Nearly half of indoor pig producers who took part in an NPA survey have said they would be forced to quit the industry if a transition to flexible farrowing crates was pushed through in the next 5 to 10 years.
As part of its work on farrowing systems, including the recent publication of a position statement setting out a long-term voluntary approach to the transition to the flexible farrowing systems, the NPA recently conducted a survey of producers to find out what the industry is planning with regards to farrowing systems.
Key findings included:
- 46% of producers surveyed would exit the industry if they were only given 5 to 10 years to make the transition from traditional crates to flexible farrowing systems.
- Of those who would exit the industry, half believe 10-15 years to be a reasonable timescale, but a third said they would need more than 20 years.
- The primary concern over the transition by a distance was the capital cost of the transition. The second biggest concern was the lack of guidance on the specification of the new systems.
- The two biggest drivers for change would be the provision of government financial support to make the transition and legislation forcing producers to move away from conventional crates towards flexible farrowing systems.
NPA senior policy adviser Katie Jarvis said: “There is growing pressure on the sector to move away from conventional farrowing systems and towards flexible systems, in which the sow can be confined for a few days post-farrowing and for short periods through the lactation period for handling purposes but is otherwise free to move around her pen with her piglets.
“Consequently, our survey focused on that transition, what the drivers and barriers are and how long is needed.”
The survey ran for several weeks throughout October and November 2024 and asked producers to answer several multiple-choice questions related to their current farrowing places and thoughts on a transition to flexible farrowing.
The current situation
Of the respondents, 78% have conventional farrowing systems only. Around a third of their buildings are 5-10 years old, a third are 10-15 years old, and another third are 15+ years old, and perhaps unsurprisingly it is a similar picture with the farrowing systems.
The majority of those producers whose buildings and systems are 15+ years old indicated that they are hoping to make changes to their systems, some in the next 5 years if they can be provided with the technical specifications to move ahead with the work.
Plans for the future
While the majority of respondents who are planning to change their farrowing systems are planning to use flexible (43%), free farrowing (28%) systems or a mix of different systems (9%), 18% of respondents plan to install new conventional systems.
Those individuals overwhelmingly state their reasons for this to be concerns about cost, worker safety and handling and pig mortality, and that they have no current plans to install flexible farrowing systems.
For those who are planning to invest in flexible systems, there is an encouraging number who are looking at making this change in the next 5 years (23%), and they specified that this would require technical specifications that will ensure long-term compliance with any legislation or farm assurance standards that may come.
The responses to what timeframe producers need shows that, despite the readiness of some, there are many others who need a longer transition period, Ms Jarvis added. The survey results show that capital costs are the key concern for those individuals.
Drivers for change
Asked what their primary reason for changing their farrowing systems would be, 37% selected anticipation of legislation, 21% chose replacing farrowing infrastructure due to end of commercial use, 21% chose replacing old buildings due to end of commercial use and 15% chose improved sow welfare.
When asked what the single biggest driver would make them make the change away from conventional systems was, 40% responded with government financial support and 30% responded legislative change. “It is evident that producers are closely watching government policy and want to make changes in order to remain compliant,” Ms Jarvis said.
Where does this leave the industry?
Asked whether they would be in a position to change their system or if they would exit the industry should a ban on conventional farrowing crates come into force in the next 5-10 years, 54% were in a position to change and 46% saying they would exit the industry. “Clearly the indoor pig sector would face huge losses if such a ban were to come into place in this timeframe,” Ms Jarvis said.
However, when those who said they would exit the industry were asked what a realistic timeframe would be, 50% said 10-15 years, 16% said 15-20 years and 33% said 20+ years.
“While there are producers for whom the move away from conventional farrowing is further into the future, there are many others who would look to make these changes by 2040,” Ms Jarvis added.
In terms of concerns regarding transition to flexible farrowing systems showed, cost is overwhelmingly the biggest issue for producers, with 46% of respondents citing it, although lack of guidance on specification was also an issue for 24%.
