The pressure to take sows out of gestation stalls might not
be as expensive as some people think, says Steve Meyer, head of Paragon
Economics at Adel, Iowa.
Most of the retailers’ announcements that they want pork
from stall-free farms give farmers 10 to 15 years to make the transition.
That, says Meyer, is long enough for current stalls and
crates to wear out and need replacing.
He says the bigger issue now is whether the Humane Society
of United States will change its stand on putting sows in crates for 35 days
after farrowing.
That’s when embryos are attaching, so sows need to be safe
and quiet, not fighting as is common when they first move into group pens.
“You wean the sow and put them in the stall until they’re confirmed
pregnant. That’s a critical period,” Meyer says.
“If you have to mix those sows right after farrowing it’s going to get
ugly, because then it’s going to affect productivity.”
