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LIVESTOCK - Free range & free roaming pig farming
34 Small FARMS June 2008
By Mike Harvey
Pigs are intelligent socialanimals that form closebonds with
their offspringand other pigs in the herd,they are foragers by
nature,can protect themselves fromthe elements, build nests togive
birth and are excellentcommunicators.But, according to the Free
Range Pork Farmers Associa-tion (FRPFA) pigs need thefree range
opportunity to ex-press these natural behav-iours.The FRPFA aims to
en-
courage pig producers whooperate the old-fashionedway of raising
their pigs onpasture.Free range pig producer
Fiona Chambers, FernleighFree Range, Bullarto, nearDaylesford,
Victoria, saidFRPFA members producefree range pork from pigsthat
are managed with thewelfare of animals and theenvironment in
mind.The free range, free roam-
ing, pasture raised FRPFAprinciples include the free-dom to
graze pasture duringthe day, to experience sun-shine, wind and
rain, to ac-cess clean fresh water andgood feed and to express
in-stinctive behavior.FRPFA member pigs will
be free of pain, discomfort,fear and distress, protectedfrom
predators, able to nur-ture their young without therestrictions of
farrowingcrates and be free from hor-mones, growth promotantsand
antibiotics.Nicholas and Fiona Cham-bers and their family runtheir
Wessex Saddleback freerange pigs and Shropshiresheep, with an
organic veg-etable operation, on 40hectares (100 acres) in
themiddle of the Wombat State
Forest only 60 minutes driveto Melbourne.The Wessex Saddleback,
a
traditional and now endan-gered pig breed, were intro-duced to
their farm in 1995.We wanted to grow ourown meat as there was
nofree range pork commerciallyavailable at that time, Fionasaid.It
was completely by acci-
dent that we came across theWessex Saddleback breedand
discovered how endan-gered they had become.We soon came to love
the
breeds placid temperamentas well as their mothering,milking and
farrowing abil-ity, resistance to sunburn andlove of the
outdoor..and ofcourse the flavor of themeat, she said.The Chambers
family now
run 40 registered purebredWessex Saddleback sowswhich is 40
percent of thetotal breed sow populationin the world.There were
only 5 breed-
ers and 75 Wessex Saddle-back sows in the world in2003 but
enthusiastic andnew breeders have liftednumbers to 12 producersand
100 head, she said.Were having fun, eating
well and keeping the breedalive.But there is a need to makea
return from the pigs somarketing of free range or-ganic pork is a
critical eco-nomic factor otherwise theoperation becomes an
ex-pensive hobby.Its consistent and persist-
ent work made easier by thetaste of the Wessex Saddle-back rare
breed, free rangemeat, she said.The Chambers have been
using farmers markets forfive years to sell their Fern-leigh
free range cryovacpacked pork.
Give pigs enoughoutdoor space
Free range pig producer Fiona Chambers picturedwith some of her
purebred Wessex Saddlebackpigs.
A Wessex Saddleback sow with piglets roams freelyin a large
paddock.
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They offer a range of spe-cialty cuts including shoul-der and
leg roasts, bacon,ham, salami, fillets, tails,tongue, ears and
trotters.We have a nose to tail,whole beast sales philoso-phy,
Fiona saidMeat production focused
around only the prime cutsis unsustainable, but withpigs we can
market every-thing except the squeal andthere is very little
wastage,Fiona said.But she said there are pit-
falls, like all forms of live-stock production, in freerange pig
production includ-ing extra labor requirements,the impact of the
elementsand slower growth rates.The natural way for a pig tolive is
outdoors with grassunder its feet, and the sun onits back and this
outdoor ac-cess is fundamental to thefree range system of
porkproduction.The pigs are still commer-
cially produced, farmed inlarge numbers and destinedfor the
oven, but they havemore space, and lead morenatural, longer lives
and evenwhen they choose to be in-side, they have more space,and an
enriched environ-ment.Pigs are sociable, curious
creatures. They like to range,they love to rest in shadedareas
and they have a strongbond with their herd andwill protect not only
theirown young, but all piglets intheir group.Free range pork does
cost
more to produce so it willcost a little more to buy butconsumers
can influencehow pigs are farmed simplyby the decision made
whenpork is purchased.Its consumers every day
buying decisions that deter-mine how the animals willlive, Fiona
said.In 1960 there were 49,537
pork producers in Australiaand most of them wouldhave been free
range. By2004 there were only 1999producers but sow numbers
had increased by over 50percent and 95 percent ofpigs were
raised in intensivesheds.Fiona Chambers says that
the bred free range categoryis a step in the right directionbut
there is currently no de-fined standard to say exactlywhat bred
free range andto what degree growing pigsare allowed outdoor
access.Only the sow is free range,not the pork produced fromher
piglets, she said.Free range pigs should have
enough outdoor space to ex-press their natural behaviorsuch as
digging, playing,wallowing, eating grass andinteracting with other
pigs.I think this right should
apply to piglets grown for
meat, not just their moth-ers, Fiona said.There is also a
misconcep-
tion that the Royal Societyfor the Prevention of Crueltyto
Animals Accreditationonly supports free rangefarms but this is not
the case.RSPCA concentrates on theanimal welfare standards pigsare
bred, reared, transportedand slaughtered under, notthe method of
housing itself.They do not make a dis-
tinction between bred freerange and free range or in-door group
housing in theiraccreditation standards.Certified Organic Pork
is
true free range pork and the
requirements include addedrestrictions on the sort offeed,
paddock and animaltreatments allowed.Certified organic and cer-
tified free range are similar inthe high standards set for
anatural environment for thepigs to live. So whenever yousee
certified organic pork itis also genuinely free range.Organic pigs
must have
daily access to pasture, be fedat least 95 percent
certifiedorganic feed with no artifi-cial additives or
antibiotics,piglets are not weaned beforesix weeks of age, there is
notail docking or teeth clippingand castration and remov-
LIVESTOCK - Free range & free roaming pig farming
Small FARMS 35June 2008
The Wessex Saddleback is classified as an endan-gered pig
breed.
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36 Small FARMS June 2008
able nose rings are generallynot allowed.Vaccination is not
encour-
aged, farrowing stalls andcrates are not allowed, onlynatural
dewormers and treat-ments can be used.While an-tibiotics can be
administeredto sick or injured animals,their use excludes the
treatedanimal from being organic.There are requirements for
full traceability of animalsfrom birth to table, thewhole farm
should be man-aged organically withoutherbicides, pesticides
orchemical fertilizers and farminspections happen at leastonce of
year. Pig producersdo not have to be certified tobe organic but
certification isconsumers guarantee of anauthentic product.Fiona
Chambers said the
interest in free range pig pro-duction was continuing togrowIn
the past 15 years I haveoffered advice to potentialproducers and in
the last fewyears there have been endlessphone calls that have
turnedan advice service into a jobrather than a hobby, shesaid.I
receive daily enquiries
from people looking to buyor sell everything from a sin-gle pig
through to estab-lished pig producersthinking of converting
from
intensive production to freerange.Due to disease considera-
tions its difficult to visit apiggery so there are few av-enues
for beginners to learnthe practical side of the pigindustry, she
said.The phone calls and lack ofpractical training optionsprompted
Fiona Chambers
to introduce a Pig Day Outprogram at Fernleighwhere visitors can
gain prac-tical hands-on pig experienceand advice including
han-dling, feeding, ear notching,recording, breeding, hooftrimming
and vaccination.
A trial Pig Day Out at-tracted 6 visitors and a fullscale
version will be con-ducted on June 22.
Contact: Fiona Cham-bers, 03 5348 5566,
email:[email protected]
LIVESTOCK - Free range & free roaming pig farming
TheWessex Saddleback is known for its placid tem-perament,
mothering, milking and farrowing ability.