Organic Pig Farming, And Production Guide

Introduction to Organic Pig Farming

The pig farming business is one of the most sustainable industries in India. Pigs are hardy and thrive under extreme conditions. Pigs have a great feed to the meat converting ratio. Pigs are farmed mainly for food (e.g. bacon, pork, gammon) and skins. Organic Pig farming is the breeding and raising of domestic pigs as livestock. Organic Pig production tries to deliver the best management and housing conditions that guarantee a high level of animal welfare and health, sustainability, a closed soil–plant–animal cycle and produce high-quality products. There’s a huge demand for organic Pig feed since several farmers are interested in raising Pigs that are as healthy as possible.

Organic livestock is part of maintainable organic agriculture. Raising Pigs on organic diets is certainly practical. To a confident extent, the farmers that go in this direction are going to be returning to further traditional ways of farming. In this article we also discuss the below topics;

Pigs are essential to have access to the outdoors, but raising Pigs on pasture is not essential by the organic regulations. Several organic Pig producers do use pastures as their farmland and climate allow, but being pasture-based is not a requirement of certified organic Pig production. Organic Pigs must have access to dry, clean bedding. If you are using crop residue as bedding, it must be from organic crops. Because most of the organic Pigs are part of a higher organic livestock and crop farm that follows extensive crop rotations, sourcing organic bedding is not generally problematic. Other bedding materials used for Pig bedding are sawdust, shredded newsprint, wood chips, wood shavings, and sand are allowed in organic systems and do not need to be certified organic.

The advantages of Pig farming are;

Groups of Pig Breeds

There are many Pig breeds available in the markets, you need to be very careful while you choosing a high and healthy productive breed. For a profitable Pig business highly and imported meat productive Pig breeds want to be chosen. Below are the points to easily found Pig breeds.

Lard Types – Cheshires, Essex, Poland Chinas, and Mulefoots; have large hams, compact bodies, docile, and a heavier fat layer, though recent breeding has made them very similar to meat and bacon typing.

Meat and Bacon Types – Yorkshires, Tamworth, Landrace; longer legs, higher energy, less external fat.

Dual-purpose Types – Hampshires, Berkshires, and Saddlebacks.

Organic Pigs must have access to shelter, outdoors, exercise areas, shade, fresh air, fresh drinking water, and direct sunlight as fit for the animal’s stage of life, the climate, and the environment. Pigs are essential to have access to the outdoors, but raising Pigs on pasture is not required by organic regulations. Organic regulations do not specify precisely how much living space is suitable.

Pigs must have outdoor access all year round but regulations vary from country to country. Land must be relatively level and free draining in a low rainfall area. Good land rotation is important, as the use of synthetic herbicides, fertilizers, and pesticides are prohibited.

Choosing a suitable land is an important part of organic Pig farming. You need to take care that the availability of clean and freshwater nears your selected land for Pig farming. And another most important tip is that near your place, it must have good transportation available or else in the time of buying and selling Pigs from one place to another place is going to be very difficult. And the most important thing you need to consider is a veterinary doctor or service center must available near your place.

Organic Pigs are kept in conditions that, to the extent that possible, let them express their natural behavior. This contains being kept in family groups with free access to fields, whenever conditions allow. In practice, this means that most of the organic Pigs will be outdoors all year round, though indoor housing is allowable in severe weather conditions, provided that there is huge straw bedding for the Pigs, and continued access to an outdoor run.

Soil association organic standards banned below-mentioned practices that are common in the non-organic Pig industry. These include;

The repetitive use of antibiotics on organic animals is banned. Many non-organic Pigs, poultry, and dairy cows receive antibiotics regularly, whether or not they are unwell. Farmers are even allowed to give animals antibiotics which are mainly important in human medicine.

To stop the disease from spreading, the natural barrier is one of the best methods. Just as there must be as much distance as possible between Pig farms and there must be a proper distance between the different age groups. Older Pigs have greater immunity and resistance to diseases than younger Pigs. So, the different age groups must be maintained separately. The one and the only place on the farm where this rule is violated is the farrowing shed, where the sow mingles with her Piglets. And it is also in this area where the mortality rate, due to infectious disease, is generally the highest.

The majority of the pig farms in this country are poorly designed. Poor ventilation and overcrowding are two of the important factors that contribute to disease and poor performance. Heat stress is a common problem. Farmers must identify that management practices that permit Pigs to be stressed contribute to disease problems. In several cases, these problems can be lightened, if such management defects can be corrected. The layout of the Pig sheds must be farthest from the entry gate, followed by dry sow area, weaner sheds, grower-finisher sheds, farrowing shed, with holding pens for market age Pigs nearest the loading fence or ramp. The office must be near the loading ramp.

In Organic Pigs farming, Pigs must be fed an organic diet. Organic Pig diets are mainly organic grains and protein sources. Several organic Pig farms find that it is added profitable to grow their grains compared to purchase grain from the open market. Minerals and synthetic vitamins can be comprised in the organic ration. Some supplements and premixes contain banned substances and thus are not permissible. Before using a product, it is essential to confirm that the product does not contain any banned substances.

The feeding of mammal and poultry slaughter byproducts tallow, grease, feather meal, bone and meat meal, and spray dried plasma is banned. The feeding of crystalline amino acids such as L-threonine, L-lysine, DLmethionine, and L-tryptophan is not permissible. Likewise, the feeding of subtherapeutic antibiotics, exogenous phytase, hormones are banned. Though, organic dairy products, organic eggs, and commercial fishmeal are allowable.

Farmers must try to store the feed in airtight containers away from moisture to stop them from spoiling prematurely. Though, Pigs tend to consume Pig feed quickly enough that this problem may not always present itself.

You can feed Pigs grain but there are several options for supplementing or substituting different sources of nutrition. Dairy products are great for adding pasture and cheesemakers are frequently looking for a place to get rid of their whey. Market gardeners have cull vegetables they might usually compost. The list is as wide as you can imagine. Pigs are frequently used for clearing land. If you put Pigs in a wooded lot, they will eat the underbrush first and then move to girdle trees. How much you feed them will be based on the production levels you want and the age of the Pigs. Older Pigs will do the best job of scavenging. You can also grow crops for hogging down. Some folks will grow a field of grain, corn, beans, or turnips and let the Pigs harvest them.

Organic farmers can surely produce their Pig feed with the exact ingredients. Some Pigs will need more of these materials than others;

General livestock production standards affecting feeding strategy

Materials;

Procedure – Mix all the materials just like the same procedure we are using for cement on a concrete floor; the bulk dries first, and then adds EM-1 Molasses, concentrate, and water.  Ferment for 2 weeks in a sealed drum/container.

Frequent vaccination programmes for endemic diseases such as FMD and swine fever are important in this country. There are even farms that have not vaccinated their Pigs for more than a year. Since Pigs are marketed at 7 to 8 months of age, and the production herd outnumbers the sows by about 10 to one, failure to vaccinate Pigs for half a year would result in almost 90% of the Pigs in the farm being susceptible to swine fever. Unfortunately, in farms where swine fever vaccination is irregular are generally those that are exposed to the greatest risk of swine fever outbreaks. These farms are situated in high-risk areas i.e. areas of high concentration of Pig farms.

You should not miss this: Organic Sheep Farming.

Organic Pig producers face the main challenge to produce meat of high quality. Several diseases can affect swine, but as with raising any organic livestock, prevention is the key. Sound management practices copy the natural environment: sunshine, fresh air, freedom for natural behavior, healthy feed, shelter as desired, pasture, variety in the diet, clean water, good sanitation, and manure management. The main concern for most small-scale hog growers is intestinal parasites. These can be managed with good pasture rotation. Never place Piglets on the ground that infected animals have been on for at least a year. If you want to worm them a good helping of wormwood powder and fresh garlic will remove many parasites. Worm animals before moving them to new pasture and separate it for 3 days, either in a trailer, sacrifice area, or quarantine stall. Test and treat on the new or full moon; parasites are more active then.

In case if you are interested in this: How To Start A Livestock Feed Production.