Do You REALLY Save Money By Raising Your Own? Let’s Do Nerdy Farm Math!

We raise meat chickens, hens and pigs. We don’t have cattle yet but buy local from a grass fed farm. We thought the pricing between feed, butchering and our labor was about the same as buying in the store but the difference is, we rotationally graze our animals, we treat them with compassion, and we know how they were raised. There is absolutely nothing like homegrown food. The pork was amazing. The best part was having multiple freezers filled with food. I will never go back. Can’t wait for cattle next year!

We love homegrown pork so much that we invested in 2 gilts (1 Yorkshire & 1 Berkshire/Herferd cross) & 1 boar (Berkshire) . Our girls gave us 21 piglets this April. Some were sold as weaners & 7 we are growing for ourselves, friends & family. There's no comparison to store bought pork. Our pork is so good. If you like the fat on porkchops or ham steaks, ours is so "sweet" compared to store bought. My husband says it's because I love on them so much is why they're so good. I say, just because they will fill a freezer one day doesn't mean they can't be loved while they're here. I spoil all my pigs rotten 😂

This is excellent for people to know! Though I don't raise my own beef, I purchase a split half each year from a local rancher. Long story short, what I pay for the meat and the processing comes to about $4-5/pound....for everything from hamburger to roasts to steaks. That's a great deal in my book!!

The taste of home raised pigs is so much better than from the store. It surprised me the first time I ate it. Thanks for doing the work and math!

🐽🐽🐽🐽🐽🐽WHAT GREAT INFO! I'm just a 92-year-old viewer. You two people are the best of the best, thank you. 🐽🐽🙏🙏⛪⛪🍅🍅🌈🌈

FINALLY a REAL comprehensive cost analysis on raising pigs. Seen other "homesteaders" and how they present the cost of raising hogs is just not realistic. We will generally raise three pigs. Keeping one for ourselves and selling two. Sometimes, depending on market price, the pig that we keep and butcher ourselves ends up costing us far less than $100.00. We do all of our own processing. Render our own lard. Other than the oink we basically waste nothing. We see many that will throw the organs out as well as the fat and head and feet and skin. We simply do not do that! As always Thank You for another fun and REAL homesteading video!

When they promoted pork as the other white meat, pork that is raised in small groups and well taken care of has red meat. And man is it good. Once we crossed a hereford boar with a American guinea gilt. They didn't get real big but man they where good eating.

We inefficiently raised 3 kunekune for meat and did the math and even having paid to have them processed, we came out on top!! Pigs are so worth raising yourself.

Wow our pig feed here in AZ is 18.99 for a 50lb bag!!

I love our Idaho pasture pigs. They are so adorable. They have their own pen but they can also go into the pasture with our cows. They nap together, they play together and graze together. I love watching them butt heads with the calves.

We don't eat pork, but I enjoyed this video. It is important to count the cost of raising anything on our own. I would like to add the time that you gave is valuable, but I think that balances out with the fact that your pork wasn't processed in China and fed GMO grains.

Another great thing about raising them yourself is you know what went into them. I wish I had land to do this! If you don't have land, check with your local butcher to see if you can buy a full, half, or quarter.

I love your videos on nerdy farm math! It's so important to know someone who can be real with the fees and costs. I once "went in" on half a pig at $4.10 a pound in the 90s. But I didnt appreciate the 35 pounds of back fat! These videos are part of the real homestead life.

What is frustrating is that there was a time when it really was less expensive to raise your own meat. As mentioned, that $4.50 does not include the cost to buy and sustain the land or your labor. Currently, almost all of the pork on the shelves where I live in NJ runs between $2.50 and $3.50/pound. Even run of mill chicken parts go for .99. Thing is, if there ever is a food shortage, that cost of feed will increase dramatically - so even having your own will be hard to sustain the way you would like, in a 'crisis'. There are no free meals, I guess. Of course, you know what is in your food - at $3/pound, I can't imagine what my meat went through. :-( :-(

I have always LOVED your hat Sarah! I’m a Wisconsin gal and have enjoyed your videos since the beginning! Plus you are a Sister & Brother in Christ and aren’t ashamed to share! God bless & keep you and your family in his tender loving care!

We used to raise and process our own hogs. Nothing beats it! We made our own sausages, pork steaks, pork chops, and would bring the hams and sides of bacon to get cured/smoked.

That was so interesting! We are older and retired, we buy our Berkshire pastured pork from a nearby farm and it is the best! Nice red meat, instead of grey like supermarket pork. Will never go back to that!

Love the nerdy ness. As someone trying to drop the corporate life style and live this way. Breakdowns like these make a world of difference as it’s real costs and needs to raise food and figuring out what one needs to have money wise available or coming in to sustain this life style. Hope to see more

In the old days, hogs were called “mortgage burners”. Today hardly any farmers raise pigs. Our veterinarian said there wasn’t a pig in the county.

The thing that keeps getting missed in all these costings is the lack of accounting in the infrastructure set up and maintenance