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Hardin County, Iowa | Thanks for clearing that up. This past spring they announced that an additional $13 per head marketed for farrow to finish producers would be added on to the premium as well as an additional $1 per head marketed added on for wean to finish producers. The price we received on our last load was $107.40 - pretty much the same as mentioned by the previous poster.
We sent a load of 75 head on November 8, 2024 and they averaged 292 pounds. We load the semi at our drive and we are approximately three hours from Sioux Center. We are normally the last stop the driver makes before heading to the packing plant. Our settlement sheet for that load shows a total trucking cost of $693 and a reimbursement of $341. We were responsible for $352 of the trucking cost. That is $4.70 per hog. I'm not sure I would want to haul them for that. The other factor that makes the trucking higher is the trucker has to stop at several places to pick up a load. Last night we loaded 50 head at our farm and the trucker made four additional stops. One farmer loaded 70 head, another loaded 10 head and the trucker stopped at a collection point to load 11 head. I assume the remainder were loaded at his first stop at a collection point.
At the risk of confusing matters I will try to answer Kooiker's question about how the base price is calculated. A matrix that uses the current prices for corn and soy meal is used to arrive at a base price. The premiums are then added on. As was mentioned, there are different premiums depending on if you are a year round farrowing farm and if you utilize approved genetics. We are farrow to finish producers and sell our qualifying production to Niman Ranch so I am most familiar with that aspect of Niman Ranch. There are also producers that are farrow to wean as well as many who are wean to finish.
We sold our first hogs to Niman Ranch in 2000. We have had a good relationship over the years. I have trouble understanding some of the Niman "bashing" that happens on this site. I feel that everyone should raise hogs how they choose. If someone is unhappy with the Niman system they are free to move on to greener pastures. We have looked at other niche systems in the past and have yet to find one that works for us as well as Niman. As usual, your experience may be different. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of the Niman Ranch farmer advisory board. If anyone has other questions I would be happy to correspond through email. My email is in my profile.
Paul Brown
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Commercially raising hogs
