Introduction
Pig farming is one of the underestimated businesses in society. In most cases, pig farming is a more widespread practice among low-income earning families. Pig farming blends with integrated farming and may be a perfect accompaniment to an intense crop cultivation project. In the modern days, people have discovered the potential profitability of this practice. As a result, commercial pig farming is gaining more popularity each year (Adebowale et al., 2020). The consumption of pigs also reflects this growth in the farming practice. However, commercial pig farming is not a field to get into without a plan. Therefore, it is essential to learn the best practices for managing and marketing the herds to yield the best profits from pig farming.
Management of the Herds
Management of the heads includes preventive measures to ensure they do not get diseases and other health hazards. It is a way of increasing the yields of pig farming. Healthy pigs will pay better. The fast management practice involves dealing with the male pigs. They are essential for the process of breeding. However, not all males are useful for this task in some cases. In such cases, they are catered to when they are about four weeks old. Additionally, the farmer has to offer extra care to the sow, especially during lactation (Adebowale et al., 2020). At this point, the food the farmer gives has to be highly nutritious. Another care strategy is to vaccinate against swine fever the pigs when they are about three weeks old.
Another essential management practice is to keep the sow dry and tidy, located in a good place and has the best hygiene standards. After exactly three weeks after reproducing, there should be thorough monitoring for estrus signs. It is essential to ensure there is no return of estrus, thus promising an expectation for pregnancy. In about three weeks before farrowing, it is essential to move the pregnant sow to a new shelter that is more hygienical. At the same, the pen should have clean and dry beddings. In most cases, this bedding material can be dry hay. At the same time, the farmer is advised to feed the pregnant pig in isolation from others. Not even pregnant pigs should share their food. During the farrowing process, most pregnant pigs require little to no help. The farmer has to maintain a good relationship with the younger piglets to increase the chances of survival (Pol et al., 2021). There are some cases where breathing might challenge the newborn pigs. In such cases, the farmer should remove mucous from the piglet’s mouth and nose to encourage respiratory action in such a case. The farmer should also help the weaker piglets suckle for the first time after birth. The ejaculation of the placenta marks the end of the birth process by a birthing pig as a single mass. At this point, the farmer should also be more vigilant to ensure that the newborn piglets are not crushed.
Marketing and Profitability
The pig meat has a high demand in the local market. There is an increase in the intake of pock across the country. As a result, this facilitates a relatively more straightforward marketing process in the local market. It is easier to sell farming products within the nearest available market. However, this is not a limitation in business. The increase in demand gives the farmer a good option. One can choose to sell locally or even venture into the global market. Hence, the pig meat market is an excellent consideration for many farmers.
Piglets as breeding stock, piglets as fatteners, marketable fatteners, and culls are among the pig farms’ valuable goods. Satellite fattening farms, breeding cum raising farms, and pig consumption centers are examples of marketing options for the items mentioned earlier. Pork should be presented to people in an appealing manner to encourage them to consume it. As a result, slaughtering facilities must be available to transform the fatteners into nutritious pork and products. The farmer sells the pigs starting from the age of 2 or 3 months, which facilitates the effective maximization of profitability (Tamba, 2020). Another marketing method is to raise piglets until they reach marketing age and then sell them as fatteners.
Pig farming is becoming one of the most popular economic endeavors in the United States. This may be explained by pig raw materials being used to make various goods, most of which are food products. Pork is one of the most widely-eaten meat items in the United States. Pork can manufacture various products, including gammon, ham, smoked pork, sausages, and bacon. It can also be prepared and consumed right away. For pig producers, this has been a critical opportunity. Pigs are also useful because of their prolific breeding and rapid growth. Farmers who use innovative tactics like artificial insemination have successfully managed to increase the business’s profitability at a lower cost of production, increasing market competitiveness (Tamba, 2020). This has aided in improving the turnover of sold items and, as a result, the earnings generated by this firm.
Conclusion
In conclusion, pig farming is one of the highly profitable farming businesses. The demand for pig products is high. It gives room for largescale commercial pig farming. An important thing to consider in this farming is the management of the herds. The farmer has to take care of them from birth, their production, and when they are ready for selling. Some of the management practices include vaccination when they are young. When it comes to marketing, the farmers do not have a difficult task. The marketing and sensitization of pig products are not very rapid. However, their sales are very high. It means that there is a ready market. Comparing the inputs and the sales of these products also prove that pig farming is highly profitable under the best management practices.
References
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Anneberg, I., & Vaarst, M. (2018). FARM ANIMALS IN A WELFARE STATE: Commercial Pigs in Denmark. In H. A. Swanson, M. E. Lien, & G. B. Ween (Eds.), Domestication Gone Wild: Politics and Practices of Multispecies Relations (pp. 94–116). Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv11sn74f.8
Pol, F., Kling-Eveillard, F., Champigneulle, F., Fresnay, E., Ducrocq, M., & Courboulay, V. (2021). Human–animal relationship influences husbandry practices, animal welfare and productivity in pig farming. Animal, 15(2), 100103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2020.100103
Santa, N., Manese, M., & Waleleng, P. (2020). The efficiency of pig farming inputs in Minahasa Regency of North Sulawesi. Journal Of The Indonesian Tropical Animal Agriculture, 46(1), 84-90. https://doi.org/10.14710/jitaa.46.1.84-90
Tamba, M. (2020). Efficiency of Pig Farming Techniques: A Non Parametric Approach. Journal Of Advanced Research In Dynamical And Control Systems, 12(01-Special Issue), 825-833. https://doi.org/10.5373/jardcs/v12sp1/20201134
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