Summer Recap: Farm Edition

Hello again! It has been such a busy summer around here that I haven't done any writing.  In the past few months, we have had many changes on the farm.

First, the new barn project is starting to take shape.  After waiting out the spring rain, we got a little bit behind, but now the roof is on and we are moving ahead fast.  Our project manager, Rick, is doing a good job at keeping the work crews motivated and busy, so we are still hoping to be inside by the time the snow falls.

Making Progress

We also hired an on-farm nutritionist- Dave.   Dave has been working on the farm on and off since his first years in college, and has decided to come on full time.  Nutrition work is one of the areas where we can control our costs and really have an impact on the way our pigs grow.  Approximately 70% of the cost of getting a pig from birth to market is in feed cost, so adding a nutritionist to the team has already proven to be a huge advantage.

Harvest is also underway.  Last week we started harvest both corn and soybeans, and due to dry conditions we have already made a big dent in our workload.  With Dave's work on our diets, good yields, and a surplus from last year, we won't have to buy as much corn from our neighbors this year as we have in the past.

Hog prices hoovered around break-even for part of the summer, but have dipped down heading into fall, so we are preparing for a low market winter.  It's hard to see the farm losing money, but it is the nature of the industry to have down periods.  Last summer we did really well, so we are seeing the slump afterwards.

More updates to follow soon!