Last year, Patchwork producers received $25,000 more than if they had sold their hogs on the open market. That figure jumped to $120,000 in 1998, and sales are expected to break a quarter of a million dollars this year.īy cutting out the middleman, this project has kept more money in producers' pockets. In 1997, Patchwork earned $60,000 in gross sales.

They have seen a doubling in sales volume each year since 1994. Since February, Patchwork has acquired sales from ten new businesses in the Columbia area. Patchwork has made great gains by creating its own market. 'In the case of the hog industry in this country, six firms control 75 percent of the market.' 'When you have four to five food clusters controlling the majority of the global food system, there is little opportunity for family farmers,' said Bill Heffernan, rural sociologist at University of Missouri-Columbia. This type of market, where a few firms control the entire system, leaves little room for the independent producer or fair prices. Patchwork Family Farm's growth can be attributed to hard work and a belief that independent hog producers, with a little creativity, can step out of a system that is not working for them and see a great deal of success. The number of producers has also increased, Patchwork now has 12 independent family hog farmers participating in the project. Patchwork Family Farms is catching the attention of many hog producers around the state with its fair prices, sustainable growing practices and a sales volume that has more than tripled since December of 1998.Įach year Patchwork has grown, having at least doubled the number of hogs slaughtered and the gross sales since 1994. This project has proven to be a viable alternative that can give independent producers a guaranteed price that meets or exceeds cost of production while keeping consumers' prices competitive. Patchwork Family Farms has withstood the violent downturns in a volatile market were family farmers are struggling to compete. Other independent producers in north Missouri followed, and so began Patchwork Family Farms. Perry, being a member of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center, went to the non-profit organization for help. Hog corporations were rapidly increasing in size, shouting the warning cry to farmers that times were about to change. Even in 1994, there were unmistakable signs for these farmers that concentration within agriculture was about to occur. Perry, along with other hog farmers around the state, foresaw the bleak future of the pork industry.

His fingers hooked into his overall pockets, he stands in front of his 35-sow operation, five miles northeast of Chillicothe, Missouri. Ron Perry smiles his typical mischievous smile. Ron Perry on his farm near Chillicothe, Missouri.

Cut the middleman unity