Which is More Profitable - selling pork cuts or whole/half pigs?

In this episode, I discuss the pros and cons of selling whole and half hogs shares versus selling individual pork cuts through your pastured pigs operation.
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[@SheratonParkFarms]

Great analysis. We are almost exclusively cuts on the pork and about 70/30 (cuts to bulk) on beef. Frankly I love bulk sales for all the reasons you’ve detailed. In our area, which of primarily urban/suburban, not a lot of folks want to take advantage of bulk sales even when we talk about the discount they can raise on a bulk purchase. There is a bit of interest in bulk beef but not pork and I’m not sure why that is. In all fairness, we don’t advertise bulk that much so perhaps if we leaned into the marketing side it may improve. Thanks again for detailing the subject. On a side note, thanks for all your videos and info over the years. You guys were one of our first KZbin subscriptions when we started. Could never have imagined we’d end up where we are and I owe a debt of gratitude to you for your content. Very much appreciated.

[@RedToolHouse]

Thanks, Chuck! Need to get you back on the podcast for an update!

[@KaleidoscopeJunkie]

I just changed My mind about visiting you. I've "smarted off" in your comments and don't want to end up in your freezer. -KJ

[@LtColDaddy71]

The money in pork comes by “value adding” to the product. Good old Italian butchery.

[@DMHRC]

Thank you for taking the time to go through some of the business side of farming!

[@petruzzovichi]

Excellent video, one of your best. This is a return to the wonderful educator we've known. Organization, logic, presentation and video recording all well done. Many thanks...

[@kurtkohl151]

I got three of you guys I follow as I find your videos informative, intelligent, and worth every second of it. Keep up the good work and Ill keep watchin.

[@jeffwillard2417]

"Freezer Camp" made me chuckle, I have several in "camp" now.....

[@rickayers3150]

Very good job of breaking that down.we also raise pastured pork, half and holes. Also just sausage, bulk sweet or hot. We keep all the bacon and chops for family. I like how you use pigs on the ridges. I'm using mine to clear around 9 acres.

[@Maybe_Crazy05]

Oh man jowl bacon is the best bacon I’ve ever had, I never knew it was a thing until we raised our first hog which was recent. Thank you for this info..

[@grandpaslakehouse-homestea6113]

The Tire Trough worked excellent. It amazing to see the amount of material those pigs have removed from the side of the barn.

[@austinsensenig9411]

Thanks for covering all that for me! Very informative and personalized thanks buddy, been watching since your first video and still watch everytime you post

[@NYFreeman]

You are my new favorite channel.

[@RedToolHouse]

Thanks!

[@tawnyascharber9402]

I have 3 pigs scheduled for USDA processing in January 2022..I plan to sell in various size bundles (ie:10, 25 and 50lb). Breakfast bundles, sampler bundles, BBQ bundles etc....this bumps the price per pound up as I average it out...people are often intimidated by buying a half/whole and this idea seems more popular. Hopefully it works but as you said selling both ways is the key......Thank you for the awesome content.

[@PeterSedesse]

Another benefit of going hybrid and not just half/wholes is if you have other products. Nice having those customers coming by every month for more cuts, and also picking up some broilers and eggs at the same time.

[@markee063]

Great content, Troy. All your stuff. Subscribed a month or so back. My wife and son and me are headed your way soon (weeks away). Were are cash buyers looking at farms in Harrison county area. We love your example of living.

[@virnafarm9059]

At this point in Minnesota we do whole and halfs but in the next year we hope to move and be closer to USDA certified processing and do a similar method to yours.

[@DeanFamilyAcres]

Great clarification, thanks again for sharing your experience!

[@mikeholcomb1450]

We are just starting our little Homestead in Harrison County, WV and are starting off with pastured poultry. We're already planning ahead for pastured pork, and have a pretty good interest in our area. Coyotes are a problem here and while I'm an avid hunter and will gladly add a few ounces to predators, do you experience problems with coyotes and your pigs? If so, how do you manage and prevent attacks or predation on your pigs? I really enjoy your channel and the info you share. Being in WV, it was your channel that helped make our final decision to build our homestead business. Thanks for your shares and the info!

[@RedToolHouse]

I have yet to have a single coyote issue. Not sure if they are kept away by the electric fence or if they are intimidated by the sows. The piglets stay so close to the sows when they are little and with weeks they get pretty agile and tough to take down

[@dustinjohnson7728]

Once pigs reach 100lbs they are essentially immune to predation by anything short of a bear and by raising multiple animals you further decrease your odds of losing pigs to predation. However, coyotes near your farm are still dangerous to other livestock and pets so controlling predators is still good management practice. I recommend getting into predator trapping because it's effective, not terribly time consuming, and honestly it's a lot of fun. If you can catch good numbers you can even make a little pocket money selling the furs not to mention the benefit to local wildlife. I started trapping predators on my dad's property in Oklahoma 5 or 6 years ago and we've noticed an increase in wild turkeys because I've reduced the population of coons, possums, and other nest predators as well as the coyotes.

[@TheWickedFast1]

we have the same Coyote problem here in Raleigh county also, i dispatch any and all i can, my brother just received the shoats we bought, were looking forward to a fall harvest.

[@JoeAroner-SIWAYTV]

I find as a consumer, I like to try retail sizes first, wether individual cuts or boxes of 10lbs-50lbs.. After I have established a relationship with the producer and comfortable with the product I up my orders to half and whole animals. It does take a little time to adjust to quantity in a freezer. You only get two sets of ribs and loins, but tons of sausage/ground from the trim, so there’s that.

[@TonyBarlow03]

Excellent information! Thank you!

[@johnfischer1298]

Lol I was thinking about this a day or two before this came out. I like how the conclusion was already what I was thinking

[@sixoaksfarm1556]

We do both for the reasons you mentioned. In farming, diversity is important. Also, we were able to get our retail freezer meats insured. If I lose it, the insurance company pays for it. Its reasonably cheap insurance to have. The pigs look great!...Well done!!

[@jeremyemerick6162]

Here in Pennsylvania I primarily sell USDA cuts of pork from my on site farm store (4 winds Farm). I used to do whole and halves, but since the store opened everything goes into cuts and sausages (whole & halves our on hold for a bit).

[@anchorranchfarm]

The opportunity cost of selling individual cuts is really high. We set our pricing such that buying a half is the cheapest option for the customer while also being the most profitable for us. That way our incentives are aligned with our customers. We also offer individual cuts at a markup, but most of those are essentially pre-sold through our CSA program, so while we have the extra expense (and lower margin) we at least have a reasonable guarantee of getting paid for our work. We only sell individual cuts that are not pre-orders if we happen to have extra. The amount of work and risk-reward on retail is so bad that we don't even factor it into our P&L projections. We've never broke even on that line of business and we just think of individual retail sales as a marketing expense.

[@anchorranchfarm]

I'll add that our USDA processor here in Western Oregon is now setting hog dates 24 months in advance due to supply/demand issues. Which is another reason almost all our sales are pre-orders.

[@thomasreto2997]

Great information. We are thinking about getting into this in a few years. Thanks man!😃🌈🤙

[@jadyguidry5011]

Last batch we sold 5 whole shares and did one retail cuts to try out. The retail. It’s sold pretty fast. On our small scale this left us with no pork for about 6 months. This go round we are sending all 6 for retail so we can hold a lot of inventory. Then once our next batch of pigs are ready we can look at our inventory and see whether we need more cuts or if we can just sale wholes. I like the hybrid model but need to get a flow of constantly having pigs ready.

[@whineysnowflake8072]

just starting to raise pork (thanks to folks like you) and i may do both methods. With my grass raised/finished beef i dont sell whole or half because it takes way too long to raise/higher over head and people are flakey when it comes to actually having freezer space or what they thought it would be. They can leave you hanging along with the beef

[@dalefrasca3136]

What will you do with Napoleon.? I have been under the understanding that un-cut males produce a nasty tasting pork. In our area , boars just grow old and end up at auction and bring $ 3 - 5.00 each..

[@dunbartuason5443]

Very educational

[@rexbanner1560]

just found this channel. great content.

[@cameronwatson1504]

2 year pioneer video

[@SarahPerine]

I have a question about selling whole and half hogs. Can you process the pigs before you have a buyer? Or do you have to have buyers before they're processed so the buyers can speak directly with the butchers? I am just starting out and doing most things backwards so far... but I am most interested in mobile slaughter and not USDA. Thanks so much for your videos!! I also hear about people purchasing 1/16th of a beef... can this be done with pigs, too? Can we help people work together to share shares? Thank you again!

[@RedToolHouse]

The issue with processing before a buyer is you would most likely have to bring the pork home which would be illegal for custom processing. If your state offers state inspected processing then you could get a meat handlers license and sell individual cuts within your state. I would do no less than half hogs. Anything less makes it difficult to share hams etc

[@SarahPerine]

@@RedToolHouse Thank you!! Aha! No I don't want to do what's illegal! I'll look into the meat handlers license. Thank you again. It's a lot to learn but very enjoyable.

[@toddcaskey9984]

I’m thinking a red tool house logo would look good on the coop. 🤪todd

[@AFFarms444]

What do you feed them, usually? Thank you.

[@tihspidtherekciltilc5469]

Bacon seeds.

[@Surferjo]

great video ty

[@jbbrown7907]

When you move your pigs, do your seed the area they are leaving?

[@davidgrimshire6671]

I'm a consumer and not a pork producer. Lots of information here for both producers and consumers but could you revisit this video with the consumer in mind. I've never had pigs feet or jowl so selling me a half pig is going to be hard without some sales info. l like some smoked pork and some fresh roasts. So as a consumer can I buy a half and still get the pork I want? Also I don't know the difference in taste between grass fed and grain fed hogs. I do know the difference in grass fed cows because they show up in my supermarket. Would I find grass fed hogs in Costco? Dave

[@namjignerak]

Pig flavor comes from sunshine and exercise.

[@antonhuman8446]

Troy I did not get the abattoir fees for pork in the US clearly? Please.

[@jbbrown7907]

You coveted the update at the end. So laye. I wasn't such to breed the first week of December

[@micky8912]

they are camera shy, They heard you talking about the "CUTS" :O

[@iwantosavemoney]

I like pork and it is so reasonable to raise it on the farm but it can be drastic different from product the sell of animals vs have them processed and selling the meat for instant a sheep that is 80 pounds is worth about 250-300 but processed would be worth about 600 in a whole the way you would sell a sheep is killing it for 60 pounds of meat ps I live in Oklahoma also are butcher charge is 125 per sheep 20:28

[@twestgard2]

The barrier here in Indiana is that, if you sell one item that doesn’t fit the cottage food law (called home-based vendor here), then all of your products have to meet commercial standards. Right now, I sell a lot of maple syrup and eggs, and we do a few other value-added products. If we start selling pork, I would have to buy all the equipment that is required for a place the size of Walmart, which would obviously put me out of business. People do it anyway, but it’s not legal and that feels like a foundation built on sand to me. That, and after having a processor substitute some other cheap hog for my pasture raised AGH lard hog, I’m leery of letting anyone else process my animals. I’m told this is a common problem.

[@GoldenHayloe]

If someone buys whole or half, is the meat put into cuts or do you have to part it out yourself?

[@RedToolHouse]

It is still finished into cuts. They packaging is marked not for resale.

[@Avaldemon]

But what about organ meat? Are those hard to sell where you are?

[@howlinhairyontheprairie8261]

Good info thanks

[@jamesmash3537]

How do you find your customers?

[@HarrisonCountyStudio]

$5.50 per pound for feet and head? Is there much of a market for the feet and head?

[@lukeryuzaki2328]

Very much in Chinese, SouthEast Asian community. So if you live near area with these community, you're in luck. Else, not very much.

[@SylantBill]

What about state meat inspectors?

[@The1stDukeDroklar]

And how much does it cost to raise a hog when you factor in the feed, any shots/vet, and all the other stuff you must provide? Doesn't sound financially viable.

[@RedToolHouse]

We have a video that does a full cost assessment if you are really interested. We look for food independence, better quality, and cost effectiveness

[@michelemohr8586]

What type of hogs are they?

[@leadfootnick4x4]

Good video and the pigs are cute

[@jbbrown7907]

Farrow ing update?

[@boltaction8541]

You forgot about packaging costs for cuts... gotta wrap them in something!

[@snaker9er]

That probably falls under processing

[@Poppy_love59]

If you put lipstick on a pig, does it sell better ?

[@ryanstowe6437]

Wow only 9 lbs of bacon per pig seems awfully low I think it was 15 for my small pig

[@AnarchyEnsues]

Jowl bacon is the best

[@ChungNguyen-ww8jn]

😀

[@purplesvet]

Oh wow meat is sooo expensive in the US.

[@joegote]

Freezer camp. Ha

[@Dustin-yc4lx]

Nope i wood go with the hole or half

[@oldcountryman2795]

We cut our meat consumption by 90%. Feeling much better with increased energy and better all-around health.

[@jaystone3730]

Mmmmmmmm bacon :)

[@stupedcraig]

@3:28 $5.50 because thats the cheapest that I sell anything for.. and $5.25 for spare ribs right above it..? Crazy people are paying more for feet than spare ribs.

[@stupedcraig]

ah, never mind tax write off..

[@davidj.mackinney6568]

My wife says you need a haircut.

[@RedToolHouse]

So does mine

[@TheApocalypticKnight]

@@RedToolHouse lol! What do they know? 🙂