In the Moss Valley

A rolling landscape of hills and valleys

The farm has 200 acres of arable land.

The River Moss flows through the valley.

The farm has a wind turbine which produces some of the farm’s electricity

The farm is staffed by family and two employees, Hannah and Richard

The farm has 2000 pigs on site, with 200 breeding females.

The farm produces about 250 tonnes of pig meat in a year for pork, bacon, ham and sausages

The farm has 400 year old buildings… And modern buildings to house the pigs, which are all indoors.

The male pig is called a boar

The female pig is called a sow

SOW ON HEAT, Will stand for boar MATED SOW FARROWS (Gives birth) SOW WEANED (Sow and piglets separated) Conceives (90%) Fails to Conceive (10%) Gestation (Pregnancy) 115 days Oestrous Cycle 21 days Lactation (Suckles piglets) days Weaning to mating interval 5 days Sow mated again Reproduction in the pig

Natural Mating!

Equipment for replacing the boar!!

Mating using artificial insemination

Replacing the weight of the boar!!

115 days later… the babies arrive!

Mum’s got lots of milk!

Where’s the milk bar???

Ahhhh! Found it!

Contentment!

The placenta is no longer needed and is pushed out

4 days old We have some medicine to keep our gut healthy (prevents coccidiosis – a parasite)

1 week old and warm and snug under the lamp

Mother’s milk is SO good!!!! We grow really quickly!

We get a little solid food at 10 days old

14 days old We have vaccinations to prevent disease. (Ileitis)

Piglets Weaned Nursery buildings Grower buildings Finishing buildings Abattoir Meat processing plant SupermarketConsumer (3-4 weeks old) 7kg (8 weeks old) 18kg (14 weeks old) 40kg (5-6 months old) 100kg After Weaning

Piglets after weaning, growing on well!

Moving on…now 3 months old

Now 5 months old, nearly market weight

All of our data is computerised for a quick and efficient way of managing the pig herd

Our computer software for recording all our pig data

Selective Breeding Characteristics Pigs for meat. (Semen from breeding company – A.I.) Fast growth Low back fat Good food conversion Good conformation (body shape) Pigs for breeding. (Semen from A.I. and own boars) Large litter size Good milking ability Successful breeder Good conformation (body shape)

All the farrowing pens are mucked out every day

Buildings are pressure washed and disinfected between batches of pigs to prevent disease spread

Sows being brought in to farrow

Young females for breeding (Gilts)

Feeding time! Most pigs are fed automatically, but these are fed by hand

A materials handler is an important piece of machinery on the farm

Most of the pig feed is bought from “BOCM Pauls”. We make some ourselves using our own wheat grown on the farm. The feed lorry

Assurance is about a commitment to doing things well and being able to prove what has been done in order to achieve high standards. The farm operates under a farm assurance scheme which monitors and regulates the way we farm our pigs. Genesis Farm Assurance

Genesis Farm Assurance requirements Farm worker health, safety and training Record keeping & animal identification Building maintenance Good agricultural codes of practice Pig space requirements Five freedoms Health plan Food safety testing Good management of stock

Thanks for listening. Hope you have enjoyed it.