Eastern Washington State is ripe for expansion of its relatively small swine industry. There is a large, economical feed supply, few but strong local markets, expanding export markets, favorable climate, and low population density. Nationally, hog production is shifting from smaller to larger farms, a shift being driven in part by economies of scale and in part by high returns on investment and operating capital. For the last ten years, well managed swine enterprises analyzed by Iowa State University have returned profits of approximately twenty dollars per sow per year and current rates of return on investment in large scale swine facilities have been projected to be as high as 25 percent annually.

This opportunity is tempered by issues surrounding industrialization of swine production. The swine idustry is integrating much like the poultry industry did in the 1960's and 1970's. It is attracting outside investment capital. Twenty-five percent of all hogs are contracted and 80 percent are sold by 20 percent of hog producers. In major hog producing areas, hog production is viewed by the public as factory farming, and throughout hog country there is a backlash against 10,000 and 20,000 sow modules tied to large, integrated, investor owned pork production companies. Waste spills, odor, displacement of family operated hog farms, land use conflicts, public outcry forcing protective legislation and ordinances, and lawsuits characterize expansion of hog production elsewhere in the country.

Washington is unprepared to deal with the type of swine industry expansion and social upheaval experienced in North Carolina, Utah, and the upper mid-west. There is little public experience with swine production in this state. County commissioners and county environmental health departments are generally unaware of the environmental issues and social conflict that has accompanied pork production expansion elsewhere.

Family farmers interested in expanding their swine operations or starting new ones need to prepare their neighbors and communities with assurances of good stewardship. They need to be well studied and prepared to address the expansion issues that have divided communities elsewhere. They need to be committed to and work diligently to control odor and protect water resources. They need to learn how to manage new employees and to make sound business decisions in reaching economies of scale and in adopting new technology. They need to evaluate both low tech and high tech expansion. They also need to plan for expansion in steps, so that they can learn and improve as they go.

Concepts described in this report were provided by John Froseth, Washington State University Extension Swine Specialist and Steve Marbery, writer for Feedstuffs weekly agribusiness newspaper during a seminar held in Ritzville Washington on December 12, 1997. Prepared by Tom Platt, WSU Cooperative Extension.

Agricultural Sustainability. Highlights from a seminar series conducted by Washington State University's Ag Horizons Team and funded by USDA Western Region SARE.

Thomas E. Platt
MSPO Box 399 (mailing)
303 6th Street (street)
Davenport, WA 99122-0399
Phone: (509) 725-4171
FAX: (509) 725-4104
plattom@wsu.edu