The Math on Doing It Yourself
The end product. Meishan shoulder, marbled through.
This June we processed two Meishan hogs on the farm.
Not at a facility. On the farm, with a tractor hoist, sawzall, sharp knives, a positive attitude, and two weekends. Two animals, two sessions, 234 pounds of packaged pork in the family freezer by the time we were done.
The question worth answering honestly: what did that actually cost, and does it work?
What it costs to raise a feeder pig
Both hogs started as feeder pigs we purchased for $200 each. Over the raising period, each ran approximately $400 in feed, based on the herd’s total feed cost spread across animal-months. Each animal went into processing at a cost basis of roughly $600 cash.
The first hog weighed 362 pounds live, hung at 182, and packaged to 109 pounds including 33 pounds of bulk sausage. Cost to produce: $5.50 per pound.
The second weighed 338 pounds live, hung at 204, and packaged to 125 pounds. Cost to produce: $4.80 per pound. It dressed out higher than the first, 60 percent against 50, and finished 16 pounds heavier in the freezer. We had estimated 128 to 137 pounds before the hams and bacon were weighed; the real number came in just under that.
Why processing location is the variable that matters
Processing costs come in three tiers depending on what you need the product for.
A USDA-inspected cut-and-wrap facility charges around $600 per animal. That fee is the legal requirement for retail pork sales. Inspection is what makes the product sellable. On a $600 investment animal, adding $600 in processing gets you to $1,200 total. At 117 pounds packaged, the average of our two hogs, that is about $10.26 per pound. The economics do not work at that number against any market comparison.
A custom butcher shop charges around $200 per animal. No USDA inspection, which means the meat is for personal and farm use only, not for resale. Same $600 investment, $800 total: roughly $6.84 per pound. That is about $1.10 under the pasture-raised whole-hog market price of $7.96 per pound, and well under the by-the-cut market at $10 or more. The margin on the whole-hog comparison is modest. Against by-the-cut prices it is a clear positive.
On-farm processing: $0 cash. Same $600 investment, 117 pounds packaged on average, about $5.13 per pound. That is where the math works.
What the product is worth against the market
Commodity grocery pork runs about $4.33 a pound for boneless chops nationally this spring. Heritage pork raised on pasture and forest cannot compete at that price, and it was not designed to.
The right comparison is pasture-raised pork, because that is what this product is. USDA Q1-2026 data puts pasture-raised ground pork at $9.80 per pound and chops at $12.75. The whole-hog direct market runs $7.96 per pound.
At those prices, here is what 117 pounds of packaged pork, the average of our two hogs, returns at each processing tier:
| Processing | Total cost | Cost/lb | vs. whole-hog ($7.96) | vs. by-the-cut ($10+) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-farm ($0) | $600 | $5.13 | +$331 (+55%) | +$570+ (+95%+) |
| Custom butcher ($200) | $800 | $6.84 | +$131 (+16%) | +$370+ (+46%+) |
| USDA facility ($600) | $1,200 | $10.26 | −$269 (−22%) | −$30 (−2%) |
On-farm processing is the economic foundation. The custom butcher route is viable for anyone not set up to process on-site. The margin is modest against the whole-hog market but real, and it improves as you move toward by-the-cut pricing.
The provenance benefit
The math is one side; provenance is the other.
Processing your own animals removes the guesswork. You know exactly how the animal was treated and you are in control of the processing. In a market where labels like “pasture-raised” can be vague, absolute transparency on how an animal lived and was processed is a tangible asset. For us, that transparency is a non-negotiable value.
Where that leaves us
Custom-exempt on-farm processing produces meat that cannot be sold. Everything processed this June stays in our family freezer. The law does not have a gray area here.
Tennessee passed a law in 2023 to create its own meat inspection program, which would give small farms an inspected route to sell. That program has not started. The state said earlier this year that it is more than a year away. Until there is an inspected route, our pork stays in the family freezer.
For now, the value is in what goes on four households’ tables. Given what four families eat in a year, that is not a small amount of food.
Where we are
Both hogs are closed. The second one’s final packaged weight was 125 pounds.
The summary: two pigs, roughly $1,200 invested, 234 pounds of pork, $4.80 to $5.50 a pound to produce. We cannot beat commodity grocery prices on pork. In the pasture-raised market, where this product belongs, the numbers work.
The next animal we process will go faster and cost less than this year. That is how it is supposed to go.
Run the same math on your own farm
The math proves that starting with high-quality feeder pigs is the best way to keep your costs down while raising heritage pork. The pigs in this analysis were Meishan feeders from our own herd. Raised on pasture and forest, these are animals built for this environment.
If you are thinking about buying a feeder pig and running your own numbers, use these three steps to see if the math works for your setup:
- Calculate your cost basis: Start with the purchase price of the feeder + estimated feed costs per animal.
- Choose your processing tier: Compare $0 (on-farm), ~$200 (custom butcher), or ~$600 (USDA facility).
- Compare to local market: Divide total cost by estimated packaged weight and compare that against pasture-raised prices in your area.
If you want to run these numbers yourself
It starts with the feeder pig.
We sell Meishan feeders from the same herd described above, raised the same way. $250 for pigs under twelve weeks. The litter born August 24 will be weaned and ready to go home the week of October 19. A $50 deposit holds one, and it is refundable.
Everything to know before you buy is on the feeder pig page. Message us on Facebook or email info@swiftspringhollow.com and we will tell you what is actually available.
Update, October 7, 2026
When this first went up in June, the second hog was still being weighed, so the tables used the first hog alone. Its final packaged weight came in at 125 pounds. The tables now use the average of both hogs, 117 pounds, and the numbers improved: $5.13 a pound to produce on the farm instead of $5.50.
The first version also had an arithmetic error. The USDA row showed a loss of $554 against the whole-hog price. At 109 pounds the correct figure was $332. USDA processing still does not pencil out either way, but the number should have been right.
Sources
- USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Pasture Raised Pork Direct-to-Consumer Retail Report Q1 2026 (PDF)
- Tennessee General Assembly, House Bill 394 - State Meat Inspection Program (Statute Text)