Survival Strategies of the Independant Hog Farmer in an Industrializing Animal Agriculture Sector

The current movement in the hog sector on the Canadian prairies is toward industrialization - the growth of large scale, corporate business operations with contractual arrangements thatfacilitate some level of vertical and horizontal integration. Arguments are made that these corporate entities will rule supreme in the hog sector because of the economic advantages associated with them - negotiating strength that comes with high volume sales and purchases, stability associated with multiple profit centers, access to technical information and professional expertise, ability to attract skilled and motivated managers, prescription production systems, access to equity and debt capital, and the employment of sophisticated risk management practices. But the independent hog farmer is not dead and can set a strategy to survive nicely and thrive in the industrializing environment. Linkages are available with selling and purchasing agencies and the marketing advantages they provide. Information and professional expertise is available from public research and extension as well as independent private consultants. The independent stockman’s skills can be the envy of the corporate organizations. Proprietorships can use retained earnings as down payments for debt capital required for expansion. Owner-operators can be as productive as wage-earning employees. This paper maps out a ten-step strategy for the independent hog farmer in an industrializing animal agriculture sector.