AUSTRALIA-INVESTING in the pig industry and expanding into a different part of the State may have seemed a gamble in June last year but it is paying off for the Johnson family, Mount Boothby Pastoral Company, Tintinara.
At a time when the industry was struggling with a flood of import and low prices, the Johnsons decided to seize the opportunity to expand their operation to 1700 sows by purchasing a Mid North piggery.
Mount Boothby Pastoral Company was started in the early 1960s by Chris and Libby Johnson, and their sons Andrew and Alastair are now involved with the business.
It started off as a grazing enterprise, but Chris realised that diversification was necessary to keep the business growing.
The original property at Tintinara was 1600 hectares, and it now takes in more than 4500ha.
A 600 sow piggery is run in the South East, along with a sheep, cattle, cropping and irrigated lucerne seed program.
The pig enterprise makes up about 80 per cent of the business. There are about 1500 hectares cropped annually, 3000 ewes are run as part of a self replacing flock and the Johnsons also run 300 Angus breeders.
"They are all very important to our business, to us give diversity," Andrew said.
"We see ourselves as having three businesses. A property business, be it the land, an extensive grazing and cropping operation, and then intensive production with the piggeries."
In June last year the family purchased a 1100 sow piggery in the Mid North, which comprises four sites, one at Snowtown, one at Balaklava and two just out of Owen.
"Having two businesses in two different areas of the state has been a real challenge, but it’s been an exciting challenge," Andrew said.
"So many producers have exited in the past three years, but there are things working in our favour like the Australian dollar coming back. Imports are still coming in but they’re more expensive.
"We’re almost at the point now, with the current level of production, that it’s just covering the fresh pork market’s requirements."
