Raising pigs is all Bryan Bennett knows. As a third-generation farmer, he’s spent the last 60 years pursuing his calling to raise pigs and he plans on another 10 years. But that’s a long time, he points out, as operating costs continue to rise and contract payments stay the same.
You can’t deny the tension between the contract finishing business model established decades ago with fixed-rate contracts and the modern pressures of inflation, skyrocketing insurance and maintenance costs, all amidst a shrinking labor pool. The ‘fixed income’ nature of the majority of contracts makes inflationary environments particularly hazardous for growers.
Although growers remain committed to pig health and biosecurity, the ‘math’ of contract growing is reaching a tipping point, forcing a shift in how they manage labor, technology and succession.
The Stagnant Pay vs. Inflation Crisis
For the first part of his life, Bennett worked alongside his father operating a 300-head sow, farrow-to-finish operation in southern Illinois. As they watched the industry rapidly change before their eyes, they knew they had to make changes to continue to do what they loved – raising pigs.
“We saw our risk growing greater by the year, so we began to investigate the possibility of transitioning to become a contract grower,” Bennett says. “We signed a contract in 1996 and began construction of a 4,000-head nursery barn. We placed our first pigs on site that October.”
They continued to expand over the years and now operate a continuous flow 12,000-head nursery site. But business in 2026 looks much different than it did in the late 1990s and even in 2013. Input costs continue to rise at an alarming rate, with some of the greatest cost increases in labor, insurance, utilities, and repair parts, explains Bennett, who is paid monthly on a fixed rate.
Approximately 240 miles away near Palmyra, Mo., Joe Kendrick, 63, faces similar challenges. He and his wife, who passed away in 2014, were in the process of building a 2,400-sow farrow-to-wean facility in 2005.
“We changed our mind on our loan signing day,” Kendrick says. “The lender showed us the contractor proposal and that’s how we got here with hesitation.”
He now has 3,600 pig spaces and mainly finishes antibiotic-free pigs (NAE). With rising maintenance and operating costs, the struggle to find outside labor, and no pig space pay increase since 2006, he admits it’s been hard.
“I am paid monthly for our pig spaces, full or not,” Kendrick says. “Most all our performance bonuses have been taken away in the last two years. I still get a NAE bonus for each pig marketed that wasn’t medicated out the door. I also get some bonus when we are overstocked on weaned pigs.”
Jason Klein, 42, gets paid once a month for his services as a contract grower. He owns and operates 3,000 wean-to-finish pig spaces near Holland, Mich. During his time raising contract pigs, he’s been eligible for some bonuses. His current bonus is based on how many pigs get sold to the primary/full value market.
“Bonuses in the contract finishing world are a tough thing to deal with,” Klein says. “The performance metrics of the pigs don’t necessarily correlate to the quality of work that the contract grower is providing. A huge percentage of the outcome has to do with the quality and health status of the incoming pig. It’s like grain farming – in the end, weather is 70% responsible for the yield. With pigs, a huge percentage of the outcome is a result of the incoming pig.”
Although he points out that contract-grower pay rates are finally starting to rise a little in the last year or two, they still have not caught up with the last 20 years of inflation.
The Labor Hurdle
In 2018, Wyatt Clemens began helping with chores in his father-in-law’s barn. Despite the challenges that exist, he saw opportunity in the contract finishing business.
“Having the experience of helping out in a contract barn prior to building my own definitely helped me make my decision,” says Clemens, a 31-year-old pig farmer from Ashland, Ohio. “It was good to experience what went into the day-to-day aspect of raising pigs, as well as the other factors such as manure management, time and labor needed, etc.”
He purchased his own farm utilizing a USDA Beginning Farmer loan. This loan also helped build a double-wide contract barn. The rest of the barn is mortgaged through a local lender. He also manages two other barns, with about 7,500 pigs between the three facilities.
“Every month, the designated funds for my payments get sent straight to the lenders, and I receive the balance,” Clemens says. “We receive a bonus after every completed group, which is a huge benefit.”
Some of the biggest challenges he faces as a grower are finding help to load pigs, making sure emergency backup equipment is working properly when it’s needed, and keeping up on maintenance in the older barns.
Klein runs into the same problem of finding extra labor in the barns.
“Between my dad and I, we do the chores ourselves day in and day out,” Klein says. “This isn’t a huge hurdle to overcome since the contract barns are only a small piece of what I do in a day. But twice a year we need to market the hogs, clean the barns, do repairs, and start baby pigs again. It can be challenging to find people to help load market pigs and wash barns.”
Contract finishing will change a lot over the next few years, Klein predicts. He sees a time coming when large integrators and contract growers will enter into new types of agreements where the integrator provides the labor for the pigs.
“The contract barn owner will receive payment only for the investment in the barns and to handle the manure,” he says. “I think when contract growing took off in the late 90s, you had a lot of small to mid-size farmers building contract barns at a very reasonable price ($140-$160/pig space). They managed and cared for the animals and buildings themselves and had pride in what they did. The return on investment was great.”
The Future of Pig Care
But as time marched on, the mid-2000s brought more attention to the success of the contract model and larger sites began looking for more people to finish pigs.
“As 8,000-head sites got built, the owners of the sites no longer were involved in the day-to-day care of the animals and buildings since it was a full-time job at that scale,” Klein says. “The return on investment at this time was still good enough to promote the hiring of proper amounts of labor to do the work.”
But during the last five years, things have changed. Costs skyrocketed.
“The contract grower community has cut back on labor expense as much as possible to try and control one of the costs they have a little control over,” Klein points out. “This cutback has not been in the integrator’s favor. Pig care is not the same as it was when pigs were raised on 4,000-head or less sites.”
Klein believes integrators will use their scale to build teams of people to care for finishing pigs in contract grow sites regionally.
“Having teams help get work done and managing multiple sites with one large crew allows the workload to become flatter with less mountains and valleys since you are always caring for animals in all stages of the production system,” he says. “I don’t think the whole industry moves to this immediately, but I see it happening over time.”
Manure: From Waste Product to Critical Asset
For many growers, the manure opportunity drew them into the business. Manure is no longer just a byproduct of pork production; it has become a vital shield against high commercial fertilizer costs.
Aaron Juergens, a 47-year-old grower from Carroll, Iowa, has also raised pigs his entire life but became a contract barn holder in 2005. He now has 50,000 pig spaces.
He is maximizing the value of his fertilizer through tight water management. Juergens focuses on water management to prevent manure dilution. By minimizing water waste, he ensures the manure is more concentrated, which increases its nutrient value per gallon and reduces the volume (and cost) of hauling and application.
“If the opportunity is available to market manure, it can retail for up to 85% of commercial fertilizer,” Juergens says.
Meanwhile, others are using manure to help mitigate fertilizer cost on their own farms.
“I am adamant I control more than enough land base to handle my manure,” Klein says. “I’m not willing to get myself into a tight situation with manure. Where I’m located, the large volume of animals per acre doesn’t create a huge opportunity to sell manure. There are many large manure producers who give manure away just to get it spread out from their existing land base.”
Protecting the Integrator’s Investment
One of the biggest changes since Bennett started raising pigs is how biosecurity has moved from ‘common sense’ to highly regulated protocols.
“Biosecurity protocols have increased as diseases are always on the horizon,” Bennett says. “We shower in and out and have separate laundry facilities for each site. All truckers must wear Tyvek coveralls and plastic booties. We maintain rodent and bird control inside and outside all sites. We power wash with hot water between every turn, and disinfect after washing with a foam application.”
In addition, no one other than service personnel and veterinarians are allowed to be on site and cannot be around other swine within 48 to 72 hours, Bennett adds.
Following the integrators’ biosecurity plans has made a positive difference in Juergens’ barns.
“Things have really improved since I started raising pigs,” Juergens says. “Tracking is the biggest thing. Signing into farms and being transparent about where you came from and where you are going is key.”
He appreciates the integrators’ biosecurity experts who conduct farm visits and provide good training for staff.
“They also help lay out the farm for biosecurity success and help improve upon any weakness the farm may have,” Juergens says. “We always want to do the correct thing for long-term success for the farm and the pig owner.”
Who Will Take on the Risk in the Future?
Knowing what he knows today about efficiencies and costs in contract finishing, Klein says he should have built another barn in the mid-2000s.
“I looked into it, but it would have required quite a bit of debt, which I’m normally against,” Klein says. “Looking back, it would have been a home run.”
Klein hopes one of his children will have an interest in the farm someday.
“My farm does not carry any debt,” Klein says. “My dad built the barns one at a time as money was available to build them. When I’m too old to do the work or one of my children takes over the farm, I will lease the barns to them until I pass and then they can inherit them. Debt-free farming doesn’t impress the neighbors but it’s very sustainable in its own way. The risk is low, but the growth is slow.”
Succession planning is a concern for many farmers, contract growers alike. Kendrick admits it will be hard to get his sons interested in taking over the farm with pay as it stands now.
If the ‘math’ of contract hog production doesn’t change, the pork industry risks losing the generational workforce and personal commitment that built it. If the financial pressure forces the owner out of the barn, the industry doesn’t just lose a facility manager; it loses the daily, expert husbandry and pride of ownership that has historically been the backbone of U.S. pork production.
