Pig farming system
Pigs are monogastric animals raised for meat production. The farming systems can be very diverse depending on local or regional particularities, but the vast majority of farms operate similarly: livestock live in confinement on slats or straw. There are also outdoor or semi outdoor systems but they are only a small minority.
The breeds traditionally used in livestock production are female lines Large White cross Landrace (nursing ability and productivity) and male lines Duroc or Pietrain (growth rate and muscle content). Locally, breeds can be specific to a production or a livestock system. For example, the Basque pigs in northern Spain produce a meat that is renowned as being "tastier" than the one from traditional breeds, but they are also fatter and growing more slowly.
The production farms are organized around the physiological cycle of the breeding sows which are distributed into groups of the same physiological stage. The various physiological stages follow each other in the farrowing cycle.
Buildings, feeding, herd management entirely depend on the timing of farrowing for sows in the same band. The "onward march" is the essential element of the operation of a pig herd.
Growing pigs are first housed in post-weaning, then in finishing facilities before being sold in batches. Farmers are paid for each pig based on carcass weight (it has to be within a given range to get maximum payment) and muscle content. Extra payments may be granted based on quality charters.
