Hog Companies Agree to Change

US - Pork producers in the Lower Arkansas Valley say a bill before Gov. Bill Ritter that requires more space for pregnant pigs will be a financial burden, but they support it.
calendar icon 18 April 2008
clock icon 2 minute read

This week the state Senate approved new regulations that calves raised for veal and pregnant sows must be kept in pens large enough so they can stand up, lie down or turn around without touching the sides of their pens. Ritter is expected to sign the bill into law.

Glenn McClelland, the chief executive officer of M2P2, LLC, which owns Heritage Farms, an operator of several hog farms in the Lamar area, said hog farm facilities will have to rip out narrow stalls and replace them with larger pens. Individual stalls for sows, which are female pigs that are or will become pregnant, have been standard practice in the swine industry. Hog farmers say the stall keep sows from rolling over on their young. The stalls also are narrow to reduce the cost of housing hundreds of animals.

McClelland, whose company raises about 7,800 sows, said that the entire industry has a lot of research to complete before changing their barns.

Source: Chieftain.com
© 2000 - 2024 - Global Ag Media. All Rights Reserved | No part of this site may be reproduced without permission.