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Large White piglets on a farm A Large White sow suckling her piglets Interior of pig farm at Bjärka-Säby Castle, Sweden, 1911. Pig farming, pork farming, pig production or hog farming is the raising and breeding of domestic pigs as livestock, and is a branch of animal husbandry. Pigs are farmed principally for food (e.g. pork: bacon, ham ...
Mar. 30—Livestock can be pricey to purchase and care for. When selecting what varieties to raise, farmers and homesteaders are wise to consider profitability as well as which livestock can help ...
Intensive pig farming, also known as pig factory farming, is the primary method of pig production, in which grower pigs are housed indoors in group-housing or straw-lined sheds in establishments also known as piggeries, whilst pregnant sows are housed in gestation crates or pens and give birth in farrowing crates.
The breeding of farm animals seldom occurs spontaneously but is managed by farmers with a view to encouraging traits seen as desirable. These include hardiness, fertility, docility, mothering abilities, fast growth rates, low feed consumption per unit of growth, better body proportions, higher yields, and better fibre qualities.
Pigs have a limited tolerance to high temperatures and heat stress can lead to death. Maintaining a more specific temperature within the pig-tolerance range also maximizes growth and growth to feed ratio. In an intensive operation pigs will lack access to a wallow (mud), which is their natural cooling mechanism.
Such market factors often lead to low profit margins for production methods and a competitive disadvantage against CAFOs. Alternative animal production methods, like "free range" or "family farming" operations [ 42 ] are losing their ability to compete, though they present few of the environmental and health risks associated with CAFOs.
A demand for pork emerges, and so one or two farmers begin raising pigs. While pig supply is limited, prices are high – at this point of the cycle, pork is a rare good. More farmers realise the value potential and also begin raising pigs. As more and more piggeries come 'online,' the price begins to decrease as supply increases.
At one time, the company operated 132 company-owned farms and 109 contract farms in the state of Missouri, in addition to a leased farm and eight feed mills. [8] In July 2021, the company closed its original slaughter plant in Smithfield, Virginia. [8] [9] In February 2023, Smithfield Foods closed its meatpacking plant in Vernon, California ...