| Contract hog production provides producers with the opportunity to shift much of the market risk and some of the production risk faced by producers to the contractor. Contracting can also lower the required capital investment since the grower is only responsible for providing the swine finishing facilities.;This study has investigated the costs of investing in a swine finishing unit and provided a decision aid for prospective producers. Those results suggest that contract hog finishing can be profitable. A study of forage production using swine waste effluent as an input, the typical swine waste management system in Mississippi, has been incorporated into the investment analysis. Results suggest that effluent can be more profitable than commercial fertilizer in forage production. |
