Then again, rumors out of the Christensen Farm's barns are losses the last year of close to $40.00 a head. They raise MILLIONS of hogs a year through their barns...
"Swine flu" kinda killed the market in '09
ETA: I found some press on the subject.
Rumors abound about livestock red ink
Gene Johnston
Successful Farming magazine Managing Editor
4/10/2008, 8:50 AM CDT
The rumor mill is cranking up in the livestock industry. With the incredible run up in feed costs in the last two years, people are beginning to wonder who's going to survive the red ink.
Many of the questions will surround the swine industry, where there aren't many feeding options other than corn and soybean meal. Purdue University economist Chris Hurt stands by his prediction that this will be the worst year in history for pork producers. Hog prices probably won't dip to $10 per hundredweight like they did for a short while in 1998, but the sustained combination of corn over $5 a bushel and live hog prices in the $40s will lead to $30 per head losses or more. That could give a $3 billion hit to the industry this year alone.
(I have no true numbers, just talk from employees to base that figure on)
(also keep in mind, 20 years ago the Christensen brothers had a business plan and a small loan from their dad. They are now worth billions and are nationwide)
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