My freshman son is in FFA and raising a pig for the school district show and was approached by another students dad to buy his pig- the freezer sale price is $450 and we have been told that all pigs sell as it is a desirable animal

How does my son know how much to sell it for - estimated weight at show is about 280. My son wants to get a good value for his pig and he realizes he might be able to get more than the $450 in a presale since it has some interest.

I was thinking 280 x 70% dress weight and net weight of 70% would equal 137 lbs of take home weight. 137lbs x 6$ Per pound equals $823 being final retail price of meat. 823-450 is a lot of wiggle room for negotiation to add value to his pig. Do we worry about subtracting the kill fees and the processing fees?

I think mathematically we will have a small chance of being in the auction
200 pigs in show - 8 classes of pigs separated by weight only - so first 25 pigs in weight make up first class - only top 2 from each class go for reserve and grand champion honors - pigs ranging from 150-320 is the estimate.

This is my first time as a FFA dad as well so I am a little lost in this world. We have a lot more into this pig and I realize we will not get it all back unless it goes to auction. If pig goes to auction my son a can cancel this deal.

Can someone help us with this math?

you should get plenty of advice on here ,
normal market price for pigs has been .30-.40 cents a pound at our show in march.(floor price if you don't make the sale) I would ask the friends dad what he is willing/wants to pay for the pig. $500 for a non sale pig is a good deal in most instances. Anything over market price is a bonus. Some people want to buy the pig for going rate, some want to buy pig and help kid some too. we generally try to find a kid we like that did not make the sale at our county and buy their pig for $300 or $400 and get it processed

Help me understand this:

Your son hasn't shown his pig yet, you don't know anything about pigs and how it may place, and you're contemplating selling it ahead of the show to try and minimize your loss?

There is a much bigger lesson here for your son and y'all need to see this through to auction. Unless you cannot afford the feed or your son is going to fail a class an can't show, there is zero justification for skipping the show. See this thing through.

I say this as someone that showed pigs all through high school and learned many valuable lessons in the process… not always about winning either.

Sorry to come across like a jerk

As one of my teachers from decades ago always said…….

"You are not raising animals….. you are raising young men and women"

That served us well then and recently as our two kids went through jackpots, our county show, as well as Ft. Worth!

Good luck and you will learn a lot about your kid (and other parents) as you go through this process.

From my son's GF….

"freezer sale is more of a last resort. if they can find a guaranteed buyer that would get them the most money. idk if they're raising for a school or for a major or something, for us, guaranteed buyers have to pay at least $1,500 i think; but idk when they're showing so it may be too last minute to try and find a guaranteed buyer. I would say try to negotiate the price up a little, don't worry about processing fees, that's on the buyer"

Sounds like someone is going around trying to buy sifted pigs. They obviously understand that they will not be buying if they go to auction. I would take them up on their offer as they are likely trying to do right by the kids.

$450 is a great deal for you. The market value of a live hog is about $200. You're looking at another $200-$250 for processing if you try a freezer sale. Good luck, hope all make the auction.

As a 15 year show dad, take the guaranteed money unless you spent a ton of money on the project and expect to get a sale hole. Pork market will start dropping when the majors start. We got $0.12 a lb at Ft Worth one year.

That's not how I read it. I read it as they are going to show the pig but another parent made an offer to buy the pig should they not make the sale at the show. But honestly it's 1AM, so maybe I read it wrong.

ttha_aggie_09 said:

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Help me understand this:

Your son hasn't shown his pig yet, you don't know anything about pigs and how it may place, and you're contemplating selling it ahead of the show to try and minimize your loss?

There is a much bigger lesson here for your son and y'all need to see this through to auction. Unless you cannot afford the feed or your son is going to fail a class an can't show, there is zero justification for skipping the show. See this thing through.

I say this as someone that showed pigs all through high school and learned many valuable lessons in the process… not always about winning either.

Sorry to come across like a jerk

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We are told to sell it beforehand as this is a kill show and we are not skipping the show. We can afford it and son will not fail. All kids give presale contract to potential buyer and in it it states that if the pig goes to auction the contract is void.

We are just trying to determine a good sale price before the show as we have been told to maximize our gains if any over the last resort freezer sale price of $450.

duddleysdraw88 said:

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As one of my teachers from decades ago always said…….

"You are not raising animals….. you are raising young men and women"

That served us well then and recently as our two kids went through jackpots, our county show, as well as Ft. Worth!

Good luck and you will learn a lot about your kid (and other parents) as you go through this process.

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We are learning a lot about laziness that is for sure.
We have come up with these three lessons - we are freshman and we have a lot to learn still but it seems like everything falls under these three things.

1. Relationship with pig is key - some kids and parents are what we call dump and runs - meaning they dash in there they feed their pig and leave and don't walk the pig and wonder later why the pig won't walk with them. A lot of the parents are taking care of the pig and won't let their kid do anything as "it takes too long and the kid doesn't know what they are doing" - don't get me started in sick pigs. Just down right lazy and excuses fly from everyone's mouth. On the other hand some parents just trust their kid and when they come for the first time are pissed off at how the pig has been handled and the ship is righted immediately.

2. Cleanliness - holy cow some of these pens are nasty and cleaned never. And the laziness of parents and kids to clean up after their pig in common areas is atrocious. Land mines everywhere.

3. Show readiness- walking the pig and getting to learn its habits in synchronicity with the kids habits. Feed plan, daily schedule etc.

I go to the barn and I do not do anything except kill flies with my fly swatter. (Fly season is done now) so I just talk to other parents. I don't give advice to others I just simply tell people what we have been doing when they ask. Did some research and flies hate peppermint. Got some peppermint extract and mixed with water - our pen smells pretty. . I remind my son do to things and tell him he needs a list ( month 4 and no list yet but he doesn't forget much.

It is alot of valuable lessons by looking at other pens, pigs, interactions with pig, other kids and parents as well as teachers.

If that is your setup for having a contract ahead of the show, I think I would take the $450.

Ours is different because it isn't a terminal show, but at the end of pig season there are a ton of hogs available so you can get them much cheaper than that.

Okay that makes much more sense. Sorry for being critical earlier. All of the shows I ever did were kill shows but we never had this option.

The majors just sifted your pig right then and there and you got a check from actual livestock auction. Local show you either made auction or went to barn sale but our barn sale let people put money on top of your animal so long as it didn't exceed the lowest auction pig price, I think.

Livestock projects never really make any money for the kids. You might have buyer groups that supplement the auction price, but raising an animal is never about that. If you can get the $450.00 to recoup some costs, then that may not be a bad deal.

We raised chickens, steers, and heifers in our two son's times in ffa. Never made a penny, but learned priceless lessons, work ethic, ideals and values and made many lifetime friends along the way. I hope that your freshman sticks with it in the coming years.

By the way, you have not lived until you have had 100 chickens in your garage at one time. Luckily, that is only a six week project.

whoop1995 said:

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137lbs x 6$ Per pound equals $823 being final retail price of meat. 823-450 is a lot of wiggle room for negotiation to add value to his pig. Do we worry about subtracting the kill fees and the processing fees?

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If you are looking for an apples to apples comparison and the $6 per pound is actual downtown out-the-door price then processing fees are figured in and you would need to account for them in your calculation. Hopefully your son is able to line up a sale to someone who knows what's up and is looking to reward him for his work and effort - like some of the posters above have alluded, buyers like that will usually pay more than market price for the animal.

Quote:

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200 pigs in show - 8 classes of pigs separated by weight only - so first 25 pigs in weight make up first class - only top 2 from each class go for reserve and grand champion honors - pigs ranging from 150-320 is the estimate.

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Really? No breeds? That's something I've not seen before at a terminal show.

Good luck to y'all. Good on you for helping him with his project; it's a family effort.

Struggle and Strifer said:

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We raised chickens, steers, and heifers in our two son's times in ffa.

By the way, you have not lived until you have had 100 chickens in your garage at one time. Luckily, that is only a six week project.

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Same here. We only fed cattle projects and then the kids started showing chickens on a whim. I fell in love with it. You find out who the best feeders are at chicken shows because there are NO days off, hell, HOURS off, on a 6 week project. I used to say heifers were Formula 1 racing and steers were NASCAR... using that analogy market broilers are NHRA. You can't sleep on a second of it.

Centerpole90 said:

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whoop1995 said:

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137lbs x 6$ Per pound equals $823 being final retail price of meat. 823-450 is a lot of wiggle room for negotiation to add value to his pig. Do we worry about subtracting the kill fees and the processing fees?

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If you are looking for an apples to apples comparison and the $6 per pound is actual downtown out-the-door price then processing fees are figured in and you would need to account for them in your calculation. Hopefully your son is able to line up a sale to someone who knows what's up and is looking to reward him for his work and effort - like some of the posters above have alluded, buyers like that will usually pay more than market price for the animal.

Quote:

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200 pigs in show - 8 classes of pigs separated by weight only - so first 25 pigs in weight make up first class - only top 2 from each class go for reserve and grand champion honors - pigs ranging from 150-320 is the estimate.

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Really? No breeds? That's something I've not seen before at a terminal show.

Good luck to y'all. Good on you for helping him with his project; it's a family effort.

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No split by breeds and no split by sex - just lined up by weight and the classes are set by the first 25, second 25 etc….

I buy a 4H pig or two most years, and the range is typically $200-$300. These are really good pigs, but for whatever reason didn't make the auction. Below is an example of a high-end $300 pig that I bought. The lower priced ones aren't that different. I only had one that was skinny at $200, but the kid needed money. Hopefully, that point of reference helps.

Good stuff! This thread actually reminded me to go an check the dates of the Katy ISD show and make sure I am still registered as a buyer.

Hi there,
Would you be interested in a Berkshire show pig? Just wrapped up our last show…
my daughter didn't fo market. Pig ribbon in 2nd & 3rd this season. This is our first year in FFA…please let me know if you're interested.

If Tree91 isn't, I might be. Where are you located?

If you can get $450 for a finished hog that is an excellent price. We always feed a few "spare", back-up pigs and sell them at the end of the season for $250 and I haul them to the processor. The buyer is responsible for all processing costs and pick up.

Finished hogs are bringing about $.86 per pound hanging weight,

Thanks, Nsib. I picked up two at the Ellis County show last week. Hopefully, BDJ can help you out!

Nsib said:

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Hi there,
Would you be interested in a Berkshire show pig? Just wrapped up our last show…
my daughter didn't fo market. Pig ribbon in 2nd & 3rd this season. This is our first year in FFA…please let me know if you're interested.

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