search.noResults

search.searching

dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
FARM VISIT ▶▶▶


tolerance policy towards Salmonella for the entire livestock industry. For that reason, pig producers cannot just purchase feed from any given feed manufacturer. All feed producers have to be able to demonstrate that they supply feedstuffs that are free from Salmonella. The farm’s multiplier is using a Danish genetics source, but is in the process of switching to TN-70 sows of Topigs Norsvin, with a Danish Duroc as terminal sire. The end product in the finisher house is therefore a mixture.


Straw is the last element in management to avoid tail biting. It all starts with the prevention of stress.


The pigs easily grow 1kg per day.


Tail biting and pig focus Keeping pigs with entire, curly tails requires management which is focused on the animals themselves. Key in that pro- cess is that pigs should not experience any stress. Nutrition, health and pig house climate have to be right all the time. As a bonus, the pigs are supplied with straw as well as sawdust on a daily basis. Sawdust helps to keep the floors clean, as much of these floors is closed. The Yrjälä family are pleased with their farm’s new addition, which cost roughly € 600 per place. That amount includes the delivery zone as well as the feeding kitchen. For the construc- tion the farm used Finnish builders; and insurance companies also played a role. The ceiling is made of wood, which is not as dangerous as plastic in case of fire – and there are smoke detectors attached to it. Throughout the entire pig house, there is a red air duct with subtle holes. The air flows through this duct to the smoke detector, which sends an alarm to the farmer if ther’s a fire. The investment in this system was € 2,000, which is partly covered by the insurance company offering lower fire insurance rates. The pigs will be sent to the cooperative meatpacker HKScan. This slaughterhouse has been supporting the construction of new pig houses by adding a premium of € 0.03/kg for several years. For the Finnish market, the pigs produced are regular. As the country is virtually self-supporting in pigmeat, price fluctuations are lower than in other European markets. In 2018, pigs were sold for roughly € 1.52/kg slaughterweight. At the end of 2019, the price was even € 0.10 higher than that.


Entire tails and carcass defects


Recent research at Finnish meatpacker HKScan has shown that there is a 100% match between entire tails and car- cass defects on the slaughterline. As soon as research shows that more tails have been bitten, then there is also a higher frequency of other types of abscesses as well as joint problems. In other words, HKScan is pleased to state that when a pig makes it to the slaughterline with an in- tact tail of 24 cm or more, without carcass defects, it will have had a good and pleasant life.


The new finisher pig house at Yrjälä farm is located in the middle of a forest. 22


▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 35, No. 10, 2019


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40