Do You REALLY Save Money By Raising Your Own? Let’s Do Nerdy Farm Math!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 มิ.ย. 2024
- Today we are sharing what we expect to pay to raise this years piglets.
#farming #pig #homesteading #homesteadfamily
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We raise meat chickens, hens and pigs. We don’t have cattle yet but buy local from a grass fed farm. We thought the pricing between feed, butchering and our labor was about the same as buying in the store but the difference is, we rotationally graze our animals, we treat them with compassion, and we know how they were raised. There is absolutely nothing like homegrown food. The pork was amazing. The best part was having multiple freezers filled with food. I will never go back. Can’t wait for cattle next year!
The freezer full of meat is a luxury I have never experienced until now. We don't have a large enough yard for a hog but we still support local farmers by buying a whole hog from them at the end of the year and having it butchered at a local processor. I think we saved money over raising our own using this system and the meat is amazing. There is nothing quite like sailing right past the meat department in your big box store, knowing that you have a freezer stuffed full of angus beef and delicious ham, steaks and bacon for 1/2 the price of the store bought meat. We paid $3.50 lb for the hog and a little over $5.00 a pound for the black angus steer. And the meat...my gosh it is delicious! It is a sizable chunk up front, which can be intimidating but I can't recommend it enough in terms of superb quality and ultimate savings.
The taste of home raised pigs is so much better than from the store. It surprised me the first time I ate it. Thanks for doing the work and math!
We love homegrown pork so much that we invested in 2 gilts (1 Yorkshire & 1 Berkshire/Herferd cross) & 1 boar (Berkshire) . Our girls gave us 21 piglets this April. Some were sold as weaners & 7 we are growing for ourselves, friends & family. There's no comparison to store bought pork. Our pork is so good. If you like the fat on porkchops or ham steaks, ours is so "sweet" compared to store bought. My husband says it's because I love on them so much is why they're so good. I say, just because they will fill a freezer one day doesn't mean they can't be loved while they're here. I spoil all my pigs rotten 😂
Yeah, my first feeder pigs experience was two blue butts. They were 350-375 lbs in just 7 months. I down sized to kune kune/AGH mix, much more manageable and small enough to process myself.
This is excellent for people to know! Though I don't raise my own beef, I purchase a split half each year from a local rancher. Long story short, what I pay for the meat and the processing comes to about $4-5/pound....for everything from hamburger to roasts to steaks. That's a great deal in my book!!
FINALLY a REAL comprehensive cost analysis on raising pigs. Seen other "homesteaders" and how they present the cost of raising hogs is just not realistic. We will generally raise three pigs. Keeping one for ourselves and selling two. Sometimes, depending on market price, the pig that we keep and butcher ourselves ends up costing us far less than $100.00. We do all of our own processing. Render our own lard. Other than the oink we basically waste nothing. We see many that will throw the organs out as well as the fat and head and feet and skin. We simply do not do that! As always Thank You for another fun and REAL homesteading video!
What is frustrating is that there was a time when it really was less expensive to raise your own meat. As mentioned, that $4.50 does not include the cost to buy and sustain the land or your labor. Currently, almost all of the pork on the shelves where I live in NJ runs between $2.50 and $3.50/pound. Even run of mill chicken parts go for .99. Thing is, if there ever is a food shortage, that cost of feed will increase dramatically - so even having your own will be hard to sustain the way you would like, in a 'crisis'. There are no free meals, I guess. Of course, you know what is in your food - at $3/pound, I can't imagine what my meat went through. :-( :-(
Home raised tastes better and better for you
🐽🐽🐽🐽🐽🐽WHAT GREAT INFO! I'm just a 92-year-old viewer. You two people are the best of the best, thank you. 🐽🐽🙏🙏⛪⛪🍅🍅🌈🌈
I love our Idaho pasture pigs. They are so adorable. They have their own pen but they can also go into the pasture with our cows. They nap together, they play together and graze together. I love watching them butt heads with the calves.
Wow our pig feed here in AZ is 18.99 for a 50lb bag!!
Here in eastern Washington it is 19.99 for a 50 bag.
When they promoted pork as the other white meat, pork that is raised in small groups and well taken care of has red meat. And man is it good. Once we crossed a hereford boar with a American guinea gilt. They didn't get real big but man they where good eating.
Our processor has commented how red the meat is from our pigs. Can’t beat home raised!
We don't eat pork, but I enjoyed this video. It is important to count the cost of raising anything on our own. I would like to add the time that you gave is valuable, but I think that balances out with the fact that your pork wasn't processed in China and fed GMO grains.
Another great thing about raising them yourself is you know what went into them. I wish I had land to do this! If you don't have land, check with your local butcher to see if you can buy a full, half, or quarter.
That was so interesting! We are older and retired, we buy our Berkshire pastured pork from a nearby farm and it is the best! Nice red meat, instead of grey like supermarket pork. Will never go back to that!
Love the nerdy ness. As someone trying to drop the corporate life style and live this way. Breakdowns like these make a world of difference as it’s real costs and needs to raise food and figuring out what one needs to have money wise available or coming in to sustain this life style. Hope to see more
I love your videos on nerdy farm math! It's so important to know someone who can be real with the fees and costs. I once "went in" on half a pig at $4.10 a pound in the 90s. But I didnt appreciate the 35 pounds of back fat! These videos are part of the real homestead life.
35 pounds of back fat equals some great rendered lard YUM!
I agree I'd love that fat to make lard. Haha.
@@fredthegreg Totally agree as so versatile as well as also VERY healthy in ones diet!
Excellent Information
well explained Thank you.
For the video
Another absolutely great day on the Homestead! Thank you for the "pig math"... very helpful! Blessings Kiddos!🌻🐛Carolyn in Ohio 🌿💚🙏💕
We inefficiently raised 3 kunekune for meat and did the math and even having paid to have them processed, we came out on top!! Pigs are so worth raising yourself.
We used to raise and process our own hogs. Nothing beats it! We made our own sausages, pork steaks, pork chops, and would bring the hams and sides of bacon to get cured/smoked.
Where we live in Washington State, pork goes on sale a lot. Very common for us to be able to buy good bacon for $3.97/lb, pork chops for 1.97/lb, shoulder roasts 1.97/lb, or even less.
Same here in pa. But definitely not hormone free and no one knows what's it's been fed.
@@joannep5974 that’s true!
The thing that keeps getting missed in all these costings is the lack of accounting in the infrastructure set up and maintenance
Plus home grown taste so much better than store bought!
We buy a hog from a neighbor that raises them. He delivers them to the butcher and we have them do the processing. We could do it ourselves if it became necessary but they do a better job. It's more convenient at our age. Just better quality meat than randomly buying from the big store....
We love raising pigs but we have zero grazing area. We have to buy feed all year. We did feed garden scraps but that didn't last long. Got extremely expensive buying feed at $28 a bag. Two feeders cost us $1200 in feed. Our butcher cost $700 per pig. $200 to purchase each piglet. So we paid $3000 for 2 pigs.
Thanks for running the numbers. I have farmed my entire life, I believe you have really missed the mark on the labor involved. And fixed costs (buildings, fencing, waterers , feeders, etc. ) and , while it wouldnt double the cost, it would add significantly if you would happen to lose one right before butchering.
Ooooh i love the nerdy farm math!!! And not only are you saving money ... the quality must be amazing!!! Good healthy meat!!! And i agree that the idaho pasture pig is the best homestead pig!!! I cant wait to see them grow
I have always LOVED your hat Sarah! I’m a Wisconsin gal and have enjoyed your videos since the beginning! Plus you are a Sister & Brother in Christ and aren’t ashamed to share! God bless & keep you and your family in his tender loving care!
My wife has been looking for a hat like that too! I was just fixing to ask about it! Sarah, please share where you found it. It looks like a Coolibar brand
@@bobcole3852she has listed in their Amazon store.
Love farm math!!!
It’s the best kind of math!
Love the farm math! Someday we will get back to pigs. Looks like you also got the first crop of hay bailed. Love and hugs from Maine❤
We fell into Gloucester Old Spot breeding on accident after we lost our source for general feeder pigs. To keep our pigs calm we will talk, read, sing to them. We sell good breeding quality piglets and feeders. And you two are a great couple. Your dynamic is very much like my wife and I. It's a good life and worth it. In terms of money, feed is 4x the cost in central Virginia. However, we use the viscera (organs), head, hocks, fat, bones, and will do blood this next time. So our price per pound is about the same.Thanks for talking turkey. Health, peace, and long life to you.
Always great info and great advice!❤❤❤
Just the lovliest scenery in the background guys….l
The biggest value you get is you know what you fed them. Good quality verses the convenience of just going to the store. I’d take quality any time. Plus you get to love on them.
I'm in central Alabama. Our 3 feeder pigs are Idaho Pasture/Red Waddle mix. We bought ours for $75 each. I really thought they'd be more expensive. Love 'em. So gentle and loves belly rubs. ❤️
In the old days, hogs were called “mortgage burners”. Today hardly any farmers raise pigs. Our veterinarian said there wasn’t a pig in the county.
An old friend always said. Never look at the feed bill !!!! 😂😂😂
Is part of the reason the diet craze I don’t really know but it seems there’s a lot of people that think pork is bad for you, personally I believe in moderation and like a variety of beef, pork and chicken.. we usually get a free piglet a reject from my in-laws hog barn. Our pigs get a lot of whey and skim milk from our dairy. I have no idea how much raising our own pork costs but it’s worth just raising it ourselves
😢
When we get to the point of having pigs, I will calculate how many we need based on two pork bellies (~ 20 pounds total) for bacon. Our family goes through 1.5 pounds a week for ourselves and I also end up giving away bacon packs as thanks] you’s when people help us out for various things or trade for other items. So we would need 4 pigs just for us and probably 4 more for the gifting / trade but leaves us with a lot of other pork we don’t consume that much. 8 pigs equals a lot of pork chops LOL
We make our own bacon and sausages but we have to buy store bought pork (shoulders Usually $2 lb and bellies $3.50 lb at Costco). That is me monitoring prices weekly and buying in large quantity when they drop.
I recommend if anyone wants to do their own, whether using store bought or their own raised, get the book called “Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages” by Marianski (green cover). It has amazing recipes and excellent instruction on how to do this from start to finish. This way you control fat level, salt level and it tastes so much better (even with store bought pork). Can’t wait to taste the recipes we use with farm raised - it will be a whole other level of yummy.
The taste is what I remember when I was young.. Huge difference
I was observing the number of hay bales on your neighbor`s field. You are in a very luxuriant area of growth for pasturing your animals. I hope it works well for your family also.
That was actually our hay field in the background. It was a pretty good first cutting.
One thing that was not included was the cost of the land required, and as you pointed out, your labor. My local costs, because I simply refuse to buy meat if it is not on sale, runs in the 3 dollars a pound range for unprocessed, and 4-5ish for bacon/sausage and as a result I mostly do without Aldi generally has pork loin around $2/#. That being said, I think your method is more sound if you can afford it. Ethics are not cheap, and I know am contributing to the domination of the evil triad of corporations that are poisoning the land and farmer's livelihood. There is a growing desire to become more ethical in my food sourcing, but the budget is a harsh master. I am glad you guys do these types of videos to tweak my conscience. I can do better with effort.
We have good butcher shops in our area and they buy only from local coop farmers. A half of a hog averages out between $2.50-$3.00 a pound.
@@lenalyles2712 I will have to look into that. Thanks!
Another great video. You make it so interesting. Thanks so much for all the good information. God's blessings to you and your family.
Thanks for the great information.
Love this video. Now it’s time to convince my hubby we to get IPP’s. 😁
Interesting info about your pigs. I'm not on a homestead yet, but hope to be in time. This was a good video! Thanks! 💕
Glad it was helpful!
Was waiting to see da piggies!
Great knowledge shared; thanks & many blessings to all 🤗🇨🇦
Once again you guys explain everything so well.
7.50$ per feed bag sounds very low to me. My rabbit pellets are 25$ a bag, glad they eat mostly fresh greens all summer lol. IPP's interest me very much as kunekune's are my ideal pig but a little slow to grow.
7.50 is very low. I live in North FL, and just called our local feed mill, who is always the lowest and its $12 a bag...
I don't want to dispute your numbers. But this is what I buy.
Wright brand Bacon at Sam's club in Springfield Mo. is $4.75 lb. And Boston butt and pork loin are $2.49 lb. Ribs are $2.48 to $2.98.
Wish I had enough land to raise pigs. Searching for local pasture raised pork, the best price I've found is half hog would be about 75 pounds of meat for $700. Other farms were closer to $900.
I've been struggling with my IPPs rooting for years. Thanks for the replamin information. I will definitely give it a try.
Thanks for all the details!
I remember my mum and Grannie making head cheese out of Lester the pig when I was much younger than I am now😮😮
💚 Such great information about raising the pigs, thanks! Where were they, by the way? 💚
nice that you keep the butcher going, too.
Thank you for sharing the numbers. As a careful shopper, I've always wondered if it was cost effective to grow our own livestock.
You guys are soooo informative... just love your channel... Thanks for sharing your life with us!
We also raise our own pigs. Nothing better. Great video.
I love your teaching us, I am growing two piggies now. They are IPP’s , it’s great to watch them grow.
That is awesome!
Another great video you guys🎉 Nothing like raising your own food. Appreciating the life that is blessed to you, watching that life grow up, and then sitting around the dinner table and chatting about that same life that is now feeding your family is a powerful gift.
Peace and Love Neighbors ❤️
Do you retrieve the fatty parts so you can render your own lard?
Your videos are so well done, and you complement each other when you both share in the presentation. I don’t have a farm or pigs, but for some reason I find the information really fascinating.
Thank you so much! Great info! Blessings!
Cost ppb could be lower if you make bone broth, bloodsausage and crackling etc. And don't forget the lard.
Do you save the leaf lard, liver, chitterlings, trotters, hocks, snoots, cheeks, toes, leg bones, rind or head? All of these parts can be used as an excellent source for food in different applications, depending on one's taste of course.
Butchering is a GREAT, entrepreneurial career for a young person to pursue! More and more people are growing their own meat and as far as I can tell, the need for butchers is high
I live in Arizona I have pigs for sale for $120.00 and so far have not been able to sell them this year. Normally they're gone within 3 weeks. It seems pigs are no longer what people want in the area. I have Yorkshire and old Spot I've talked to others who have different breeds and they're in the same boat. Next year I plan to buy piglets and no longer raise them. The cost to butcher and feed pigs has gone way up but as you said homegrown pork cannot be beat at a store. I always love the nerdy math.
Thank you again!!
Y'all are great!!!
Love me some nerdy farm math! I wish I was in a position to raise pigs, but suburban life north of Seattle (and advancing age) isn't conducive to that. The next best option for me is to get a pasture raised half-pig from a farm that is about 20 miles from me, so I know it is a heritage breed that hasn't gone through the whole factory farm situation or traveled long distances. With butcher fees it came to $7.12/lb. Even if prices are lower in the grocery store, I feel better to know my pork is locally and ethically raised.
That's some good information to know!! Thank you for sharing!! God Bless!!!!
Thanks for sharing with us. Bring on the bacon !!! Looking forward to the processing time. Fred.
I couldn’t do it.. I’d get way too attached! God bless you!
very interesting. I am learning a lot from your videos. Blessings from Arizona
Thanks again for another great informational video
Back in 2019 we bought a whole pasture raised heritage pig from a local farm and it ended up just over $2 per pound including the butcher and it was the best tasting pork I've ever had.
Great information!!!!
I really like Berkshire pigs they are the breed we picked for our farm the meat to bone ratio seems to be great we have 2 sows and one boar. We buy bulk feed and get a decent discount for doing this. A feed buggy is a awesome way to save money buying in bulk and no bags less trips to get feed I just buy feed once for are feeder pigs then when the feed id gone so are the pigs 😊
But the way we do it is we want all are meat feed and butcher cost paid for by are feeders so for us 3 to 1 makes it so nice for us so we sell 3 piglets and have enough to pay for their feed and butcher for one for us at no cost to us other than labor.
So I think ideally for us 3 sows will be are target number we get to raise one litter for free and get free meat and give away a lot of meat and for it to not come out of pocket. Our pigs little are usually right at 10 each so not exactly small but it took us a 4-5 years to figure all this out like making an investing an investment that pays you in free meat every 6 months we
But retail pig or growing out can be way different in prices we are looking into these finished pigs to be sold right after butchering that is our new adventure we are looking into
I so enjoy you two. You make me miss Missouri!
Thank you for sharing this information. God's blessings to you and your family. Noticed your hay has been cut,looks good.
I know that I Wished I was Able to Have a Pig & Butcher it the Way My Dad & Mom & Grandparents Did & Us 3 Children Helped..All of Our Neighbors Did as Well. THEY ALWAYS SAID WE ATE EVERYTHING BUT THE SQUEAL!!😅 not true but My Grandpa did😂 GOD BLESS Stay Safe in This MO Heat & Humidity
Great video. Thank you for the information.
Hay is the background is beautiful
I know being envious is bad, but MAN! I wish I could do what you guys have done. To convince my family, to learn the skills, to go back to farming which is the way both of parents were raised…I would LOVE IT. Just not possible, don’t want to leave our kids or our grandkids …. Let alone my husband… 😳😂. But if I could do it all again… I would be your next door neighbor. Love this. Love the honesty, the way you two interact. Class act. Well done.
Thanks for the video! Question - Organic swine grower feed here in NC is $34.25 per 50# bag. The toxic herbicides like Glyohosate and Atrozine sprayed on most all grains, is horribly concerning to our family and why we want to feed organic grains! But the cost of organic feed makes raising our own hogs nearly impossible financially! How in the world do we raise organic hogs affordably while staying away from the toxic feed?
Awe you didn’t show us the piggies!! 😂🥰❤️🙏🏻🇨🇦
You were talking about your time. But, you need to remember, you are paying yourself back by doing the work and getting the BEST meat in return. There is nothing in that pork that you didn't want there. So, peace of mind= PRICELESS! We often forget that when we actually USE tools that we buy, they pay for themselves, and/or, we get back more than what we put in. I did a price check for our area, and piglets run around 200.00 bucks.
I wonder about your pasture composition. It looks very grass heavy. I wonder if you would consider over planting with a prairie mix this fall with deeper roots that might be able to pull more minerals up naturally.
Amazing info
👍 thanks for the info. Wish I had the land to raise my own.❤❤❤
Good bacon in my East Tennessee area is close to 9.00 per pound.
do not and I repeat do NOT play the drinking game with each time they say Idaho pasture pigs.
lol
Great information!!!!! God Bless!!!!
Glad it was helpful!
Do you have a “nerdy farm math” video for geese? Really considering getting into those next year!❤❤❤
Very good. Thank you Kevin & Sarah. God Bless. ( shared to f/b )
Great video! Thank you both.
Youve got a nice hay harvest there!!!!
I watch you guys often... maybe not as often as I probably should. Your numbers sound pretty straight forward... I always "try" to seek the best advantages, speaking for myself, to find the best solution. Unless I've been mislead in the figures I've seen... At auction.. on a good day... on the hoof, a feeder can be purchased for about $100 bucks (Highest Auction Price)... according to the "National Daily Hog and Pork Summary" (I guess it's called Supply and Demand)... You know... what the market will bear. If a butcher charges $325, plus the feeder, that comes to $425 on a 250 lb feeder, leaving about 144 lbs of Retail Cut. (These are your figures) This is without owning a feeder, acreage used, cost of feed or Work Hours Placed. $425/144 lbs = (about) $2.95 a pound. Boy, I wish I was younger... Because I see an opportunity to gain about $1.00 per pound and still be cheaper than retail. Hey, I've been known to be wrong before. But I guess there's nothing more satisfying than knowing you've grown it yourself. It would seem to me the business to be in... is to raise and sell piglets at $150 a pop, or even at $75. (How many in a litter?) To answer the question after jotting down a few numbers... and depending on the size of your operation... In this case... I would have to say No.
Nerdy farm math is the BEST math 😁store bought food just can't compare in quality, nutrition, or flavor with farm grown food
Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful videos with us! And letting us know the breakdown on the pigs. God's blessing over you and your beautiful family.
Great Information!!! Thank you!!! God Bless Us All!!!
We’re looking into getting a few, your information is always on point and one of the TH-cam channels that has inspired our move to the country and started becoming more accountable for ourselves and our food. Thanks 🙏 and keep up the nerdy math 🧮
Great informative video! Thanks👏👏👏👏
Excellent video!! Very knowledgeable. Can you share recipes that use pork