With live hog prices hitting $60 plus dollars per hundred weight and feeder pig prices going through the roof I have a feeling stories like this won’t be completely out of the ordinary. That’s right … in my own little Iowa county a couple of hog rustlers have been caught trying to take 13 stolen hogs to the sale barn. I guess they decided that with feed prices going through the roof it would be easier and more profitable to steal the pigs instead of raise them and feed them out … of course I don’t think they factored in the possibility of getting caught!
The pigs were valued at $2408 (which breaks down to $185.23 per pig). Let’s just say that I’m going to keep eye on my pigs from now on … of course someone stealing my pigs would entail them actually penning them back up (yes they like to get out) and then loading them into a trailer. I think I’ll be safe …
I’m really excited about your blog. My wife and I are looking for some land, and I am very interested in starting a large garden and maybe exploring raising some chickens or other live-stick. I’m an Iowan, as well. Cool blog, and as we look for places and discuss our dreams, we keep asking ourselves why doesn’t everyone do this?
Indeed, I just blogged myself on rising agricultural prices this morning.
http://yeomanlawyer.blogspot.com/2011/02/perfect-agricultural-storm.html
The impacts of all this are going be most interesting. The price of everything ag wise, and that’s the price of what matters most, is rising. A real rise in food prices means a lot more than a rise in fuel prices. I hadn’t thought of pig rustling, but I bet that making off with a hog or two is starting to look tempting to more than a few opportunistic thieves.
We had five weaners stolen last year, right from the front of the property. THey used a dog and portable yards to capture them. The Police bought them back to the farm in a police 4×4. For evidence purposes they had to pint them yellow so they would stand out from the others – so for about six weeks I was teh farm down the road on teh right with the yellow painted pigs out front!
They would also have to get through the pack of livestock guardian dogs… Our dogs are rather possessive of their livestock. Dogs are invaluable work mates on the farm, from herding to guarding to border patrol and so much more. They also make a good snuggle. Our dogs really don’t like outside (non-pack) dogs so that would make that stealing technique impossible.