How Does a Hog Farmer Spend a Workday?
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Feeding
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Just like any farming, hog farming is strenuous, hard work. Hog farmers typically wake up before dawn and get to work, feeding the hogs and performing the other duties required on a farm. Hog farmers must own large farms, typically requiring about 100 square feet per pig, if they'd like their pigs to live comfortably. They must provide the animals with water, shelter and nutrition in the form of the right feed. All in all, hog farming can be grueling work. It requires sweat, dedication and knowing how to properly care for animals to be a successful farmer.
Butchering
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Some hog farmers do the butchering of the pigs themselves. This involves killing, skinning, gutting and processing the hogs. In this case, a steady hand for cutting is necessary. A strong stomach is also a plus for hog farmers who want to pursue this option. Additionally, the hog farmer must have a slaughterhouse and meat storage facility that meets both federal and local Department of Health standards.
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Sales
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Hog farmers typically sell to the manufacturers; however, it is not uncommon to sell directly to the consumer and cut out the middlemen. This allows customers to get the hogs for a retail price, and it allows hog farmers to farm as desired without having to worry about any guidelines set forth by the merchandiser. Most of the sales the farmer executes are over the phone or via email. In some cases, however, the farmer may invite the customer or manufacturer representative to the farm for a tour. In either case, the farmer must be a good negotiator and honest businessman to get, and keep, his customers.
Feeding
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Generally, the hogs are fed once per day. Depending on the number of hogs and equipment available, this can take anywhere from an hour up to several hours. On a small hog farm, buckets or wheelbarrows are usually used to carry grain or slop to the hogs. Larger farm operations may employ automatic feeders. These allow the farmer to load a large quantity of feed into the machine, sometimes as much as 3,000 pounds, and drive the machine from pen to pen to feed the hogs.
Breeding
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Hog farmers not only feed and care for the pigs until slaughtered. They also breed the pigs. Most farmers breed the pigs in a rotating cycle, so the pig breeds about every other heat cycle. This allows for a well balanced rotation of hogs. A typical farm with an average of 200 pigs per cycle breeds about 2,000 pigs per year. Farmers have to decide whether to keep a breed open or closed. A closed herd is considered safer for the pigs, because it keeps out visitors and protects the hogs from viruses or bacteria. Farmers are also required to make sure that the pigs aren't crowded, as that tends to make them sick. Normally, males and females are kept in separate pens. During breeding, the farmer must put the male and female together in a pen and monitor them to ensure they do breed. If natural breeding doesn't occur within two days of placing them together, the farmer may opt to artificially inseminate the female, which requires either a trip to the vet or a vet to visit the farm.
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