July 18, 2008 03:04 am
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Farmers of all sizes who feed grain to livestock are currently struggling to break even as feed and energy inputs have skyrocketed.
Prices for live hogs have recently gone up, but not as rapidly as feedstuffs. Feed costs represent 65 to 75 percent of the variable costs of swine production.
As the high price of corn and soybean meal make it more difficult to break-even, farmers become more interested in finding substitutes for the traditional corn-soy swine diet. However, it isn’t just a matter of deciding to use whichever grain or feedstuff is cheaper than corn or soy.
There are important issues to consider, such as the cost and nutritional value of the substitute feed relative to corn and soy, palatability, other potentially negative factors that limit its use, ease of handling and more.
To help farmers through the decision making process, the Land Stewardship Project has organized two workshops to discuss options for producing, feeding and marketing hogs. The dates, locations and times are:
• July 16, Redwood Falls Community Center, 3-8:30 p.m.
• July 28, St. Charles Community Center, 3-8:30 p.m.
The afternoons will begin with a resource fair that will include agencies and organizations that provide services and resources for sustainable hog farmers. The workshop presentation starts at 4 p.m.
The workshops will feature presentations by faculty from both the University of Minnesota and Iowa State University, and farmers from around Minnesota who are using alternative feeds, are engaged in niche or alternative marketing, and have kept fixed costs low by renovating older buildings.
At the Redwood Falls workshop, Lee Johnston, swine scientist from the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center at Morris, will speak on the topic of alternatives to corn and soybeans.
Pete Lammers, a Ph.D. candidate at Iowa State University, will share information about current research on economics in sustainable production systems. Farmers Jim VanDerPol and Paul Sobocinski will discuss their production and marketing systems.
At St. Charles, Iowa State University Swine Extension Specialist Dave Stender will speak on “The Economics of ‘Natural’ or Organic Hog Farming in the Context of High Feed Prices.”
Lammers will talk about alternative feeds, and local farmers will lead discussions about the challenges and opportunities they currently face.
There is no fee for either of the workshops but on both occasions a light supper will be served at a cost of $5 per person. Participants should reserve a spot by contacting Amy Bacigalupo at the Land Stewardship Project by calling (320) 269-2105 or e-mailing amyb@landstewardshipproject.org. This workshop is sponsored by the Land Stewardship Project and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency and Farm Service Agency.
There are several websites that offer valuable supportive information to the discussions that will take place. Some of them are listed below, and the publications will be available to those who attend the workshops.
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food & Rural affairs “Comparative Feed Values for Swine”: www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/swine/facts/03-003.htm#relative.
University of Missouri Extension “Byproducts, Damaged Feeds and Nontraditional Feed Sources for Swine”: http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/ansci/g02355.htm.
University of Minnesota Extension “Designing Feeding Programs for Natural and Organic Pork Production”: www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/livestocksystems/DI7736.html.
“The Pork Professor” is a monthly column created by members of the University of Minnesota Swine Extension team. This column was written by Wayne Martin, alternative livestock coordinator at the University of Minnesota. He may be reached at (612) 625-6224 or marti067@umn.edu.
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Photos
Wayne Martin