Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-06-25
Hog Production
Costs Reduced
Lower Capital Investment
Needed Where Two Lit
tiers Are Raised.
prepared by the United States Department
of ARricuIturAN

when LWO uLLcES VI pigs are raised
each year than when only one litter
is raised. Adding fall pigs to the pro-
duction plan means a slight increase in
feed and labor costs for each 100
pounds Of pork produced. Other costs,
however, are decreased chiefly because
1t is easier to save pigs at weaving
time in the summer than in the spring
The economy Of producing two filters
year is also shown in a lower neces-
sary capital investment. Maintenance
costs of the breeding herds are slight
ly higher when two filters are raised,
largely because sows are on the farm
for a longer time. On monthly basis
there is practically no difference.
Interesting Lights.
These facts and many other interest
ing lights on hog-production costs are
brought out by the Department of Ag-
riculture in study recently completed
on hog raising in Iowa and Illinois
Farmers in Henry county, Iowa, and
Warren county, Illinois, co-operated
with the department representatives in
making exact records of their hog-pro-
duction costs in 1921 and 1922. These
counties are large producers of corn.
hogs and cattle. Although the actual
cost figures obtained in this study are
out Of date now, the methods of eff
cient practice that were revealed and
the light thrown on sources Of loss in
the hog-raising business have perma-
nent interest.
Besides demonstrating the superior
efficiency Of the two-litter system, the
study showed that there is a regular
increase in corn consumed when pigs
are fed heavier weights. In other
words, it took on an average less
feed to produce the first so pounds of
pork than it took to produce the sec
Ond, and less to produce the second
than the third, and so on. Thus, to
raise a herd of pigs averaging 125
pounds in weight took only 294.3
pounds of corn for each 100 pounds of
hog. When hogs were raised to the
average weight of 275 pounds, the
amount of feed necessary to produce
each hundredweight of hog was 1852
pounds. Although the investigation
did not entirely bear out the theory
that the meat-producing power of feed
declines in steady proportion as ami
mails are raised to greater weights, it
did confirm the generally accepted idea
that it progressively takes more corn
to increase the weight of hogs as they
approach maturity.
Effect on Profits.
Reduced costs of production have
obviously the same effect on profits
as an increased sale price. This is
strikingly demonstrated by the depart
ment in an analysis Of effects of pro-
duction costs on prifits. Production
costs varied widely on the farms
studied. The cost in 1921 ranged from
$3.07 to $13.55 per 100 pounds of hog.
Profits in the lowest cost group aver
aged ($3.03 cents) for 100 pounds,
compared with a loss of $5.27 per 100
pounds in the highest cost group. In
1922 the range of costs was from $4.S6
to $1,000 per hundred pounds of hog.
Farmers in the low-cost group made
profit Of $2.96 a hundred pounds,
whereas those in the high-cost group
suffered q loss of $2.04 per hundred
pounds. 1t was shown that each in
crease in costs means a distinct de-
crease in profits and decrease in the
return for each bushel of corn fed.
For farms raising two filters year,
the spread was smaller although con-
siderable. No fewer than 31.5 per
cent of the pigs narrowed in the spring
Of 1921 were lost before weaving time.
In 1922 the proportion of loss before
weaving was 40.3 per cent. Average
losses before weaving out of the total
number Of spring and fall pigs far
rOwed in both years was 1874 per cent.
The number of pigs that died before
and after weaving was Ala per cent
of the total number narrowed. Severe
weather in the spring of 1922 increased
the death losses
Cost of Pork
The 1921 costs were gathered from
: A farms producing 1,O33,744 pounds of
marketable pork, or an average of
23,494 pounds per farm. The net cost
of this pork was $5.42 a hundred
pounds. The 1922, costs were obtained
from 80 farms producing 1,OO4,OO3
pounds Of marketable pork, or an aver
age of 25,744 pounds per farm. The
net cost in 1922 was $3.50 hundred
pounds. In general, better feed and
wise management showed a saving in
that more and better pigs were pro-
duced, even though sometimes the in
creased care meant an increased cost
Of maintaining the breeding herds. The
producers who raised the largest num-
Der of pigs per sow had great initial
advantage in the effort to keep pro-
ductiGn costs down. Some hog raisers
made little effort to save the pigs. and
others who tried were not thorough in
their sanitary methods and failed.
Feed constituted the largest item of
cost, amounting to "a per cent of the
total in 1921 and IS per cent in 1922.
Labor charges were the second largest
item, constituting S.4 per cent of the
total in 1921 and IL per cent of the
total in 1922. Cost Of equipment was
the third largest item. Where fall pigs
were produced the cost of equipment
for each hundred pounds of hog raised
was below the cost of equipment on
one-litter farms. Equipment valua-
tons on the farms varied in 1922 from
1852 to $1,000. The average was $571
per farm. II was shown that the use