The Hogs

By Matt

When I came to Honduras I never dreamed I would be working so much with hogs. The good thing is that it's something I am pretty used to. My dad, both grandpas, several uncles, and a bunch of cousins all have worked in the hog business. Actually I have been talking with them every once in a while to get advice. Thanks for the help guys.
I also never expected to use so many of the analysis tools that I learned in graduate school. My coworker David and I put together an elaborate, interactive spreadsheet that analyzes the hog project here including different diets, prices of all the feed ingredients available, average litter size, etc. The spreadsheet is helpful because it helps us understand what things most affect the profit. It also enables us to make up new diets based on the feed ingredient prices and still meet the basic nutritional needs of the hogs.



One of the main problems we have right now is that most of the group members lost their crops this year in the flooding, so they don’t have corn available. Now we are in the dry season, so you can’t grow much unless you have an irrigation system. We made an agreement with the group and another community member which allows them to use an irrigation system and grow corn during this season which will be used for pig feed.
Right now we are averaging about 7 surviving piglets per litter, and have 52 piglets in total for the group. We have found a feed supplier that mixes feed right here in Catacamas, and has very good prices, so we have been working with him to supply feed for the pigs during this time when there is very little food available in the community.

me, castrating a pig

We are also working with the group to plan for this coming production year so that they will plant enough to provide the food they need for their hogs. One of the alternative crops we are promoting is the Moringa tree. The leaves and seeds are high in proteins and vitamins, and can serve as part of the hog diets. Thanks to the Carpinteros group that funded the Moringa tree proposal David and I were able to travel to Siguatepeque to get seeds, and I planted 100 Moringas this week. This will allow us to plant around 10 trees for each family, with plans to plant many more when the rainy season begins. The group has been quite responsible in caring for the trees we have planted with them before, so we trust that they will be able to water and care for these initial 10 trees during the dry season.

This project is a lot different than the hog operations I am used to in Minnesota and Iowa, but I am glad to be able to put to use some of that experience from growing up on a farm. It kind of makes me feel at home.