|
| The thing is none of this was done to force anyone out. Consumer demand for low price meat is the driver and last time I checked the consumer is always right (or at least they end up being right in the end). Also, which is actually the norm - that raising a few chickens made good money or that raising a really cheap meat has almost no room for profit. I think hogs are a little different and a smaller farrow to finish guy (300-1000 sows) who grows most of his own feed will be in business until he doesn't want to anymore. He could be around while smithfield sells out of pork and starts buying shopping malls. In our system we have some smaller sow farms and even though it might only be 60-80 weaners - those guys are always welcome and rarely give us any trouble. Packers don't really care whose name is on the trailer either. There are some that suggest it's just easier to deal with less folks, but that's almost never cheaper and if you are a buyer and getting paid you might as well do something.
Part of the deal is the workload. I sprayed all day yesterday and topped of the day with a couple hours of pressure washing and I went home at 9pm (and I finished, hey!). This isn't attractive to kids who have been told they deserve a better life than their parents (a statement with unintended consequences). Also, there are jobs where you work just a little and get paid a lot - that's the lottery and shouldn't be expected to last. Whether we like it or not work has to come back into style. Right now mexicans and albanians do a lot of work in our country, but there really isn't enough of them (go figure) and eventually we have to get back to work and do the job no matter how we feel about it. If you look at big pig, they have almost no safety net except for a pretty good packer relationship, but packing isn't all glamour and money either so they are not always the best friend to have. Having to buy everything puts a lot of risk on the table. Just like even the sharpest pencil didn't make $3 corn when the market was $1.80, high feed cost and low pig price can't magically create a profit. Guys with a feed base reduce that risk considerably, but that's work.
thanks,
Pat | |
|
Hog finishing contracts
