feeder-to-market operation

The feeder-to-market operation is the final stage in pig production, where feeder pigs are purchased and raised to market weight, typically over about 16 weeks. This stage requires significant feed and produces substantial manure, making it suitable for grain producers who can utilize the manure as fertilizer. While it is the least profitable per head, producing more pigs can compensate for this.1

Production systems in general transform resources like labor, capital, and land into goods and services. In livestock farming, specifically for pigs, production methods are divided by life cycle stages: birth, weaning, growth, finishing, and market. Common operations include farrow-to-finish, farrow-to-feeder, and feeder-to-market. Pigs are monogastric and require concentrate feed, unlike ruminants that can utilize forage.21