Pig Farming in South Africa
© National Pork Board and the Pork Checkoff. Des Moines, IA USA
Pig Farming might be on a commercial scale or on a small-scale to boost household income.
The commercial pig industry in South Africa is relatively small with a few modern piggeries with modern facilities, high feeding costs and excellent genetic material. South Africa also has thousands of subsistence and small-scale farmers producing pork meat for families and communal use. These small farmers often deal with rudimentary housing facilities and feed.
SouthAfrica.co.za offers pig farmers in South Africa educational agricultural material in all 11 South African languages, with a range of agricultural articles in an easy-to-read format to farm better quality pork under sustainable and safe conditions.
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Marinda LouwUnlike natural mating where a boar is physically placed with sows to breed, artificial insemination entails the insemination of sows with semen of a boar that may not necessarily be on the farm....
moreFarrowing crates are one of the best investments a pig farmer can make. Sows are moved to these crates about a week before farrowing and kept there until her piglets are weaned at 21 to 28 days of age....
moreSwill feeding is a big no-no in in pork production, because it can make pigs very sick. The greatest threat is that the pigs might contract African Swine Fever, a highly infectious disease that, depending on the virus strain...
moreHousing should be matched with the type of pig you want to produce. Unimproved breeds are able to cope under much harsher environmental and production conditions than improved breeds...
moreDepending on the species, worms may not only have a negative impact on pig health and production, but also result in condemnation of the carcass at an abattoir....
moreFarmers may allow their pigs to roam freely outside and use no genetically modified feed or antibiotics, but their produce will only qualify for free-range, organic or pasture reared labelling...
moreLameness is a serious problem in pig production. The pain associated with lameness can make it difficult for pigs to walk to feeding and water troughs, which in turn would have a negative impact on their growth rate...
moreFor a pig farming operation to be financially viable, farmers need to secure a market for their pigs and calculate the cost of production before going into business....
moreThe key with pig health management is to identify problems and diseases before they get out of control. To do so, farmers need to distinguish between normal and abnormal behaviour and health symptoms....
moreThe strategic selection of breeding material can help to upgrade a herd by, for example, increasing litter sizes, improving meat quality and output as well as the feed efficiency of animals....
moreThe South African Pig Welfare Code has been drawn up by farmers, vets, transporters, welfare organisations and abattoir operators. It is based on the so-called Five Freedoms principle as adopted by the Farm Animal Welfare Council...
moreThe world's climate is getting warmer and drier and agriculture is under more pressure to produce nutritious and cheap food for Earth's growing population. The pig industry in South Africa has three main sectors....
moreThe South African pork industry’s focus on the production of leaner meat has resulted in South African pork having lower fat than pork from many other countries....
moreWhile pig slurry is one of the biggest pollution threats on a pig farm, it can also be used to enhance farm profitability by using it as fertiliser, compost or to generate energy....
moreWater is often a neglected topic when it comes to pig production, but it is actually one of the most important factors because of its role in the physiological functions of the body....
moreListeria monocytogenes - although it sounds mysterious and threatening - is an ordinary bacterium that is frequently carried in the animal or human intestine without causing any symptoms....
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