Breed today, sell next summer

The seasonal cycle often influences market prices for the swine industry. In the winter, there may be more supply of pork due to farmers finishing pigs that were raised during the warmer months. This can cause prices to dip. In contrast, selling in summer can allow farmers to take advantage of better market prices when demand is high, especially during holidays or events like Memorial Day, Independence Day or Labor Day in the U.S. In summary, selling pigs in the summer months tends to be more valuable because of higher demand for pork, lower operational costs, and potentially higher market prices.

So, are you ready? Hopefully you are because what you do today will have long term benefits or repercussions in the future. What I am referring to is the females that are breed today in sow farm will produce offspring that will be sold next summer, which are the highest revenue months for pork producers. Depending on the year, throughout a calendar year, margins per pig sold. In the winter months, margins can range from minimal profits to $20 loss or more. In the summer months, margins can range from minimal profits to $35 or even higher profits. This article will cover preparation, maximizing opportunity and limiting losses.

Sow farm analysis was performed utilizing the MetaFarms Ag Platform with specific focus on the U.S. customers only. In the calendar year 2023, the number of sow farms was slightly more than 350, with an average female inventory of 800,000. In 2023, U.S. MetaFarms customers had nearly 9,000 nursery closeouts with 20,000,000 pigs started, while finishing closeouts were near 10,000 or 19,500,000 pigs started

Being ready
The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today. From sow farms to nursery and finishing sites being prepared to maximize opportunities looks different but all have the same underlying message: Do what is best for the pig every day.

Here are a few areas of preparation for each phase of production:

Sow farms
Gilt availability: Ensure you have enough gilts available so those less than high performing animals can be removed as well as ensuring breed target goals can be met.

Nursery
Incoming piglets should have a clean/warm environment to welcome them. When it is time to eat, the pig should be welcomed by clean water and the proper feed diet.

Finish
Similar to incoming nursery piglets, finishing pigs should be welcomed with a clean/warm environment with the proper feed diet and clean water.  Also ensure that each pig has the proper space allotment as to not over or under crowd pens.