Weighing 38,000 lbs of Pigs: How Much Money Did We Make?

Weighing 38,000 lbs of Pigs | How Much Money Did We Make
If you want to raise pastured pork, you need to know how to weigh pigs. In this video, we show you how to move your pigs from a paddock to a corral using low-stress animal handling techniques, how to weigh pigs with a scale, how to estimate the weight of pigs without a scale, how to prepare pigs for processing, and more! Watch til the end to see how much money we made selling these pigs to Grass Roots Farmers Cooperative for direct-to-customer delivery.
00:00 - Intro
00:28 - Prep
01:38 - Moving Pigs
02:50 - Weighing Pigs
05:02 - Measuring Pig Weight
06:06 - Take a Break
06:43 - Sorting Pigs
08:32 - Sales
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[@nameshavebeenchangedtoprot2127]

So some unanswered questions here, how much was the processing cost, per pig/per pound/bulk? Is the meat being sold in bulk to a large buyer or to individuals by cut? Is there a better breed to use on your pasture?

[@a15thcenturysuitofgothicarmor]

Great info, loved it! 🐷

[@HeiferUSA]

Glad to hear it! 🐷✨

[@cotypendergrass2833]

So how much was profit? Meaning what did it cost to feed? Medicine etc?

[@bryanpearce4440]

Excellent video

[@HeiferUSA]

Thank you! We're glad you enjoyed it! 🐷

[@CoNeSol]

Great video - loved it - but was very disappointed in the payout - as it doesn't seem worth it to only earn $450 per pig - when you can earn a heck of a lot more selling individual portions thru a store - I'd appreciate some comment on this pls.

[@tuckervio3189]

Really enjoyed your video, thank you for that!!

[@HeiferUSA]

Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers! 😄

[@matthewduffy550]

sorry, does the "payout" mean net or gross? what was the calculation for the inputs (either total or per pig)?

[@dchall8]

What do you think the differences are between net and gross? Are you thinking of fuel and vehicle expenses?

[@matthewhaase1360]

Selling for less than 2$ per pound hanging weight. Above commodity prices but below direct marketing prices. Are you selling to a supplier like butcher box or something? My question is who bought these 38,00 pounds. Thank you for your time. Nice video!

[@HeiferUSA]

Hey Matthew, great question. We sell to Grassroots Farmers Cooperative

[@spencer26ish]

What was the price per lb?

[@user-gk4nc5pj7t]

Does that 54K include all that you had to invest in it like food, water, shelter etc?

[@willbass2869]

My understanding the stock trailer is allowed to haul 48,000 lbs. Yes? If that is so, wouldn't it be better to produce enough hogs to completely fill the trailer. Your first load was 10,000 pounds short, iirc. Granted you don't know weights beforehand but after all these years can't you guesstimate better so as to get a full load? Not knocking you. Just trying to see about squeezing the max allowed pounds into the trailer thus spreading shipping costs over more pounds. Great work y'all do. Inspiring.

[@newedenfarm]

I would guess that the amount of hogs they raised was what they had room to do. The constraint is almost always at the ranch side rather than the hauling side.

[@HeiferUSA]

That's a great question! The answer comes down to our spacing standards as members of Grass Roots Farmers Cooperative. In order to ensure the health and welfare of our animals, we must provide adequate space for our pigs both on farm and during transport to prevent crowding, overheating, trampling, and other dangers caused by inadequate spacing. If we loaded each trailer up to 48,000 pounds, we could fit more pigs on each trailer, but we would risk the health of the animals and the integrity of the product we've worked so hard to raise. Thanks for the question, and thanks for your support! We appreciate viewers like you!

[@HeiferUSA]

Great guess! We're fortunate to have lots of room at the ranch to raise pigs. The constraints on hauling actually come from our spacing standards, which help us ensure each pig is comfortable and safe en route to the processing facility.

[@debradixon6746]

I have a Red Duroc gilt I hope to process in November. I really enjoy it

[@HeiferUSA]

Best of luck! 🐷 Be sure to check out our other videos on pastured pig production!

[@inzerillofamilyfarm4209]

Question who do you sell your pigs and chickens to.

[@HeiferUSA]

We sell finished livestock to our co-op, Grass Roots Farmers' Cooperative. Then, they market and distribute our products through their e-commerce website, www.grassrootscoop.com. 💚

[@simonddumba10]

At what age do you usually hit the 300 pound weight?

[@HeiferUSA]

Our hogs usually hit the target weight at 7-8 months of age.

[@WalMac1976]

we raised hogs back in the 80's & 90's.... we always seemed to get Top price between 220 - 240.

[@HeiferUSA]

We aim for 300-320 pounds live weight to compensate for the loss of weight during processing. Every farm is different, though! 🐷 Thanks for watching! ✨

[@WalMac1976]

@@HeiferUSA thats what the packers wanted back then...times have changed i guess

[@mahimpetsandbirds607]

Make a video tarky related 😢

[@HeiferUSA]

You can watch all of our Pastured Turkey content on this playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLMPMX18ik9iokCHTEC9JAt2qw7io7ZUoE Enjoy! 🦃

[@MsCaterific]

🤎

[@HeiferUSA]

🤠