham was $.49 pound. Keep warm I will try to send you some are in the next 3 months. Joe in Florida but not today it’s 51 here

[@bigtruth11]

Yes please share the spreadsheet

[@twestgard2]

Yikes! My feed cost is about $27 for 100# at Rural King in Indiana. (It has gone up significantly in the last couple months.) I found a cheaper place that’s over an hour each way but the hogs got skinny and looked sick so that was the end of that. That’s bad enough but the processing costs are astronomical and legally I’m not allowed to do it myself. The bottom line (literally) is that I can make like a dollar an hour if I sell the meat, but that’s so ridiculously low that it’s not worth doing. Between feed costs and regulations, I’m locked out of raising pork with a profit unless I’m willing to do it illegally, which obviously also would cancel my insurance. Not worth the risk.

[@RedToolHouse]

I would suggest finding a different market or a niche with your pork. Find a processor who will offer more value added options and market pasture pork over confinement pork and the benefits with it

[@twestgard2]

@@RedToolHouse I think that’s insightful. The solution I’ve found is to switch to a different crop: we raise chickens instead, both meatbirds and eggs. The regulations on those allow me to do my own processing, which profoundly improves the profit margins. We can legally raise pork for ourselves, and since that displaces out-of-pocket cash costs, it’s financially excellent as long as it’s only for our own table. But I think for now there’s no way for a small producer to raise and sell swine profitably in Indiana, because the same investment of capital and effort into other crops produces so much better money. When you can make so much more money raising other things, the choice to raise swine always results in a loss of potential profits. (If that accounting doesn’t tie people in knots, I don’t know what will. Can’t win! 😂)

[@donaldkunst3630]

Great Video - as usual! thank you!

[@KC-jq9kw]

Awesome. I will have my first litter of Red Wattle hogs here in a few days here in Ohio. I would like to see a video on feed conversion.

[@j.b.6855]

You might want to look into buying bulk feed to see if you can save some money. You will need a place to store it, but you produce your own building materials to build a feed storage place.

[@twestgard2]

Where would you buy bulk feed at a significantly cheaper price? I’ve called every grain elevator within two hours drive and prices don’t improve much past what the local rural king offers in 50# increments. I tried to buy feed directly from farmers but they have contractual obligations against direct sales. I’ve asked other pig farmers and they don’t know anything I don’t about that. So I don’t know where to look next. The big corporate “farms” can negotiate by the trainload but that’s out of the question for me.

[@j.b.6855]

@@twestgard2 Im not sure where in WV. But there are also other advantages if you dont save a lot of money. One is the labor involved in loading, and unloading bags of feed. Its hard and takes toll on you.

[@RedToolHouse]

We have no bulk options near me. I am driving 1.5 hours already for this price per 100#. Storage and especially humidity issues with pig feed would make this a very expensive infrastructure investment.

[@pineywoodsfarmranch6693]

I would be interested to see the video of your excel sheet. Thanks for sharing!

[@MAM-cy3yy]

Troy, I put down thick black rubber horse mats underneath my gates to keep from having to dig. Sold at Rural King or Tractor Supply

[@wallacetaylor5893]

Ok, you could have gotten more for the hogs. My area in KY we are paying 3.80 a pound hanging weight. Also when factoring in the two you trade out for the beef then that is a wash and I personally would not count those as an expense as you are swapping. Enjoy the videos, thanks.

[@KaleidoscopeJunkie]

How about your thoughts and a 1 year update on the condition/use of the tire trough? -KJ

[@deanbarr5740]

Its sad when anybody takes a hit on their farm. This information you provided was very helpful. Although it wasn't horrible it just isn't profitable either. Raising hogs has benefits too, improving your pasture, cleaning up the undergrowth, as well as fertilization of the ground. You do a great job raising pigs till their ready for processing. I hope next time you make a profit. Hope your good record keeping can provide you with some better results, if there is any. Looking forard to any updates.

[@clydedenby1436]

Very helpful information.

[@kevinhuff]

Interesting that you mention bartering hogs for beef. I live in area that has livestock, grain and tree fruits. Since families frequently knew each other for generations there were a lot of understandings between farmers and ranchers.

[@David-kd5mf]

show us the spreadsheet, it would be a good video

[@SSSHILOH4]

Yes! It would be wonderful to see how and what you track

[@JohnSmithJrVT]

I would like to see that spreadsheet and understand how you are using it.

[@uxofreakgaming1217]

I’d love to see how you do your spreadsheet

[@toddcaskey9984]

I miss the good ole days when you first loaded pigs , too boring now 🤪. Great job u 2 . I love the frozen ground instead of the mud. Kelly's labor is skilled , and more value than your unskilled, 🤪 factor in that next time to get proper results please. Yeah I want a Spreder sheet, so I'm a yes vote. Great 👍 job Troy , Todd🤪

[@RedToolHouse]

I know! Way too calm for a good KZbin video. Kelly appreciates me not losing my mind however

[@ScottCooper]

Thanks again for another great video. We do small time Berkshire in Florida and I would greatly enjoy a video on your spreadsheet. I would love to compare it to mine and see any time for improvement.

[@David-kd5mf]

maybe try boer goats as side by side comparison with pigs tracking for meat yield, feed costs and profitability. Ive heard that they can gain weight nearly as fast as pigs but with them eating twigs and stuff i wonder if having a coppice orchard of hybrid poplar, black locust, and white mulberry would cut feed costs alot.

[@fairviewhomestead]

We are considering boers in the near future. We are doing AGH and Sheep right now. The sheep are another great option for pastured land. We have minimal feed investment in them as they eat 80-90. % grass and hay in the winter.

[@RedToolHouse]

We chose pigs ten years ago because fencing and infrastructure was the cheapest for any farm animal on pasture. Goats would be great on our farm but I don’t want to deal with the fencing requirements at this time.

[@censormedaddy]

@@RedToolHouse Good choice. I have raised both hogs and goats and goats are the biggest pitas to keep fenced in. They are little ninjas.

[@ericb9345]

Great video. I was curious how they’d do compared to your commercial pigs. We’re currently running a small Kune Kune X Japanese Meishan herd. But I think we’re going to change directions. We produce most of our own feed so we’re able to hit about $8 per hundred in costs, but their conversion isn’t very good so its not much of an offset.

[@joannthompson765]

definitely interested in spread sheet set up to track feed.we do rabbits so I just go all by feed bought in yr by sales of live and of frozen meat sold

[@denislosieroutdoors]

Great honest information thinking on trying this someday thanks for sharing

[@glennwennen8251]

yes spread sheet would be valuable

[@deanmagnuson2993]

To get a faucet I lost you should take care of the cost of raising the sows and the bars

[@patburgard2115]

Yes I would watch that video

[@jbaker4900]

I would be interested in the spreadsheet video.

[@johnmoore2555]

I would absolutely love to get a copy of your PowerPoint program for tracking the feed

[@cathyjones3403]

Like the listing of how much everything cost

[@kevinblevins2612]

Troy Have you looked into raising some of the feed for your hogs? If you had room to grow some corn and soybean it would definitely reduce your feed bill!

[@twestgard2]

Given the massive subsidies to midwest grain farmers and the soil/hills in WV, it’s probably most productive to buy corn and send the pigs out for mast as he already does. WV isn’t known for row crops for a reason.

[@RedToolHouse]

Don’t have any tillable acreage. Too much slope and too little flat for the amount of feed I need.

[@janebennett9062]

Yes I would be interested in your spreadsheet for raising hogs or any animal. Thanks

[@JohnSmith-tv5ep]

TROY, read thru the comments section that was available at this time many had questions. Thanks for your cost analysis ! Good stuff! So, I do have 1 question,..... Yinz still ever think about waaysing..... WABBITS? ( just a joke!, don't slap me!)

[@RedToolHouse]

My good friend raises rabbits. We are considering adding them this year for the manure benefits.

[@JohnSmith-tv5ep]

@@RedToolHouse TROY ! aahh, your gettin soft ! Jokingly I commented a year or two ago that same question and your reply was, ... " rabbits don't taste like bacon!" LOL Very true, but I betcha rabbits CAN taste like ,....chicken?!! Stay Healthy and thanks for sharing your experiences.

[@davidj.mackinney6568]

About how much did the market pigs weigh?My wife's comment is "fools rush in" . I would think you should add back to your income the meat value of the beef and them pork that you keep because if you didn't do this you would have to buy them at the store. My wife agreed.

[@twiztidjigga]

Try to buy some round bales of hay great for bedding and they eat a lot it

[@DESIGNBUILDLIVE]

We are just starting with a fee piglets and I can't find a good source for calculating how much feed to give them. We are doing new country organics 16% and they are growing and staying fat! But I don't have the experience to know if they are overfed, or still possibly underfed. Do you have any tips for calculating feed amounts for pigs?

[@willbass2869]

Shovel it into them early. Build frame. The cheapest feed is the early feed.

[@jeremyratliff1038]

Would like to see the spreadsheet video Troy. Also that around $200 "lose" is nothing for the amount of meat your getting. Appericate you laying it all out like that.

[@outdoorsman7538]

Where do you get your feed

[@jbaker4900]

Dad dance @ 13:20

[@kathyhypes4198]

Just wondering. What size is your Kioti tractor? Enjoy your videos!

[@RedToolHouse]

35hp

[@RedToolHouse]

35hp

[@MrWaterbugdesign]

Computing costs is tricky. Many ways to look at it. But not looking at the value of food you got seems a little extra crazy. Kind of wonder why the cost of the piglets wouldn't be included, pretty easy to estimate by whatever a piglet would cost in your area. Maybe $400-500?

[@willbass2869]

One angle not looked at was, if Troy had to BUY all that beef & pork for his family then he would have had to pay the grocery with AFTER tax money. Since he is self-employed with his mkt biz then he pays "full freight" on employment taxes. I'm on pretty sure if he recalc'd he would find he broke even or maybe even came out ahead. Lots of ways to skin a cat.

[@villagesteader3552]

No, I don’t want to know how much my eggs cost because it will make me sad…and I don’t really want my husband to realize that they are really more pets than productive!!!! ♥️👍🙏🇺🇸🤓

[@robertveronda4225]

You might actually be surprised at what it does/doesn't cost to have the fresh eggs. Plus the "free" entertainment you get from those fluffy butts! When I first started tracking it I was really surprised it wasn't even close to what the store eggs cost and that was for 30 chickens and not selling them just personal use alone I was saving a lot!

[@villagesteader3552]

@@robertveronda4225 I will never be without chickens, no matter what comes along! Yes, those fluffy butts are very entertaining. You got me thinking that this past year I have been finding food for them like never before, leftovers, forage, garden extras, and I have really upped my canning game so lots of fruits and veggies scraps from that. That looks good until you figure that I got a new chicken house this year @2,300.00. Let’s just forget the math!?!🤣🤪

[@robertcarter7465]

No matter how you use the pork, the top amount is the value of product produced. Also the pigs at weaning were not free. Others mentioned the cost of the sows and boars etc. For your calculations you could use your local prices for pigs at weaning. Either what you could sell yours for or what you would have had to pay to purchase them. Farmers don't get paid by the hour. Unless it's outside labor or you actually paid your sons, don't add it in. The amount left after all calculations is "return on labor and investment".

[@RedToolHouse]

Labor has to be factored in (to be accurate) but there is much debate as to the rate and the actual time. Lord knows farming is a 24/7 endeavor

[@tritchie6272]

The spread sheet might be worthwhile education. Not everybody is familiar with them.

[@elaines5179]

Did you factor in your driving time and cost of running your vehicle for feed delivery?

[@RedToolHouse]

Feed acquisition is stacked with other business that has me in that area. Additional fuel consumption due to weight is negligible

[@safffff1000]

How much would you spent on all that meat if you had to buy it retail, is the biggest factor you haven't listed in your profit column. I'd like to know.

[@deanmagnuson2993]

Need to factor in the cost of Ray handlebars and the sauce vegan

[@doncraig6864]

Show us your Disco Moves!

[@RedToolHouse]

Not good for the general public for sure😳

[@burlyboomer4283]

The way I see it the $2,800 of food you kept should be counted as profit because necessities like food are equivalent to cash (without the IRS stealing 25%). I subtracted the actual expenses from gross to get profits ($4,925.71), then divided by total hours worked (192.75) and got hourly profits of $25.55, which is about what entry level lawyers earn as wages. And this was a bad year? Pigs really do = profits.

[@sixoaksfarm1556]

If your feed costs go up 30% then your price should go up 30%. Also, your beef trade isn't as much a loss as it is a wash, financially anyway. And, you still get the value of your 2 pigs you kept as well. With a 30% bump in price, I think your pigs would be free.

[@donmartin7728]

Curious for a different video. What is the cost benefit to having your own boars? How much to AI your sows vs the cost of keeping boars to service your sows? Are your boars registered, if so do you plan on selling semen or leasing out your boars to service other sows when not busy with yours?

[@RedToolHouse]

Boars cost more to feed that one round of AI per year. The issue is if AI doesn’t settle then I have more expense and delay in breeding times. With a boar, I feel more confident they will settle. Still debating which I prefer.

[@robertveronda4225]

I'm small scale more like micro scale and the my boar is a definitely an expensive part to me. But, I don't have to worry about doing AI or being able to get it, again, if they don't take(settle). Definitely a good video idea.

[@ricklarade3593]

yes, spreadsheet!!!!!....lol

[@iwantosavemoney]

That’s 678 dollars a hog you don’t charge your self for market price you charge your self Actual price these numbers are so bad they probably should not have been gone over.

[@gojoe36]

You need more pigs to offset everything. That is(was) the problem. 10 more pigs would solve your offset

[@jbaker4900]

At one point his herd was 25 pigs. You can go back a few years and see.

[@solventtrapdotcom6676]

The big c... Corruption, right?

[@larryag99]

One important monetary item I didn't see accounted for in the profitability figure was the value of the 2-pigs and the 1-beef. You mentioned it as an add-back, but no figures given. I suspect that would significantly change the "loss" you indicated. Also, I didn't see you account for the infrastructure investment, i.e. land, equipment, etc. Someone thinking about raising farm animals for profit would first need the initial investment of the infrastructure. Also, I suspect you spent considerable time over and above the .75/hr for daily feeding for your time in creating and maintaining the pig related infrastructure. Those structures didn't build themselves, nor did the lumber used for such mill itself. In short... there are many more financial items that need to be considered to arrive at a true profit/loss calculation. And finally, just think about those calculations against simply spending a few more hours at your day job. If one was simply in it for the money, spending a few more hours at their day job might be more profitable. Something to think about anyway.

[@twestgard2]

I think he addressed this: no matter how you do your accounting, someone will wish it had included a different set of data. You literally can’t win. My 2¢ is that no single calculation really gives you an adequate picture. You’re going to have several different questions about how a project went, and in order to get all that dealt with, you have to do multiple calculations that include different lists of inputs. Another factor is the cost of the off-road vehicle. If you eliminate the agricultural work and just use the place as a residence then that cost can be totally eliminated. But is that desirable? In the end, accounting depends first and primarily on intangible value systems such as your subjective enjoyment of a lifestyle. Only after you choose those things can you do financial calculations. So it’s not really about the numbers in the end.

[@RedToolHouse]

This was a focus on this herd only. The entire farm profitability is a different set of numbers. The $250 in repairs covers any work needed but could also cover the amortization of infrastructure set in place over the last ten years.

[@MHow1900]

Why would you include the cost of hogs you consumed? That should go towards your household budget. Your household purchased from your farm. Also missing fixed costs and depreciation.

[@RedToolHouse]

This was just a single herd cost analysis. Fixed costs and depreciation are factored i the entire farm budget. I still had to raise the hogs we consume and I could have sold them so there is revenue potential lost.