The economics of organic pig production are back on track

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As a part of the project "Economy in organic farming", Innovation Centre for Organic Farming has analysed accounting figures from the last 11 years for organic farms with pig production (2014-2024) and through extracts from the calculated organic piglet rating (2016-2025) described the economy of producing organic pigs. All things being equal, the economy is returning to a reasonable level after a few tough years. This is emphasised by the fact that the profit per organic pig in 2025, according to the basis for organic piglet scoring, shows a profit of DKK 156/pig.

Minus turned into plus

In 2024, organic producers of both weaners and slaughter pigs experienced a financial improvement that can be felt in the bank account. This is despite the fact that the basis behind the organic piglet rating shows a deficit of DKK 51/pig produced during this period. This result is based on completely new pen prices, and therefore the result is slightly better for already established farms that have built earlier. For almost all of 2025, there is a result per organic pig of DKK 156 according to special extracts from the basis for the calculated organic piglet price. In comparison, in the disaster year of 2023, there was a loss of DKK 366/pig. The poor economics of organic pig production is also reflected in Statistics Denmark's estimates of the number of organic sows in Denmark, which was around 19,500 sows in 2021 and only around 13,750 sows in 2024.

Number of farms and organic pigs in Denmark

According to Statistics Denmark, organic pig production was on the rise and doubled from 2010-2020 as table 1 shows. The extract is linked to the result per organic pig according to the basis for the calculated organic piglet rating (SEGES). For example, the result was DKK 393/pig in 2021. A sharp rise in feed prices as a result of the Ukraine conflict, coupled with the fact that settlement prices did not follow suit, but rather fell slightly, meant three years of losses in production according to special extracts from the basis for organic piglet pricing. So far, Statistics Denmark only provides figures for the years 2010, 2020-24, but will assess whether figures for other years can also be provided. The figures are from the agricultural and horticultural census, where the number of animals is counted on a specific day around 1 June. The counts in 2010 and 2020 are total counts.

Table 1. Organic farms with pigs. Number of farms and total number of organic sows and organic pigs. Source DST. Table: HDYROEKO. Farms with pigs/sows; special extract from Grundlaget for økologisk smågrisenotering, by Michael Groes Christiansen, SEGES Innovation*

Improved economy at farm level

An analysis of 23 farm accounts from organic pig producers shows a significant improvement in operating profit. While in 2023 there was an average deficit of DKK 445,000 per farm, in 2024 there was an average profit of DKK 545,000. A positive difference of just under a million DKK. The analysis only uses average figures at farm level, and due to the relatively small amount of data, it is not possible to pinpoint exactly which factors have been most decisive. The decisive factor has, of course, been an increasing and relatively stable settlement price.

Economy over a longer period of time

Looking at the economics of organic pig production over a slightly longer period of time, there are quite large fluctuations with several years of almost no earnings. This means that it has been difficult to consolidate production to the same extent as, for example, organic dairy herds have been able to do. The immediate comment from two producers who were presented with the figures was: " It looks good and our economy has definitely improved, but we need a number of years with a stable economy before it gets really good.

It is noted in the organic accounts that the price of barley increased from DKK 171 per kg in the 2021 harvest year to DKK 350 per kg in the 2022 harvest year. The large increase is probably due to the Ukraine conflict. Organic grain prices have fallen somewhat since then, according to these reports, but remain at a fairly high level. Good for field yields, but more expensive for those who have to feed organic pigs.