will be introduced to the next area of a similar size, while the rest of the land is allowed to recover. The system means that at any moment of production 80% of the available grounds are not in use. And that is on purpose, Cau says, “That way the grasslands have time to recover com- pletely and we will not exhaust the soil, thus there is no need to move elsewhere.”
Farrowing and lactation For farrowing and lactation, the farm has 85 huts of British design, with patches of about 500m2
Outdoor feeding stations for gestating sows.
per sow. These patches
are in use for about seven weeks, as the sows move in there one week prior to farrowing. The sows are not able to access the neighbour’s patch due to the use of electric fences, but the piglets, since they are smaller, will be able to roam freely. After use, the huts are moved to the next site, and the old site is left unused for roughly seven months to allow vegetation to completely recover. The outdoor sows are a cross between Duroc, Landrace and Large White, which are bred with a PIC Duroc. Cau aims for roughly 21 piglets weaned per sow per year.
Weaner pig barns After weaning, the piglets will be kept in partly indoor, partly outdoor mobile tent-like sheds. Eight sheds of 100m2
allow
for 100 piglets, which will be moved around, again to allow the soil to recover. Each shed has its own drinkers and feeding troughs, and the weaner pigs will be supplied with straw.
Group gestation can be done perfectly well underneath a tree.
Finishing site Once the pigs weigh about 30kg, after about six weeks in the grower area, they will be transported to an organic finisher pig site near Els Omellons. These pens also have outdoor spaces, with 1.3m2
per pig indoors and 1m2
per pig outdoors.
Currently this facility has a 1,000 pig capacity – this will soon be upgraded to 5,000 pigs. Until then, a farm near the town Alforja will be used as a tem- porary solution as well; that location is roughly 75km down the road.
Moving time: A tractor brings a hut for gestating sows to a new meadow. 20
▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 37, No. 4, 2021
Biosecurity and pig health Cau aims to achieve the highest biosecurity standards possi- ble – after all, if an animal has to be treated with antibiotics it can no longer be sold as organic. That is why the entire or- ganic farm site at L’Albi has been fenced off properly; the 4km long barrier keeps out unwanted guests. A special truck oper- ates only on-site. Cau says, “In that sense everything is well-structured and exactly like a conventional farm.” Obviously, both the sows and the piglets will be vaccinated. The sows receive vaccination against Aujeszky’s Disease, parvovirus and erysipelas. In addition, the piglets are also vaccinated against Aujeszky’s Disease and possibly PCV2. It can happen that pigs do need treatment with antibiotics.
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