How to Start a Pig Farming Business
Pork, the most commonly eaten meat in the world, accompanied by poultry and beef, has been generally neglected by thousands of people involved in farming for different reasons and values. These trends have kept Africa manufacturing (a limited amount) less than 5% of the world’s pork products, making its pig-farming industry one of the lowest in the world.
China, on the other hand, has benefited far more from the pig farming industry than any other region, because it is not only the largest producer of pigs but also the largest net importer of pig products in the world.
Although the cost of pig feed can be relatively low, breeding pigs have proven to be one of the most economical divisions of animal husbandry, making it one of the most profitable farms to venture into; mainly since they generate more meat than almost all other farm animals, like sheep, goats, and cattle, and their global demand is exponential.
If you were looking for a profitable farm animal company to move into, this pig farming article will not only inspire you but place you in the correct path.
What is Pig Farming?
Pig farming, a subset of animal husbandry, is a method of breeding and raising domestic pigs for personal or commercial uses in pigs. Pigs are predominantly native to the African continent and belong to the Sus family of even-toed ungulates.
Domestic pigs raised are the offspring of their parents, the Eurasian wild boar, and several other animals not in their genus, such as warthog and babirusa.
Business Opportunities in Pig Farming Around the World
- Production of food
Consumption of pork and other similar pig items is at an incredibly high pace around the world. It trumps the eating of sheep, goats, and even cattle in many parts of the world, as mentioned earlier. This unsustainable use and desire for pig goods are more than a profitable farm sector to venture into. With demand far beyond supply, the raring of the right pig breed and the creation of a network of supplies, whether locally or by exports, make it a highly profitable industry for both newbies and seasoned pig farmers.
- Leather
Pigskin, though sensitive, can be great leather items used in the manufacture of American soccer, boots, chairs, accessories, belts, gloves, saddle seats, and much more. With its market prospects covering the leather industry, the willingness to diversify the pig farm profits from food production to leather production will lead to an improved return on your investment.
Benefits of Pig Farming Business
- The breeding rate of the pig is very high.
- Source of revenue and jobs.
- Excessive global demand oversupply.
- Pigs have low death rates.
- Cheaper to evolve than a lot of other farm animals.
- They’ve got an adequate immune response.
- They’re selling at great prices.
The Best Species Good for Farming
Yorkshire Pigs:
- They’re white.
- They’ve got ears erect.
- The average litter size is 13 pigs per sow.
- They have a slow rate of growth.
Pig of Berkshire:
- They’re black and white with erect noses.
- They’ve got white on all four wings, ears, and tail.
- They have occasional white splashes on their skins.
Tamworth Pig:
- They are red-gold.
- They’re smart foragers.
- Their faces are subtly dyed, i.e. broad between the ears and the light of the jowl.
- Their ears are broad and upright.
- They have red coats that make them adaptable to different conditions and shield them from sunburn.
- They’re smart and relaxed with their layout.
- They are abundant and capable of producing and caring for large litters.
- Their piglets are vigorous and also have a survival rate of 100 per cent.
- Both males and females have a mature weight of 500 – 600 lbs (227 – 272 kg).
Mulefoot Pig:
- They’re all black.
- They’ve got mild flop and pierced noses, dipping over and not covering their whole heads.
- They’ve got a fluffy hair suit.
- They’ve got a right, non-clover hoof.
- They may be fantastic pastured pigs.
- They are cold and heat tolerant, and can thrive in many climatic environments.
- There are no wild hogs here.
Pig of Hereford:
- The hue is red and white.
- They have excellent feed consistency.
- They’ve got at least three white legs.
Large Black Pig:
- They’re excellent coaches,
- They’ve got a deep black snout to the tail.
- They’ve got big lop ears hiding their noses.
- They’ve got a snout, long, thin face.
- They’ve got long deep legs.
- They’re big black pigs.
- They are an excellent breed for the production of pastured pigs.
- They’re rare.
China Pig in Poland:
- They’re black with six white dots on their face, legs, and switches.
- They’ve got fuzzy ears.
- They’re sporting a stubby black tail.
Chester Pig White:
- They are white in hue and have a soft pink shade.
- They’ve got a dished smile.
- They’ve got medium dropping floppy noses.
- They’ve got a complete heavy blanket.
- They’re hogs of heritage.
- They have supreme breastfeeding, endurance, and soundness.
- They’ve got superior organs.
Pig of Hampshire:
- They’ve got ears erect.
- They are black with a white belt.
- It is used for breeding purposes.
- They’re a race with history.
Pig of Landrace:
- They’re white.
- Their ears were drooping and slanting upward.
- They’ve got the potential to furrow and collect big litters.
- They’re famous in the United States.
Duroc Pig:
- They’re red all over.
- They don’t have any white marks.
- The ears are droopy.
- They are large bones with their feet firmly rooted on the ground.
- No white belts or white wings.
Setting Up Your Pig Farm
Get a Secured Location
When considering a pig breeding location, it is necessary to choose a non-residential area. Since the pig business could detect foul odours in the vicinity, it is essential to choose a countryside that is slightly rural but close to the centre.
Buy a large area of land, preferably 5 to 10 acres if you’re not trying to start too little. The scale of the land is significant since the pigs love to eat. Setting them free during the day to have their food in your pasture is a vital aspect of ensuring that you have a wide field. Because agricultural land in rural communities is typically inexpensive, the acquisition of a wide area for pig breeding is critical.
The proximity of farmland to the area, too, would make it easier for pigs to be transported to the market. For people who would like to visit the farms for a buy, finding a farm near the city makes it a lot simpler for them.
While many other factors are crucial to the success of your pig farm, picking the right site to set up your farm is one of the most critical factors.
Construct a Good Housing (Pig Pens)
The pig pen must be designed to protect it from storms, pests, and to keep it warm or cold at odd temperatures. Due to the high vulnerability of pigs to strangely warm conditions, the temperature of their pens must always be controlled. They will cool their homes by using a wallow or a dripping water machine. Wallows are commonly used as hog pens.
The pig pens should also be designed to be large enough to allow the pigs to roam freely. This will not only help deter pig abuse but would also minimize the chances of an epidemic of disease involving all pigs.
The drainage in the pens should also be well designed to allow a free flow of water. Besides the irrigation, small pig ponds can be created because pigs want to play a lot in the water and use it as a way to cool down. This water should be updated every day at the same time as the pens are washed so that rodents and viruses do not become the tragedy of your pig farm.
Buy Health Piglets for Breeding
Buying good piglets is too critical when beginning a new pig farm. Their health status would decide not only their death rate but also their fertility rate.
One method of buying piglets, also known as pig feeders, is to target farmers and stockbreeders. They will educate you about what to get from them and, in particular, what the budget would afford. Typically, pigs that have been cross-bred are vibrant, have a healthy appetite, and grow faster. This makes a mixed breed a top choice for most of the new growers.
If you are looking to buy a piglet or feeder, it is advisable to talk to a vet to confirm their health status. Usually, a good piglet for a new farm should be big and weigh at least 25 lbs. Sex also influences the growth rate, as male piglets are considered to develop faster than female piglets.
Pig Feed Considerations
Pigs can feed on almost anything, but the best diet for domesticated pigs raised mainly for commercial purposes is generally grain and meat. Although corn is one of their most common meals, it can be eaten with cooked vegetables and leftover at home.
To ensure pigs thrive and stable, it is advisable to feed on vitamins, fatty supplements and heavy protein foods that could range anywhere from soya beans to cooked meat.
Pig feed should be bought in large amounts, and a more significant portion of the protein feed should be reserved for mature pigs because they require more food than smaller pigs.
Their water supply should also be sufficient, as they drink an average of two to six gallons of water a day. Ensure that it is still available because water use has a vital role to play in the overall health and development of pigs. Water may be supplied by a sprinkler, a trough, or a tub.
Since the pigs wouldn’t just drink their water, but would also step on it and wash their faces and body in it, the water must be changed regularly.
Carry Out Pig Sanitation
Pig pens are expected to undergo annual sanitation. Various methodologies need to be used to ensure the pig pens are appropriately washed and taken care of to avoid an outbreak of pathogens. By using slotted pen floors, the waste disposal process can be made simpler. This plus ensuring that pen floors are still dry is vital for a disease-free ecosystem to flourish.
A Quick Feasibility Study on Pig Farming
Although healthy piglets are typically purchased at a size of about 25 lbs, they can achieve a retail size of more than 70 to 100 kg in five to seven months. The gestation period of the pigs, too, is typically 115 days. Since each child’s birth could result in the delivery of 10 to 15 piglets, a mother who gives birth twice a year will have at least 20 piglets, multiplied by 100 other mothers, equivalent to 2,000 piglets.
Each piglet usually sells between $65 and $120 on the market, and pregnant mothers also sell between $150 and $250 on the market. These prices are mostly based on the weight of pigs, and in some areas, pigs can reach between $25 and $40 per kilogram.
Thus, if pigs are well fed and each mature to weigh around 70 to 100 kg in 5 to 7 months, ten pigs will account for $1500 sales, while 1,000 pigs will account for $120,000 deals.
Challenges of Pig Farming
The difficulties of pig farming mainly lie between the following:
- Lack of experience.
- The high cost of water and electricity in some areas.
- Inadequate availability of a pig-breed species.
- The massive cost of high-quality pig feed.
- Bad marketing.
- Diseases and rodents.
- The unproductive stock of pigs.
- The low-quality feed from nearby producers.
Eight Important Things to Consider Before Starting Pig Farming Business
Pig farming is one of the most profitable forms of livestock farming that most people want to delve into. Pig meat is available in most shops and meat shops.
The time that pig farming is not commonly recognized as being bad for human consumption has elapsed, is typically enjoyed and eaten by many people today.
Starting this kind of farming does not require a lot of money, and doing business can be so lucrative. If you’re planning to start a pig farming company, the tips below will instruct you on how to do it.
Get the Required Training
It is not advisable to establish a pig farm without having experience of it. Therefore, before starting farming, aim to receive basic training on what pig farming is all about by registering in some entrepreneurship training on pig farming.
Through doing so, it will allow you to identify alternatives that can emerge during the pig farming process and also have the requisite know-how for profitable pig farming.
Decide on the type of Species.
It is essential to select the sort of species you want to work with, and if you wish to run a large or small-scale enterprise. Deciding on the form of species would allow you to get the equipment and facilities you need before you can start.
Knowing the size of your operation would help you to get the land that’s right for you. But you should understand that, if you intend to start a small or large-scale enterprise, you need to find the land that is large enough to support your pigs and provide them with enough room to graze comfortably, unless you start a farming company to act as a source of meat for your family.
Purchase a Healthy Piglet
It is crucial to buy the younger ones when beginning pig farming since the younger ones are very easy to adapt and also easy to manage than the older ones.
Purchasing healthy pigs can help to accomplish profitable pig farming. So if you’re trying to have good pigs, you ought to get it from a reputable pig farm. And also to ensure that you monitor their wellbeing correctly so that you can save money on vaccines and other medications. As a novice, it is best to buy just a few numbers of pigs so that you can handle and track them properly.
Feeding
The nutritional requirement for pig feed varies with its weight, age and level of development. Feeding pigs should not necessarily be a big problem since they are omnivores and can consume plants and livestock as well.
It is also beneficial to grow grasses around your farm field. Planting grasses may also attract other small animals and will serve as a food supply. When feeding a pig, choose foods that are easy to digest, so it is advisable to grind or cook food.
For other things such as potato vines, peels, grass, and other leafy foods, it is good to keep it under the sun to eliminate contaminants until it can be fed to pigs. Often, grain waste from breweries can be used as a healthy feed for pigs and lasts for a long time. You should add other items like palm kernel and salt to balance your diet.
Construction of a Standard Pig Pen
Building a regular pen is very important when beginning pig farming since it helps keep them from being hurt. It would be best if you created a nice and big pen that will hold your pigs even as they start to increase in size, and it will also help keep your pigs safe and protect them from disease contamination.
The use of adequate drainage is also necessary to avoid water from lingering in a position in your pen that can attract any dangerous bugs and insects to infect your pigs. To keep your pigs from being filthy, it is advisable to build a water pool where they can swim and play.
It is also important to continually adjust the water and ensure that it is safe and suitable for them. If you’re going to keep them outside, so you need to build a shelter for them.
Hiring staff to work for you depends on the size of your market and even on the number of pigs on your farm.
The pig farm has too many works, such as clearing the runoff, adjusting the water in the pool to improve adequate sanitation and avoid pollution, periodically feeding pigs, including other occupations synonymous with pig farming.
It is advisable to start by hiring only a few employees at the outset and steadily raise them as the workload rises and profits increase.
Marketing
In pig farming, the piglet you bought in two months is mature enough for sale in the sixth month. So, for you, as a farmer, to increase your likelihood of making more profits, you need to buy them into different groups and then sell them in bulk.
Farming in groups gives farmers a lot of benefits. For instance, 20 farmers with two pigs each would sell a total of 40 pigs, boosting their income. As a community farmer, you can even share the cost of travel to the slaughterhouse. Pork meat has three types, such as those with just fat, those with bones and those without bones.
As a pig farmer, you’re going to visit hotels and restaurants and bring meat and them. It’s also nice to let people know about your market, so they can easily find your farm to pay for pigs even before they mature. It would be best if you sold the pigs to local needs. Many that are just starting will buy pigs from your farm as well.
Feeding Equipment
Pig uses a feeding container, so to improve and maintain the hygiene of the container, it is vital to make sure that they are covered with water.
You are to make out a fixed time for their feeding, and they should also be fed according to their size and age. It’s also good to build ample room for them to provide abundantly.
Their feeding equipment has to be regularly cleaned to improve proper hygiene. Ensure that their irrigation equipment is safe and that there is water from time to time. Containers, nipples or bowls can be used depending on the scale of the farm. Their daily intake of water for each pig varies from the lactating sow, which is the largest in the 20 to 30 litres range.
Conclusion
Pig farming, like many other animal husbandry farming practices, is a lucrative venture to get into. With the right training, funding, and available resources, you start and grow a successful pig farm.