Shattered pig farmer loses half a million pounds in crisis

His situation became so dire at the height of the pig crisis that the producer - who is based on the Euston Estate neat Thetford - was seriously considering joining others he knew and exiting the industry for good.

He estimates that during the early 2020s - when the industry was plunged into one of its worst crises in history - he lost about half a million pounds.

The UK crisis was caused by a number of factors but principal among them was a labour shortage in abattoirs which caused a massive backlog on farms and a glut of pigs.

This was compounded by a costs crisis as feed and labour prices rocketed and plummeting pig prices as European producers fought to save their slice of the market.

Thanks in great part to the efforts of Bury St Edmunds pig consultant Peter Crichton, Chris was eventually able to secure a new deal and steady the ship.

But the last two or three years have been very tough - both for him and for the wider industry, he says.

It's been mentally and psychologically draining and during his worst moments he considered quitting the industry entirely.

Chris is currently serving notice on a contract which ends this summer. The last of his sows went on January 17. The majority left before Christmas.

"We needed a premium price for this free range and that market was shrinking and two or three people are doing a very good job at that and it would be a job to compete against them," he explains.

Before the pig crisis unfolded back in 2020, Chris had built up a thriving enterprise. Having started in 1987 with eight acres and 60 gilts (young females) he was running a 1250 breeding sow operation selling 7kg weaned piglets.

But he lost two weaner contracts at short notice in quick succession in September 2020 and June 2021. With pigs across the country stuck on farms and prices plummeting, farmers like Chris were left in a desperate plight. His debts mounted and he was under severe strain.

"I have lost half my pension pot - it was that bad. When you are losing money you have to find it from somewhere. I had borrowed all I could - that was last autumn 2021," he says.

"The hard part was finding someone who could buy my pigs and we got that thanks to Peter Crichton. It was an awful time around Christmas 2021. It was a dreadful time. Things weren't improving so we had to take a pragmatic decision."

Peter was key in finding a solution for him. "He's a top bloke - an absolute legend, that man. The price wasn't good enough the cost of production was too high and nobody was listening. It's the same situation in the egg job and there's going to be the same in the vegetables. People are going to stop growing potatoes this year."

Chris remodelled his business and went into free range finishing as he couldn't sell his weaner pigs and they were stuck on farm. He struck a deal in January 2022 with Karro in Yorkshire to provide it with finished pigs.

But feed prices rocketed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The pig sector was plunged into another downward spiral of high costs and low prices. Chris has decided to end the contract at the earliest point - this year.

Now he is close to securing a deal which will enable him to continue to work in the industry - along with his small team - with an outfit in the north of England. The plan is that he will keep 1000 sows and supply piglets to the company.

Under the "agistor" arrangement, the company provides the sows, the feed and the veterinary costs and Chris, as agistor, provides the rented land, the labour, the water and the equipment.

He will work on a contract basis where he won't be taking the financial risk but will get a steady, fixed price per pig. It's a model that's very common in East Anglia, and while he won't be an independent operator any more he feels it will allow him to continue without the risk.

He's in his late 50s - which enabled him to access his pension pot. Now he will have to build up his finances again - but things are looking better.

He knows many people who have either got out of the industry - or brought forward retirement plans because they saw no future in the industry. But he will stick with it.

"I'm resigned to it. It's a different direction. I'm quite happy to see the risk going out of the job," he says.

"I did go through a spell of not wanting to see another pig again but realised I have get the kit, a good team of staff and the land so we are going to start contract farming for a larger operator.

"I won't own the sows. I won't provide the feed. There will be less risk. On the surface, it will be hardly any change.

"I'm much more buoyant now I have got that. I'm always good when I have got a plan."