Make the most of Christmas marketing

Pig finishers should now be thinking about their marketing strategy over Christmas. With high feed costs and lower pig prices, it is important to optimise returns by planning ahead, advises Matthew Curtis, managing director of Yorkshire-based pig-breeding company ACMC.

Demand falls and prices drop in the New Year, so producers are better advised to send their pigs away at a lighter weight before Christmas, rather than hold onto them and receive a poorer return per kg afterwards, he said.

He suggests sending pigs off at 3-5 kg lighter than normal.

This is an effective way of marketing. It aids cash flow and, by avoiding overstocking over the Christmas period, improves feed conversion efficiency. In addition, the risk of producers being penalised for overweight pigs after the holiday break is lessened, he pointed out.