Farmers and pork producers in France, Spain and Poland are doing their share to end surgical castration. Read their success stories and learn how they went about it.
Entire males in France
The leading pork producer in France integrates farming, feed manufacturing, slaughtering and meat processing. In 2013, it transitioned to the production of entire males, serving their meat to 13 million consumers each year.
Vaccination protocol to produce cured hams in Spain
In Spain, there are successes to share as well. Farmers in this country vaccinate Iberian pigs against boar taint to produce cured hams. Vaccination has improved profitability and animal welfare while maintaining high product quality.
Polish producer sees impressive results with vaccine
A Polish producer who uses a safe and reliable vaccine has had success slaughtering animals at around 8-9 weeks after the second vaccination. This maximises their revenues.
Read more about these successes to transition away from surgical castration in the PDF below.
Reducing the risk of boar taint in entire males is essential for realizing market acceptance of meat from non-castrated pigs. The European Commission shared a fact sheet designed for pig supply chains, in order to help them grapple with this topic.
In the fact sheet below, the European Commission shares best practices and techniques with regard to feed, housing, breeding and slaughter, as well as benefits and success stories.
“The wellbeing of our pigs is at the heart of our daily routine”
Georg Freisfeld runs an arable and pig farm together with his wife Katrin. Their farm Freisfeld Hof is located in the southern part of Munsterland in the municipality Ascheberg, North Rhine Westphalia. They house close to 2.000 fattening pigs, next to the 75 hectares of arable land and 7 hectares of forest.
Since when are you a pig farmer?
I am a pig farmer since 1997. Before this I obtained my BSc in Agriculture.
What does your farm look like?
Nearly 2000 fattening pigs have their home in our farm. We do not breed piglets, as we have a long term relationship to a sow farmer. In addition to the pigs we grow our crops and corn on 75 hectares of arable land. We are a member of the German Producer Cooperation Westfalen. As from May 2015, we participate in the so called Initiative Tierwohl. The wellbeing of our pigs is at the heart of our daily routine.
When did you start working with entire male pigs?
We started rearing entire male pigs in November 2008. The retail organisation wanted to test selling meat from entire male pigs. At the same time Zoetis (formerly Pfizer) wanted to have their new vaccine tested for European approval in our farm. These two events led to our decision to change our farm practices.
How did you experience this change in the beginning?
Contrary to all assertions, the boars remained calm. This was probably because we housed male and female pigs separately. We were very happy with the fact that no boar tainted carcasses were identified. Altogether, the transition was smooth.
Did you experience any difficulties?
At the beginning we struggled a bit with the feed. The demand for boar feed with respect to amino acid endowment was clearly different from sow feed. At the time it was common to apply two different feed rations. Nowadays, tests and studies have shown that an age-appropriate feed formula for sows and boars together is sufficient. This makes the feeding easier.
How do you look back on the past years?
When the market asked for meat from entire male pigs, they paid well too. Meanwhile, the retail market does not seem to want more boar meat. Therefore, the German slaughter industry has narrowed the payment scheme to the detriment of farmers.
For more information on Georg Freisfeld, see https://www.hof-freisfeld.de/ (german).
“Eliminating castration from our farm was a relieve”
Annechien ten Have runs a pig farm and arable farm with a biogas installation. Together with her son she owns 600 sows and 5.000 fattening pigs, plus 250 hectares of arable land. The farm is situated in Beerta, Groningen, The Netherlands. They work with Topigs Norsvin pigs, and sell the meat under their own brand name: Hamletz®.
How did you get started in pig farming?
I took over my parents’ farm. As a child I already enjoyed helping my father. I have been keeping boars for 25 years now.
Why did you decide to switch to boars?
We had by-products from breeding which were difficult to sell. At that time you were not aloud to deliver boars to the meat processing company. Finally we did receive an exception from the slaughterhouse which allowed us to deliver entire male pigs to a separate distribution channel.
A few years later a welfare program was introduced for the UK market. Which meant that we could start producing entire male pigs. My husband Menno grew up on a dairy farm. He disliked castrating piglets, and questioned the need for it on our farm. I was used to the castrating, seeing it from his point of view was an eye-opener. I think it is good to rethink your your farm practices once in a while.
What went well and what was disappointing about the switch to boars?
Eliminating castration from our farm was a relieve. It turned out that the feed utilisation improved, the pigs had less infections and there was less (unpleasant) work. Nothing was disappointing, only aggressive behavior became more of a point of attention. The pigs are jumping at each other more when they are not castrated. They show this behaviour as piglets and they keep performing it when they grow older. Looking through a window in the shed you can see this behaviour clearly. This causes bit more of a hassle.
How often does jumping behavior occur among the boars?
Very regularly, this behaviour is just in their nature. There is nothing we do to change this behaviour. But you get used to it. And now that I am, I find it too quiet when they just lie around all day.
Did you have to make changes to your farm buildings?
We did not change the buildings on our farm when we switched our practices to non-castration. I am not sure what the ideal accommodation for keeping boars is, but I do think that it is important that they can all eat at the same time.
Hamletz nominated for Dutch Agricultural Entrepreneur of the Year 2019
In 2019 Annechien ten Have and her family were awarded as the Dutch Agricultural Entrepreneur of 2019. Watch the video of the nomination of Hamletz (only available in Dutch).
“It is important that the pigs have good mobility”
Jaap Kreuger is 64 years old and lives in Woerden, west of the Dutch city of Utrecht. Together with his son he owns a 500 sow operation and 1,100 fattening pigs. Genetics is a rotation (Norwegian Landrace, Great York and Dutch Landrace) with a Tempo terminal.
How did you get into pig farming?
I’ve worked with pigs all my life. My father was a pig farmer and I worked on several pig farms myself. In 1993 I established my own farm in Woerden. In the future my son will take over the farm. For me pig farming is still a lot of fun and I’m actually quite proud of it.
When did you start keeping boars?
We have switched over to boars in 2010, simultaneously with the switch to the so called Better Life Label 1 star. This is a quality mark for improving animal welfare in pig farming.
What was the reason to switch?
In the past, you could only supply boars if they were delivered at a lower weight, which is economically unattractive. And then you also had the problem that the gilts were heavier than the light boars. So that did not work. Then in 2010, at a certain point, there was a good arrangement within the Star Program of Vion food, and it was fairly easy for us to switch.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of keeping boars?
What I find a great advantage is that it is less work. And castration is not fun either. There will be an effect on the feed conversion rate and the meat percentage. But I cannot say precisely how much, because I do not have a comparison. After all, other things vary as well. What is a side note is that more meat also means less bacon, and that is becoming a disadvantage.
How often does aggressive behavior occur among the boars?
Aggressive behavior is not too bad. We do have to deal with mounting behavior. Every once in a while you have a pig that keeps going. If there is a pig in the group with a bad leg, then there is a risk that it gets scratched.
How can you counter these behaviors?
It is important that the pigs have good mobility and that we have uniform groups. Then the risk of mounting is much less. And if one of the pigs is really excessive, you take it out and put it aside.
What has changed in the stables for keeping boars?
Nothing has changed at our farm, except that we have gone from 0.8 to 1.0 square meters. According to us, that only offers benefits: more space and health. And do not forget that the animals are still getting heavier, from 90 kg to 95 kg.
What do you think is the ideal accommodation for keeping boars?
I think the group size should not be too big. Then the risks are smaller, especially if you also have uniform groups. We work with wet feed, but cannot compare whether it would be better with a different feeding system.
How do you look back on your decision to keep boars?
As said before, it was easy for us to switch. We cannot accurately indicate the benefits of better feed utilization. The meat percentage has also increased. But I think that we have arrived at the lower limit for the fat thickness. This may need to be adjusted here. In addition, it is important that the abattoir accurately performs the detection for boar taint.
“The technical results are better than with castrated animals”
Wiebe in ’t Hout is 36 years old and lives in Veendam. He is married and has two children. Together with his sister, Wiebe has an arable farm, broilers and, in addition, fattening pigs at 2 locations. At one location he has 7,000 fattening pigs with the Better Life Label one star certificate. At the other location, he has 5,800 fattening pigs in a conventional system.
How did you get into pig farming?
I’ve been into pig farming all my life. My father Hein was a pig farmer and I was ‘born and bred’ in pig farming.
When did you start keeping boars?
We switched to boars a long time ago. In 1998 we supplied boars for the Welfare program from Tesco. In 2010 we made the switch to Better Life Label 1 star. This is a quality mark for improving animal welfare in pig farming.
What was the reason to switch?
For me, there were two reasons: a demand from the market, and in addition, boars have better technical results with lower feed conversion and better growth.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of keeping boars?
What I find a great advantage is that the results are better. What disappointed me was the unrest. I had to get used to that.
How often does aggressive behavior occur among the boars?
That is different between groups. I think that it also varies with the season. When the first animals are delivered from the group, the ranking order is determined again. Then it can go wrong. Sometimes you have to remove an animal from the group and keep it separate.
How can you counter these behaviors?
You have to feed very differently. The content of protein and lysine must be increased. Furthermore, I also see differences in genetics. For example, the Duroc is significantly more quiet. Preferably I would keep boars and gilts together. But in the Better Life Quality Mark this is practically not feasible.
What has changed in the stables for keeping boars?
Nothing has changed at our company. The fact that we have gone from 0.8 to 1.0 square meters has, according to me, little effect on mounting behavior. For me, raising boars has a lot to do with genetics. Furthermore, it is not easy to predict, depending on the season.
What do you think is the ideal accommodation for keeping boars?
I think the group size should not be too big. Then the risks are smaller, especially if you also have uniform couples. The smaller the groups, the better. Furthermore, I have a long trough where the animals can eat at the same time, and there is less competition for the food.
How do you look back on your decision to keep boars?
I look very realistic at it. It is motivated by the market. And the technical results are better than with castrated animals. Furthermore, I expect that genetic improvement will make it gradually easier to keep boars.