# Pork Surpasses Beef



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

For the time being.

Regards, Mike

http://www.agweb.com/article/us-pork-to-surpass-beef-for-first-time-since-52--blmg/


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

That's nuts, there are still empty barns here from the 98 crash. No one will touch pigs now around here.


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## barnrope (Mar 22, 2010)

slowzuki said:


> That's nuts, there are still empty barns here from the 98 crash. No one will touch pigs now around here.


The 98' crash really wiped out the traditional hog farms. $23 for a 250 pound market hog was a blood bath. We weathered through for a while but hog farming was never the same afterwards. Seems like it was when contract feeding really kicked into high gear. The guys who wanted to raise their own hogs their way got out and the rest contracted with the big boys and became hog custodians. We opted to scale back to a small herd of 20 sows just to keep our lines alive and have some locker animals and 4h show pigs.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

The 98 crash just destroyed so many family farms here, one up the road was the original grant holder for the land, they lost it all even though they grew their own feed. Their barns collapsed last winter, 4 or 5 huge barns. Combine still sitting in the yard where they left it in 98. Another family from Holland got some kind of new entrant loan to buy the place from the bank but they just live in the house and lease the land out when they can. I'm assuming they mortgaged the place just when things were going bad to keep going longer.

Another friend of mine lost everything except the 2 acres his house and the barns were on in 98. Sold the wiring, tin and trusses off the barns to keep paying his mortgage. Worked 2 jobs as well, lost his wife in the process.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Never ending expansion here.Getting rid of manure is becoming issue in some areas.BTO hog farmers put a finisher on each farm so they don't have to haul manure far.


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## hogfarmer (Dec 7, 2014)

I remember when pigs were called mortgage lifters and hope they return to that status again.


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