Day 096 - 03 Mar 95 - Page 05
1 A. Yes, and that is a totally different situation. I can
2 assure you. (1) the sows totally become acclimatised to it
3 because it is the time they are out there and they have
4 their own individual nesting huts or the "arcs", what we
5 call; the weaners, there is a time when they do have to
6 come inside because they can actually make the ground so
7 wet in this sort of weather it becomes a problem.
8
9 Q. So the weaners that are in the outdoor system are not
10 always outside then?
11 A. Yes, they are always outside but they have a hut to run
12 in and out of.
13
14 Q. If the ground gets wet, what, you shut them in the -----
15 A. No, no, they still have the opportunity to run in and
16 out of the hut. But if you had a bunch of pigs keep
17 running in and out of that door all day long, and going
18 through into the passageway to sleep, say, I can assure you
19 that that passageway here where they run to to go back to
20 sleep becomes totally muddy and horrible for the pig. So,
21 you have to make a decision, so that one makes the decision
22 that is best for the pig. There is a time in its life when
23 it is best to come in to be finished.
24
25 Q. So when you say that there is a time when they have to come
26 inside because it can make the ground something of a
27 problem, you are referring only to the time when they come
28 in for finishing?
29 A. Yes.
30
31 Q. It just so happens that the ground always becomes a problem
32 at about 40 kilograms?
33 A. No, because you have a situation there when the pig is
34 -- as he grows he becomes more heavy, he creates more
35 damage to the soil and you have the extra volume of pigs
36 and the extra weight of pigs in the area and it does cause
37 a problem.
38
39 Q. Is that because as they grow they become far more crowded
40 together so they are going to cause more -----
41 A. No, no.
42
43 Q. Also, as they become heavier they are going to cause more
44 damage to the ground?
45 A. At the end of the day one only has so much space,
46 right, available, and when you try to plan pig farming
47 outside, you have specific areas for it. You have weather
48 changes -- nature you cannot control -- and on a wet day or
49 a snowy day it can become intolerable for the pigs at
50 times. So, one has to work on the law of averages and thus
51 create the best conditions possible that you can in
52 producing.
53
54 Q. But if you kept less pigs then they could have more room
55 and they would not cause so much problems with the ground?
56 A. Well, one can always argue that, but there is also
57 another thing. One can argue you could actually try to buy
58 more land or try to hire more land but, unfortunately, that
59 is not on nowadays, not with the cut backs that are
60 occurring in agriculture.
