How to Become A Pig Farmer In South Africa

A pig farmer is someone who raises pigs for human consumption. 

What is pig farmer called?

swineherd

A swineherd /ˈswaɪnhɜːrd/ is a person who raises and herds pigs as livestock.

How does a pig farm work?

Under this farming system, sows are farrowed and bred to produce offspring, which are then raised until they are the desired size for slaughter. This method of raising hogs involves breeding and farrowing sows, then selling their piglets to other pig producers who will then raise them for slaughter.

Does pig eat?

In the wild, hogs have access to a more diverse diet and can get the nutritional requirements they require. They forage for their food and eat naturally. They’re omnivorous animals that eat grass, roots, fruits, mushrooms, insects, eggs, and small mammals. Farm pigs mostly eat feed.

Do pigs eat humans?

It’s a fact: Pigs eat people., a Russian woman fell into an epileptic emergency while feeding her hogs. She was eaten alive, and her remains were found in the pen. All awfulness aside we know a hog will eat a human.

How to Become A Pig Farmer In South Africa

Cape Town – Prospective small business owners often have good ideas, but don’t have the resources to get started.

Fin24 user Tseko Rantai said he was interested in going into pig farming. “What are the crucial success and failure factors in this kind of business.”

The following are the problems encountered by developing pig farmers when they attempt pig farming at a commercial level:

 Lack of finance to start pig farming at a commercially viable level.

– Lack of experience and training to produce commercially.

– Lack of advice and mentorship to sustain a viable piggery.

– Failure to meet abattoir requirements to market their pigs.

Developing pig farmers must take the below points into consideration when planning to start a piggery at a commercial level. Sappo would then be able to assist.

Market agreements

It is the responsibility of a farmer to do a feasibility study and research about the availability and proximity of markets to the proposed piggery and to enter into agreements with those prospective markets. Sappo will assist by providing relevant information about such markets.

Land

Prospective farmers must ensure that they have ownership or a long-term lease for the land. The size of the land required will vary with how many pigs are kept, at what age they are sold and how intensively the pigs are farmed, but the lay-out must measure up to basic biosecurity rules.

Environmental Management Plan (EMP)

It is also the duty of a prospective pig farmer to provide an approved EMP for the identified land as required by the environmental laws. An EMP is a component of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which must be provided in any commercial piggery. Sappo can assist with contact details of consultants who can perform this.

Prospective pig farmers must also be ready to register with the Department of Water Affairs for water user and waste discharge water related use licenses.
 
Finance

Pig farming requires high capital investment from the beginning. Sappo can assist developing pig farmers with generic business plans for either an out-grower unit or a farrow-to-finish unit. These business plans are available electronically on request from Sappo and the farmer can adjust them to her/his needs. Sappo will also provide a list of financial institutions which can assist financially.   

Construction plans

Sappo can provide these plans where possible once there is an indication that there is finance to start a piggery on an approved site. It is the duty of the farmer to obtain quotations for the execution of the plan.

Production inputs

It is the responsibility of a farmer to negotiate better deals when purchasing production inputs for her/his business operation. Sappo will assist in identifying sources of production inputs for the piggery project.

Joining Sappo

Sappo is an organisation of commercial pig farmers. A prospective who becomes actively involved in the commercial production and marketing of pigs may contact a Sappo office for joining in his/her respective province. Sappo will assist developing pig farmers whether they are members of Sappo or not.

Sappo assists developing pig farmers to overcome the problems they face by:

– Providing a generic business plan for use to apply for financial assistance.

– Training of prospective and existing pig farmers.

– Providing mentorship to certain piggeries as they may be deemed suitable by Sappo.

– Providing technical information at study groups and farmers’ days.

– Identifying convenient markets for new entrants in the industry

– Fin24

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How much does it cost to start a pig farm in South Africa?

Senyatsi estimates that to establish a farrow-to-finish 250-sow unit would be R25 million, which excludes operational costs. Breaking down the running costs, she says: “Feed costs average R16,50/kg of pork produced, and overheads about R4/kg. The total cost for a 80kg pig is therefore R1 640.

How do I start a pig farm in South Africa?

To start your pig farming business in South Africa, you need breeding stock i.e. boars and sows (which are males and females respectively). These are the parents pigs which will mate to produce the piglets (pigs offspring). You will then raise the piglets and sell them.

What education do you need to be a pig farmer?

Education: Nearly all pig farmers have (at minimum) a high school diploma, with many holding college degrees in areas such as animal science, agriculture, or a closely related field.

Which farming is most profitable in South Africa?

Macadamia nuts are hard to beat when it comes to the most lucrative crop per land area used in South Africa. According to statistics from the SA Macadamia Growers’ Association (Samac), the average export price for macadamia kernels in 2017 was R224.

How much does it cost to start a small pig farm?

You could spend anywhere from R 7293.61 to R 145872.20to start a small free-range farm. Large-scale farms could require up to $2 million to get going.

What does a pig farmer do?

Pig farmers are part of an industry that has segmented the raising of an animal into specialized farms: breeding and taking care of pregnant female pigs, farrowing (birthing baby pigs and weaning them), nursery (post-weaning period), and finishing (feeding hogs until they are ready to be slaughtered).

Are pigs easy to raise?

They are hearty, simple to raise and produce an extreme amount of meat in an amazingly short amount of time. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to raise pigs, look no further! Easy, Fun, Cute I think pigs are one of the easiest farm animals to raise.