Red Tractor, the British farm assurance scheme, has opened a six-week consultation on changes to its pig standards, including new standards for flexible farrowing, updated space requirements and measures against heat stress, Pig World reports. The proposals also aim at stricter on-farm biosecurity and better standards for moving, handling and euthanasia.
The flexible or free-farrowing standards would apply to any new build, expansion or upgrade of farrowing accommodation. They set a minimum pen size of 6.5 square metres with a 1.6 m turning circle for the sow, and allow a sow to be confined for no more than 24 hours before farrowing and seven days after. Pigs Sector Board chair Stewart Houston said he expected many producers to choose a shorter confinement period.
Conventional crates would remain permitted, but new or second-hand conventional farrowing crates could no longer be installed from late 2027. Farmers who have already moved to flexible systems would get grandfather rights, so their pens are not penalised if they fall slightly short of the new requirements, in recognition of their leadership and investment, Houston said.
"Farrowing is a significant investment for any business and producers need a clearer understanding of where the industry is heading," he said. He added that Red Tractor standards would support the industry's case to the government for a voluntary, industry-led approach to flexible farrowing.
The changes come from a review of more than 600 requirements in the current pig standards by Red Tractor's Technical Advisory Committee of farmers, vets, processors, retailers and technical experts, agreed by consensus in the Pigs Sector Board. The consultation runs until midnight on 22 December through Red Tractor's online portal. Most agreed changes would take effect in autumn 2027, with the final standards published at least three months before.
Houston acknowledged that this is an exceptionally hard time for pig producers and asked them to say where a proposal is unclear, hard to apply or disproportionate. National Pig Association chief executive Lizzie Wilson welcomed the flexible farrowing standards, saying producers had asked for clarity and confidence when planning investment.
Photo: Alisha Vargas / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), a sow and piglets in a conventional farrowing crate
Source: Pig World
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