Gilts are selected for breeding when they are ten weeks old.
over 34˚C but cool down at night to 16–18˚C. The winter day temperatures are around 18–26˚C, but can fall dramatically at night to -7˚C in August. “We use good insulation on roofs, automated curtains to maintain good natural airflow and often install chimneys,” says Kriek. “On the more sensitive buildings we include evap- orative cooling and mechanical ventilation.” He continues: “In my opinion a 75–100mm insulated roof with big ventilation windows and enough tree and grass cov- er is a very economical way of maintaining temperatures. Having sufficient water drinkers, nipples and an ample supply of water at the right pressure and temperature is non-nego- tiable in our climate.”
Advancements in technology Kriek is always monitoring advancements in technology and gauging if any would help increase the efficiency of his farm; he has some improvements in the pipeline. He says: “We are consistently exploring, investigating and investing. Currently we are in the process of moving towards converting old sites to Electronic Sow Feeding systems. I focus a lot on the use and integration of data on a central platform to facilitate the huge amount of data which is continuously generated. This includes the production software we use, slaughter data, feedmill re- cords, as well as ventilation and environmental data. “Since we do individual numbering of animals from birth, we offer lifetime traceability. However, to maintain and adminis- ter that, I rely heavily on technology and innovative solutions to streamline the process.”
The farm aim is to market an 83 to 85kg carcass or around 110kg liveweight.
Labour availability South Africa has a whopping unemployment rate of around 30% which, experts say, could increase to 50% during the coronavirus pandemic. Farm workers are in plentiful supply but farmers say it is difficult to find those who possess the necessary skills. However, Kriek offers good educational initi- atives to help him find suitable staff. “Across all activities we employ 110 people including man- agement and support operations, as well as on job-sharing initiatives,” Kriek says. “All our employees are local or from nearby tertiary institutions and we continuously partner with these institutions to offer practical training and internships. “We made a decision to focus employment on local youth and established a training centre to upskill workers and offer training programmes for staff children and community youth on various aspects of agriculture. Management live on-farm and our labour force live in town for which we supply daily staff transport and other support programmes,” he says.
Efficient housing conditions are vital to maintain a healthy herd especially with the heat of the South African summer.
22 ▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 5, 2020
ASF in South Africa Although African Swine Fever (ASF) is spreading fast in other areas of South Africa, it is not so common in the area around Taaibosch Piggery. Kriek says, “We don’t have any cases of ASF
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