http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6wDiHuysq8&NR=1

This is an Aussie production on You Tube.   Two sides of the story
presented.

It does not really address what choice one has to be profitable.   My
interpretation is that, knowing and having raised pigs under both
types of systems, the open lot is better for the sows and pigs, death
loss is higher and more labor-intensive.  Net Profit less than
confinement.

But I don't raise them anymore, either way.   And no more hassles,
staying up all night, either.

It was my choice.

Burkie

On Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:15:01 -0700 (PDT), Burkie 
wrote:

>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6wDiHuysq8&NR=1
>
>This is an Aussie production on You Tube.   Two sides of the story
>presented.
>
>It does not really address what choice one has to be profitable.   My
>interpretation is that, knowing and having raised pigs under both
>types of systems, the open lot is better for the sows and pigs, death
>loss is higher and more labor-intensive.  Net Profit less than
>confinement.
>
>But I don't raise them anymore, either way.   And no more hassles,
>staying up all night, either.

You are right. That was interesting.

First. General points of irritation.

1. I was slightly worried about the RSPCA's association with the
production. Their reputation here with both farmers and rural public
is now poor for reasons oft stated elsewhere. Perhaps they are OK in
Australia?

2. I heard the dreaded phrase "educating the public." It shows a
mistaken approach, often a synonym for "swamping them with spin", and
could equally be used in reverse.

Generally, it was a good even handed piece of work, perhaps
unintentionally biased towards "good" clean operations. They did not
show any "bad" farms., with dead pigs and piles of antibiotic
packaging. That's not surprising.

In my mind, indoor and outdoor systems can both be perfectly
acceptable with reservations sometimes about the reasons for moving
pigs from one to another. It seems wrong somehow to put an outdoor
raised pig indoors in less space for fattening.

The point was made that only the southern parts of Oz are cool enough
to  raise pigs outdoors. Maybe it should not be done in areas that
need expensive air conditioning?

And that is what international trade is all about. Doing the things
you can do well, and not persevering with things you can't do well.

Horses for courses

It it not international trade v self-sufficiency. They are not
incompatable and "food miles" can be used to mislead.

Our part of Britain near the coast on the Sandlings is highly suitable
for outdoor pigs in rotation with cereals.

Further inland it is not so good on the heavy clays.

We had an interesting experience.

When we were thinking about starting to keep a sow or two, we received
a lot of advice from pig farmers. Generally that amounted to "outdoor
on the sand" but "indoors on the clay." Although they did not always
keep to this themselves and we noticed outdoor pigs creeping up the
valley and up the sides. Things were changing as we watched.

We could see the advantage on light sandy soils, but I was still keen
to keep one and thought we could do it outside with more housing and
more paddocks in rotation with spuds and only one litter per year.

We did and it worked. 

However the problem came when we had lock down during CSF. There was
no slack in our system, we had insufficient fenced land to keep sow
plus growing youngsters through a wet autumn and winter. It was
rougher on us, than on the pigs. Mrs Pat looked after them OK, but it
was dangerous. We would not have been caught this way again and
created additional paddocks.

That is one of the same problems that became apparent in the pyramid
and multi-site operations: when the system falters, for any reason,
the ripple effect quickly makes things goes seriously wrong producing
horrendous conditions that were shown on local TV but not generally
nationwide.

I could be wrong but I don't think Britain has enough suitable land
for enough outdoor production unless you allow more land per pig. That
could be the answer too. More land would be naturally fertilised and
there would be less manure problems.

I'm sure that our old friend the capitalist system sorts most problems
like this out automatically IF honesty and truth is kept within a
system lightly regulated by a  firm but fair hand.

We lost the last somewhere along the line in a welter of spin and
shady intermediaries doing the biding of the big boys in the hope of a
return in cash or kind.


-- 
Regards
Pat Gardiner
Release the results of testing British pigs for MRSA and C.Diff now!
www.go-self-sufficient.com  and http://animal-epidemics.blogspot.com/


>It was my choice.
>
>Burkie