[TESS1963]

I have six GOS breeding girls and a boar and have just had three litters in February 9, 10 and 5 respectively. I was really worried about selling the weaners, as the market seemed depressed, but to date, I have 4 boars and 3 gilts left and another month to go before they reach eight weeks at the middle/end of April - so keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to sale all of them. I have increased the price of my weaners from last year - gilts £50, boars £45 and registered £60 and made several enquiries and researched the market before re-pricing them. You always - well I do, doubt what you have done, when the phone seems a little quiet, but after talking to a customer who wanted two gilts, she assured me that her main priority is to find a breeder with high welfare standards and then she was quite prepared to pay a reasonable amount for the weaners. She also said that if people were not prepared to support breeders by paying an adequate amount, then the breeder may not be around next year, when they want more weaners.

I always encourage any prospective purchaser to come and view my herd and beside advertising in the local feed merchants, DASH and Mole Valley Farmer magazine that a small investment in a good website has helped a great deal this year. Therefore, try and not lose heart and if you can weather the storm.

Teresa
Pennymoor Herd of Gloucester Old Spots

[littlemisspiggy!]

hi,happy hippy!

when i say i cannot afford a pure bred i did mean a grown pig ready for breeding,i very nearly bought a couple of middle white weaners last month to grow on as breeding sows but as others have said on here its the feed prices that are the killer these days so i cannot afford 8 months of feed before i get something back if you know what i mean...i was only having a laugh when i called myself a cheapskate because of the comment on a previous entry being a little harsh..lol.. i spend a fortune on my pigs,dogs and ponies and we are the first to go without if they are need of anything.x.

im just so determined to keep rearing my own pork as i could never go back to supermarket yuk!!
i am also in agreement that it is very important to keep the rare breeds pure and numbers up but unfortunatly im just not in a position to do it myself at the moment....but! as soon as the day comes that i can it will be middle whites for me all the way!

i just hope this lul in the weaner market picks up soon as i refuse to sell my piglets too cheap as this will not help the situation overall,it will just encourage people to demand cheaper prices from all of us due to cheaper compatition!

[HappyHippy]

I agree Littlemisspiggy, selling weaners too cheaply (or in some cases I've seen people giving them away  ) does absolutely nothing to help the market. Folks think, why should I pay £40 for a weaner when I can have one of those for a fiver
I think, slowly, people's attitudes to cheaply produced food is changing and people are starting to appreciate the merits of traditional, slow grown meat.
Here's hoping for a few good summers and bountiful harvests worldwide, maybe, just maybe the feed prices will start to come back down.
Karen x

[Hairy Hogs]

What an interesting and evocative thread this turned out to be.  The programme was indeed brilliant!  Excellent news for those who can afford to breed the pigs, and even better for those who can afford the meat in turn!

Our only problem at the moment is catching the little buggers on the days of departure!!

Now the agonising wait for our Oxford gilt to pop her litter out in early June, and our next litter of Gloucestershires in April and thats it for the moment all sold.

Regards all, and thanks for your comments.
Jason

www.hairyhogs.co.uk

[czechmate]

I agree Littlemisspiggy, selling weaners too cheaply (or in some cases I've seen people giving them away  ) does absolutely nothing to help the market. Folks think, why should I pay £40 for a weaner when I can have one of those for a fiver
I think, slowly, people's attitudes to cheaply produced food is changing and people are starting to appreciate the merits of traditional, slow grown meat.
Here's hoping for a few good summers and bountiful harvests worldwide, maybe, just maybe the feed prices will start to come back down.
Karen x

Oh yippy, yes lets all hope for prices that cripple the cereal growers again
What I hope for is sensable prices in the shops .  Be it Milk, Eggs, Meat, Veg...   Funny, people can always aford cigarets, flat screen tellies, hollidays, going to the pub - yet are always moaning about the trivial cost of food

[robert waddell]

we are in a global economy there are different reasons for the high cost of cereals one being that investors with forward contracts tied the farmers into forward selling( result investors made money farmers did not get the benefit of the higher prices

[Helencus]

Well finally I've sold 4 gilts today for meat at what I don't feel is a bad price £45. Right so if I can sell 10 more I'm going to be very happy!

[HappyHippy]

I agree Littlemisspiggy, selling weaners too cheaply (or in some cases I've seen people giving them away  ) does absolutely nothing to help the market. Folks think, why should I pay £40 for a weaner when I can have one of those for a fiver
I think, slowly, people's attitudes to cheaply produced food is changing and people are starting to appreciate the merits of traditional, slow grown meat.
Here's hoping for a few good summers and bountiful harvests worldwide, maybe, just maybe the feed prices will start to come back down.
Karen x

Oh yippy, yes lets all hope for prices that cripple the cereal growers again
What I hope for is sensable prices in the shops .  Be it Milk, Eggs, Meat, Veg...   Funny, people can always aford cigarets, flat screen tellies, hollidays, going to the pub - yet are always moaning about the trivial cost of food

I just meant that if the weather improves and less cereal crops are lost then maybe the price for animal feed will come back down a wee bit because there will be more of it available

Great news Helen - fingers crossed you manage to sell some more 

[Mrs pig]

weaners throughout the pig industry are slow to move this year due mainly to the cost of prodution but also because the finished pig price is low, which has a knock on effect.

~In the smallholder sector it may be slower than normal as the VAT increase has also taken spare cash - I have certainly spoken to smallholder allied businesses that have laid people off this spring due to a lack of interest in the smallholdding sector at present.

all is not lost and the feed prices may go down soon - however, spare a thought for the commercial guys who have 500 weaners to shift and feed not just one litter.     

[Liquidator]

TESS1963
Like you, I encourage potential purchasers of weaners to visit and see the piglets prior to deciding whether to purchase. This year I've noticed that more people who say they are coming to visit / buy don't bother to turn up and some who ask to keep weaners an extra week or 2 then decide not to takethem. It's been a lot slower to sell weaners and it looks like I could be left with 8 from the last 2 litters. I like your website, really informative.

It would be good to see feed prices coming down a little and also the price of straw. 

[Hilarysmum]

Our only problem at the moment is catching the little buggers on the days of departure!!
www.hairyhogs.co.uk

After a few "interesting" experiences with Hilary when trying to catch piglets who then squeal, we invested in a heavy duty dog cage.  After removing the sow, I throw feed into the ark encouraging piglets inside.  We secure a pallet in front of the door, and one of us then passes the piglets out and into the cage.  Reduces the squealing and the intervention from Hilary.

[TESS1963]

Gradually getting there with selling my weaners, but agree with worrying about people letting me down over collecting their weaners. Fingers cross to date, I have not yet had anybody who has done this. Saying that, I do have my doubts about two customers, but we will see how it goes. My husband runs his own engineering business and he says that I should insist on a deposit. To date, I have not gone down this road, but once somebody does let me down, I shall ask for a small deposit.

All the best

Teresa

[Eve]

Hi Tessa, do ask for a deposit, we always pay one (we're buyers).

Eve

[benkt]

I was asked for a deposit (as a buyer) for the first time this year and paid happily. People who want to buy registered/notified stock are probably happy to be more supportive of the breeders they are buying from - I know I am.

[JulieS]

I didn't used to ask for a deposit for weaners, but was really let down just before Christmas..........so learning from mistake I ask for a deposit now.