TOP PRICES THAT AN ABOVE AVERAGE FARMER CAN PAY FOR FEEDER PIGS AND STILL BREAK EVEN

(Anabove average feederraisesa40lb.pigto215lbs.on3.5 lbs.offeed perpoundofpork produced.Othermajor costsper pip include $1.60 forlabor, $1.85 forbuildingsand equipment, and$.32forhiring feedgroundand

processed.) Priceof

Corn per B.Mh.l

Soiling Price for 100lb), of

40

Prica PerffeodWenPigWeighs"- •ricePerHndredwiighfWhen .gWeigh

bs. 50lbi. 60lbs. 80lb.. 100Ibi. 120lbs. 40lbs. 50lbs. 60lbs. 80lbs. 100lbs. 120lbs.

5.90 $14 1225 1300 13.75 15.50 17.25 19.00 3050 26.00 23.00 1925 17.25 1575

.90 16 1625 17.00 1800 1975 21.50 23.25 40.50 34.00 3000 2475 2150 19.25

.90 18 2050 2125 22 25 2400 2575 27.50 51.25 42.50 3700 3000 2575 2300

.90 20 2475 25.50 2625 2800 29.75 31.75 61.75 51CO 4375 3500 2975 2650

.90 22 28 75 29 50 00.50 32.25 34.00 3600 7175 5900 5075 40.25 3400 3000

.90 24 3300 3375 3450 36.50 3825 40.00 8250 67 50 57 50 4550 38.25 3325

1.00 14 11.25 1200 1300 14.75 16.50 1850 2800 24.00 21.75 1850 1650 1550

1.00 16 1525 1625 17.00 1900 20.75 22.75 38.00 32.50 2825 2375 2075 1900

1.00 IS 1950 20 2S 21.25 23 00 25.00 27 00 4875 40.50 3550 2875 2500 2250

100 20 23 75 24 50 25.50 27 25 29 25 31.00 59 25 4900 42.50 34.00 29 25 25.75

100 22 27 75 28 75 29.50 3150 33.25 3525 69.25 57.50 49.25 39 25 33.25 29.25

1.00 24 32 00 32 75 33 75 3550 37 50 39.50 8000 65.50 56 25 4425 37 50 33.00

1.10 14 10 25 1100 12.00 14.00 16.00 18.00 25.50 22.00 20.00 1750 16.00 15.00

1.10 16 1450 1525 16.25 1825 2000 22.00 36.25 30.50 27 00 2275 20.00 1825

1.10 18 1850 1950 20.25 22 25 2425 2625 4625 39,00 3375 2775 24.25 21.75

1.10 20 22 75 2350 24.50 2650 28.50 30.50 56.75 47 00 40.75 33.00 2850 2550

1.10 22 26 75 2775 28.75 3075 3250 34 75 66.75 55.50 48.00 38.50 32.50 29.00

1.10 24 3100 3175 32.75 34 75 3675 39.00 77 50 63.50 5450 4350 36.75 32.50

1.20 14 925 10 25 1125 13.25 15.25 17.25 2300 20.50 18.75 1650 15.25 14.25

1.20 16 1350 1425 15.25 1725 19.25 2150 33,75 28.50 2550 21.50 19.25 1800

1.20 16 1750 1850 19.50 21.50 2350 25 75 43.75 37.00 32.50 2675 23.50 2150

1.20 20 2175 22 50 23.50 25.75 27.75 30.00 5425 45.00 39 25 3225 27 75 2500

1.20 22 2575 2675 27.75 29 75 32.00 34 00 64 25 53.50 4625 37.25 32.00 28.25

1.20 24 3000 3100 3200 3400 3600 38 25 75.00 62 00 5325 4250 3600 3175

1.30 14 8 25 9.25 10.25 12.50 14.50 1675 20 50 1850 17,00 1550 14.50 1400

1.30 16 1250 13.25 14.50 1650 18 75 2100 31.25 26.50 2425 20.50 18.75 17.50

1.30 18 1650 17.50 18.50 20.75 22.75 2500 4125 3500 30.75 26.00 22.75 20.75

1.30 20 20 75 21.75 22.75 25 00 27.00 29.25 51.75 43.50 38.00 31.25 27.00 24.25

130 22 25 00 25.75 26.75 29.00 31.25 3350 6250 51.50 4450 3625 31.25 28.00

1.30 24 29 00 30.00 31.00 3325 35.25 37.75 72 50 60.00 51.75 41.50 35.25 3150

ExampleofHowtoUse AboveTable:Whencornisworth $1.20 a busheli

dredpounds after marketingcostsare deducted,an above average farmei poundpig and $21.50 foran 80poundpigandstillbreak even.Ifhewants costsarepaid,hewillhavetodeductthisamount fromeach priceshownin

ndslaughterhogs bring $18.00 perhun- canpayupto$17.50ahead for a 40 :omakea certainprofitper pig afterall

al

FUTURE FARMER

ton. Ifyourfeed costs;ire less,use this guide. Feed costs usually run 50 per- cent of thetotal costofproducingpigs to weaning weight, and ^at least [99 pounds oftotal feed are required

Now

see chartfor resultsofyourfeeder pro- gram. Note

how

feed conversion rates affect theoutcome. In our example,

we

will

make

believe that yourpigs had a feed conversion of 3.5.

doing

by the prices used on ^{the chart,} feed^costsare

$19.74 plus the sales value of your pigs. Looking ^at the chart, it iseasy to see that you lost money, because you neededa sellingpriceofS15.4Stocover feed and pig costs.

Keep

in mind that this is only an example. Using

March

prices, your pigs would have probably sold for SI7.00 or $20.00. That would havekept you in businessand paid for thecostof keeping yoursow.

Finishing Feeder Pigs

Now

suppose you are a feeder pig finisher. That is. you buy feeder pigs and grow them tomarket weight. True, the risk

may

be greater, but you can measure yourpossible returns precisely.

Dr. R. H. Blosser and C.C. Bowen, agricultural economists at Ohio State Universitv, have prepared a handy table that will answer the question

"What

to Pay for Feeder ^Pigs." It

showsthe highestprices an aboveaver- agefarmer can pa) andstillbreakeven (see chart). This

means

you must he able to raise a 40-pound pig to 215 pounds on 3.5 pounds of teed per pound of pork produced. Other major costs per pig include $1.60 for labor.

SI.85 forbuildingsand equipment, and 32 cents for hiring feed ground and processed.

If an above average farmer wants higher returns for labor and capital orwants to

make

a profit on each pig after he pays all costs, he must pay less than theprices shown in t.'ie table.

Pig prices were determined bj sub- tracting the cost ofraising thepigafter

it was purchased from theselling price ofa 215-pound slaughter hog. Market- ing costs were alsodeducted.

These feeder pig prices were cal- culated from 148 cost records kept by commercial hog farmers in west cen- tral Ohio.

How To

Use Table.

When

corn is

worth SI.20 a bushel and slaughter hogsbring SI8.00 per hundred pounds after marketing costs are deducted, an above average farmer can pay up to SI7.50a head for a40-pound pig and

$21.50 for an 80-pound pig and still

breakeven. Ifyou want to

make

acer- tain profit per pig after all costs are paid, deduct this

amount

from each price

shown

on the table. In this ex- ample, you would have

made money

had you purchased those seven feeder pigs at the selling price of SI 2.77 per P'g-

April-May, 7967

Your working partners

'ChapStick'lipbalmpi Ieel . 'Chap-ans' edicati while your

relievesdrying,¹1ipping crackii hands work-helpshi

FORHANDSTHATWORK 5

1

i

o mfort

is interested in your

Comfort Equipment

Company

thinksthat you

may

be the best agricultural engineer

in theworld. Our 20 yearsof experience in manufacturingqualityequipment for progressive farming has proved tousthat the recipefor success is combining solid ideasofthe

man

inthefield with theexperience and knowledge of '•-. ourskilled designersand engineers.

Youngand imaginative people today will be the leaders andinnovatorsoftomorrow, building acountryincreas- inglyableto meetthe needs of a shrinkingworld and an expanding population.

Better farm equipment and fresh ideas arean important part of the qualityofourresponse ..•'"

tothese challenges of thefuture.

You'vecomealongwaysinceyou were born, and so has Comfort.

Maybe

wecan both gofarthertogether. Ifyou have an idea thatyou think might helpAmerican agriculturedo itsjob better,why not getintouchwith us. Win, loseordraw, you can be sure thatwe'll give your suggestion our mostthoughtful consider- ation in afair andcareful manner.

.{omfbrt. EQUIPMENT COMPANY

Post

Office

Box

2

65 Kansas

City,

Missouri

ManufacturersofTheClear-V'ueCab.sprayers, posthole diggers,metaltractorandcombinecabs, tractorheaters,granularapplicatorsand otherqualityproductsfor thefarm.

"Usingthe toolsofsciencetobuild the tools of agriculture!"

53

Make A ^{Post Driver}

STEEL PLUS

SIDE VIEW

MAKE

yourself a

new

post driver for this spring.

The

instructions are easy to follow, and the materials are not expensive. This little device will

make

fence building a lotless effort.

The

plans for the post driverwere submitted byMr.CurtisR.Weston,associateprofessor of agricultural education andagricultural engineering atthe University of Missouri.

Billof Materials

1

—

4" by 28" black pipe.

2

—

¹" by 6" black pipe for handles.

1

—

4" by 3" plug.

Construction Procedure

Construct plugby using pipes of smaller sizes and weld bothends solid. Cuthandles to setat anangleand weld in place.

Round

off ends of handles.

Weld

end solid which receives the 4" _plug. Paint with rust inhibiting paint and finish with an enamel paint.

POST DRIVER

Farm Shop Feature

Future Farmers of Tonga

MR. KEITH

Albrecht,

who

was presi- dent of the

Utah

Vocational Agricul- ture Teachers Association last year, is

now

teaching in the

Tongan

Islands.

Here is his story of

how

the boys in his

new

department organized aFuture Farmers chapter.

The

Future Farmers of

Tonga

was organized by27 boys in anagricultural class attheTiahonaHigh Schoolof the

Tongan

Islands.

A

constitution was patterned after the

FFA

in the United States.

The

chapterofficerswereelected from the class. There are plans to build a

program

of activities

when

school starts in January, 1967. There are three degrees in the chapter

—

Chapter Farmer, Liahona Farmer, and

Tongan

Farmer.

The

chapter has also written a creed and

made

an emblem.

Our emblem

is built around the cross section of a coconut since coconut is

the chief crop

grown

here.

The

Liahona High School is spon- sored bythe Latter

Day

Saints located on the Island of Tongatapu on the

Tongan

Islands. School enrollmenthas beenset at 600.

Main

crops

grown

are coconut, bananas, watermelon, lemons, pineapple,mango, and

some

root crops.

There are chickens, hogs, and a few cattle but nosheep. Averagerainfall is 54

68 inches per year. All land is

owned

by the king.

He

leases land to the nobles, and theyin turn sublease it to the

common

people.

The

average size of an api or farm is eight acres.

The

government

owns

afewpieces ofequip-

ment

anda fewtractors, but the

main

equipment an api holder has is a hoe.

Mr. Keith Albrecht, former vocational with his agriculture class of the

Tonga

The

firstparagraphof the

FFT

creed, patterned after the

FFA

creed, is "I believe inthe future offarming inthe

Tongan

Islands.I believe

we

have been blessed with

some

of the best crops in the world. I believe I have a responsi- bility to improve

upon

the agriculture of our islands. I believe I must

work

efficiently and think clearly with such knowledge and skills as I can secure in order to improve our

Tonga

agri- culture."

agriculture teacher in Utah, is shown n Islands that has organized the FFT.

The National

FUTURE FARMER

Farmin _g 's More Fun When You Own An Ithaca

ITHACA MODEL 49