Mr. Hog and Mikey are foreigners, so their native tongue is english.

    I do understand what you both felt about those things that happened to u guys.Actually i'm a filipina married also to a canadian and just started up a hog business also in Phils.It's really hard to find someone whom you could really trust when it comes to money...not only in Phils. but anywhere...:)I myself was fooled by my own sister when i trusted her to buy a house and lot for me in Phils. while i was so busy workin hard abroad...:)But anyways,what i did now to my small piggery...i just hired someone and provided them a shelter in my farm ...so no need to be away from the pigs. I  am the one who is contacting and sending money directly to the feed supplier ...and also if there are meds. needed  every month!In that case...i don't have to worry if she is really spending the money the way i want it!When we expanded our piggery...every materials that she bought had to come up with receipts and she scanned it and was sent to me through email.I hope these things that i did could help you guys and could make you come up with some much more better ideas on how to make business w/o being lied to when it comes to money...:)Have a nice day...

I have learned sometimes one mans dream is only his/her own.As the old saying goes,one can lead a horse to water but cannot force it to drink.Farmers and farming at one time was considered a poor persons job but in this world today farmers and farming is really for the rich as farms are becoming bigger and bigger with larger numbers of livestocks.When you stop and think about it for a minute,farming requires large sums of capital and/or good credit.No matter where one lives on this planet,we all need to eat and all this food comes from farms and farmers.For those who at one time believed there was no future in farming,I think you are wrong and with prices rising for land and everything being equal,takes more and more money to live the life of a farmer and we are the people who feed the masses.

Twenty years ago there still was family farms here in N.America.Today we call them Corp. Farms.Farms managed from corp. offices in the city as the family farm was taken over from Big Business.As more and more capital flows into the Philippines so will the size of the farms increase.Business 101.For those who turned their backs on farming,might be too late to get into the business now.Farming worldwide today is big business.

Farming Feeds the World:
Michael

Good day to all po..

I have read all your sentiments and experiences with hog raising.. My uncle and aunt bought a farm last February.. They told me that I will be in charge in managing the farm, budgeting, marketing and legal terms.. My father is in charge with the operation of the farm (piggery and farming) while my brother is in charge of feeding the pigs and cleaning the pen.. I don't spend most of my time in the farm. But I make sure that I know what's happening everyday. My uncle and auntie supported my college years including my family that's why, even if I only got my allowance in this business, I make it a point that I show them how grateful I am because they helped me and my family. Doing my part in our farm is really hard. I rather choose to clean pig pens or plant crops than doing the managing and budgeting. Especially to the part of decision making because sometimes (or even most of the time) I am always caught in the middle (between my father and my uncle and auntie's side). Even if I didn't took up any business course or hog raising course, I do something to improve my knowledge and skills so that my uncle and auntie would not be disappointed. They always told me to always treat the farm as if it is really mine and to treat it like my baby.. I always prepare the farm records like farm sales and expenses, farm inventory, farm sales record, farm attendance and payroll, breeding operation and so on.. I make it sure that I send it on my auntie's email.. We always have our communication.. I have my Globe and Sun numbers where my auntie could contact me.. I gave all the receipts to them.. They were the ones who contact the feeds and pay most of the time through check. I wanted this farm to prosper to prove to my uncle and auntie that the tuition fee they provide me during my college years are not wasted. And I do love my family. This is the only thing I could do to help them. There were times that I got scolded when my uncle and auntie got mad. There were also times that I wanted to give up and just pursue my career in Information Technology because my allowance is not enough to support my family's necessities. I already worked as a Secretary of the chief librarian and an IT college instructor for my alma mater,  But then maybe this is what God wanted me to do.. I hope that our business will be successful. It is not always that a relative would fund a business, that's why I will try my best to help and make the business prosper.  Even though I am young with this business, I hope some of this could also help and enlighten some of our fellow hog raisers..

Thanks and God bless our business..
                                                                                       

If you have problem in your farm just ask here or send me an email so i could give some advice.
Hog raising is volume base business... The more animal you have the more you will earn....BUt it is very rewarding and therapeutic also...

Yes, this business is very challenging. You should have TLC on your hogs until you sell them to market.
Good genetics, Good feeds and Good management to your herds. Good Luck Guys.

Good day to all..

We are thinking of buying another batch of piglets (50 heads)  before our gilts got pregnant..
We would like to buy a quality piglets that would not cost too much..
Genetics is really important but management also counts..
I ask for a little patience to our fellow hog raisers out there because I have a lot of questions in mind..
Thanks for all the advices..
This forum really help/helped me a lot..

Thanks again and may God bless all of us..

Very true,this is a interesting business.If your heart is not into farming and adapt the old ways of out of sight and out of mind you will fail in this business.Farming today is very different from the old days as the business is changing almost daily.Prices go up and prices go down.Try and guess where the prices might be in the future and you will drive yourself crazy.

The animals themselves are changing also.Patents on the animal means someone else owns the animal in question and the farmer/producer now becomes only the babysitter and has no control over its future.You have no rights to breed this animal only to raise it to a certain weight and then  ship it off for processing.Contract farming and you need to hire your own lawyer to explain the legal language and understand what will happen to you and your farm if you do not follow what the contract dictates.All and all this is where the real money in the future will be made.The farmer/producer is the next generation of new found wealth.We all have to eat,no matter where we live.We are in the protein delivery business.