Michigan State University Extension has released the MSU Extension Pork Pricing Calculator, a workbook that helps farmers who sell pork directly to customers set prices from their own costs rather than from competitors' or grocery store prices, which may not reflect what it costs to raise pigs on their farm.

Producers enter expenses such as feeder pig purchases, feed, bedding, utilities, animal health, transport, labour and facilities; labour and facility costs, Extension notes, are often overlooked on smaller farms. A production model and feed-cost planning section helps estimate feed needs and compare production systems.

Because a live pig's weight is not the weight of packaged pork, the tool estimates live, hanging and packaged weights, and it includes processing charges such as slaughter, cut-and-wrap, smoking and curing. It then gives break-even and target prices for whole and half hogs and, for farmers selling individual cuts such as bacon, ham, chops, sausage and ribs, checks whether the combined value of all cuts covers costs.

The calculator can be updated as costs change, and Extension says using processor records and farm data makes its estimates more accurate.

Photo: Jessica Reeder / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Source: Farms.com