Homes for contented trotters

Nigel Liddle, who farms at Compton Grove Farm, near Collingham, has run an outdoor pig herd for 13 years. Stories about farming and bad weather usually focus on sheep, but these days pigs are increasingly kept in fields as well, in shelters known as arcs.

Nigel has only ever kept outdoor pigs. "When I first set up the herd the call from the supermarkets was for outdoor reared pork. Our sows are kept indoors whilst they are served and for the early period of gestation, but they spend the greater share of their lives outside."

In years gone by all pigs on farms were kept outdoors. Nigel relies on the hardiness of the Duroc strain which is widely reckoned to offer a better taste on the plate.Its tenacity in looking after its young combined with its docility between times makes it an ideal candidate for an outdoor pig, either as a dam or sire line, and its succulence and heavy muscling makes it very suitable for anything from light pork to heavy hog production.

All of Nigel's pigs are guaranteed through Freedom Foods, which means he runs an NSPCA approved welfare system. Pigs reared outdoors are accepted as being much happier animals and benefit from the nutrients in the soil.

Nigel's 750 sows don't just live outdoors, they also give birth outdoors and rear their piglets to weaning here. Another batch of piglets is due and the prospect of more snow falling after the week we've had means bad news.

"It was minus 12 degrees up here last Saturday night," says Nigel. "The water systems outside are all completely frozen, so every day we are going round with the water bowser to fill the troughs. "If you put the water in first thing in the morning when the temperature is coming up, the pigs will have water all day and they do tend to drink quite a lot of it.

"You must ensure they always have water in front of them. When the land gets wet the pigs use more bedding and take more looking after. Your days are shorter for trying to get everything done. The biggest problem is keeping the piglets warm enough."

Compton Grove, on a hill between Collingham and Bramham, isn't the easiest of locations to get to when the snow starts piling up.

"The biggest problem is actually the logistics of getting feed wagons on to the farm, because if the roads aren't clear the wagons can't get here. We clear as much as we can. Where it is hilly we grit the roads. We've had one or two white-faced drivers who have managed to arrive despite the weather."

The pig arcs dotted throughout the farm are the refuges within which the sows give birth to their piglets at an average of approximately 10.5 piglets per sow around this time of year.

"The huts are all insulated and we have put pvc strips down the front of each of them to keep the heat in. It seems to be helping them. They are more fortunate than sheep because they have always got a warm, dry hut with straw. We replace the straw every week. As long as pigs have somewhere like that, plus water and food they are happy."

Snow means the pigs keep their bedding in good order. "They don't soil it inside because their feet are always clean, so you don't have to replace the bedding as much. "They seem to enjoy snow. They will come out as soon as the feeder comes around at 8.30 in the morning. We don't feed them until daylight because with having electric fences they can't see them before then.

"But as soon as the temperature starts to drop around 2.30pm to 3pm they all go back to their huts and you won't see them again."

Mortality rates do increase however with worsening conditions. "You will lose a slightly higher percentage in the younger pigs, somewhere around 12-15 per cent when the weather becomes very harsh, but all you can do is keep them as warm as possible and try to minimise the rate.

"The worst bit is when the snow goes goes and you go from being clean and dry to everything being wet until the land is able to let the water drain away. The conditions seem to bother the people more than it bothers the pigs."

Outdoor pig production also simplifies the waste management issues of pig production. Straw and muck from the sows are returned directly to the soil without machinery.

Often after use the straw from the individual arcs is burnt to prevent cross contamination of disease. I

In general, outdoor pig systems are very much part of the arable rotation with fields being returned to a crop of winter wheat which will benefit from the fertility that the pigs have provided.

Nigel and his wife Grace also run a DIY livery yard and recently launched a new product for horses and dogs called Pureflax made from linseed oil grown on the farm.

"Our customers have been very positive and we are getting more and more outlets ringing us to stock it, says Nigel.

"One of our ponies had a clicking on its joints, but now that has gone."

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

The outdoor pig industry has grown quickly over the last decade.

This is partly because of the high capital costs of indoor pig housing as partly because of public demand for a less intensive industry. Planning regulations have also made it more difficult to develop indoor pig production.

Despite their apparent relish of the snow, in winter months the wet and cold tend to increase piglet mortality. In summer months there's another worry to look out for because stock can suffer from sunburn. Some farmers provide them with a sun screen.