THE voluntary ban on sow stalls by 2017 is expected to see some producers leave the industry because of the costly investment in infrastructure needed to meet the new standard.
But Riverton producer Matthew Greenslade is thinking positive. He sees a bright future for the pig industry and has decided to put in $250,000 to meet regulatory requirements.
"We had a very traditional, old-style piggery, with sows in stalls," he said.
"What we've done is put up a new open-house shed with walk in-walk out stalls for the pigs to eat and drink and a big straw area where they spend most of their time."
In the sow station, the pig's daily feed requirements are supplied through a trickle feeder once a day, and there is a drink trough in the middle of the shed.
"The feed trickles down very slowly - it takes about half an hour for the pig to get its daily nutritional requirement," he said.
"The rest of the time they're spending in a group, in a social situation."
Sprinklers are placed at the top of the shed to cool the pigs down when needed.
If pigs are "bullied' by others or just want to be on their own, they are free to wander into the stalls, and many choose to sit in them, even if there isn't any aggression from other pigs.
The shed was created by Bordertown company Mundigo.
"It was really a turnkey operation, where I told them what I wanted and they did everything, from the plans to sub-contracting the building of the shed," he said.
The shed was built by Clare's IKC.
"The challenge with the new shed will be making sure we're not losing too much production," he said.
"After you've mated a sow, the danger-time is from day five to day 28, which is basically when the embryo is attaching to the uterus. If a sow gets a knock or a bump during that time, the embryo may not attach so the sow doesn't become pregnant."
Matthew made the investment because he is planning to stay in the industry for the long-haul.
"This whole stall-ban push has been consumer-driven," he said.
"As an industry we've got to move on and make the changes but we've still got to make sure we're profitable.
"I expect a lot of older farmers will just go through to 2017 and then give it away."
Matthew can see some benefits for those who meet the new requirements.
"We sell our pigs to Primo, who supply Coles," he said.
"Coles will be introducing a stall-free label so pork producers who make the changes are going to see the benefit of that marketing plan."
Matthew runs 150 sows.
"I'm looking to increase sow numbers over the next few years and have built a new farrowing shed for that," he said.
"I'm set up so that I can get up to 250 sows. But I won't rush in - my aim is to slowly build up over the next few years.
"You've got take small steps to make sure you're doing everything right."
Matthew started out in the pig industry by buying slips and growing them out. In 2003, he set up his own herd, based on Myora bloodlines. It has been a closed herd for the past three years.
The closed herd status helps keep the pigs pneumonia-free. Pneumonia is one of the most common issues in piggeries.
"Since we don't have pneumonia and try to keep biosecurity as tight as we can, we don't need to vaccinate for pneumonia, saving the vaccination cost of $3 to $4 a pig," he said.
Matthew also runs free-range chickens, with an average of 4000 sold a week.
*Full report in Stock Journal, December 15 issue, 2011.
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