The life of a free-range pig farmer

Situated on the rugged coastal cliffs of Devon, with a constant sea breeze to keep the pigs cool, things are little different on Simon Price’s free-range pig farm. When you compare to the intensive indoor rearing systems that give the entire industry a bad name, and those that might become a dismal reality in the wake of new trade deals, it becomes more important than ever to educate on farming standards, and to promote the British farmers who show us how it’s done.

For Simon, 40 years’ experience enables us to say with certainty that our truly free-range pigs are cared for with world class welfare standards. The pigs arrive onto Simon’s farm from just 1km away, where the naturally healthy stock is bred to ensure they are well adapted to living outdoors and do not require routine medication. Each pig has 40 square metres of space to root around the soil, with access to huts filled with barley (and opening back doors for ventilation) in the event of a turn in the infamous West Country weather.

It’s not always easy or straightforward to care for pigs in this way, but the benefits to welfare are vast. Being outdoors enables our pigs to perform instinctive behaviours, reducing stress to the animals, increasing welfare, and in turn, improving the quality of the meat. Take mud wallowing for example, a social behaviour that pigs will naturally perform in groups, actively rooting or lying passively, sometimes for as long as 3 hours. Pigs will also root around the soil (a muddy business) to forage for bugs and grubs, snuffling for just about anything they can get their snouts on. Rearing indoors, on the other hand, permits neither.

It is strange to imagine that pigs can be reared in any other way, particularly when natural behaviours are so integral to animal welfare. But the reality is that our farmers are being forced to cope with ever-increasing demands and a consumer preference for cheap meat, encouraging (or in some cases, necessitating) intensive and indoor rearing that is quicker and less costly to produce.

Regardless of this, we will continue to support British farmers who prioritise welfare and sustainability above profit and cost. When we lower the minimum welfare standards, as we might well do if MPs continue to reject amendments to the Agricultural Bill, we are potentially introducing the routine use of growth hormones, additives banned in the UK and lack of rules on traceability. This, in contrast to the efforts of Simon Price, is what could be sold on our supermarket shelves.

Though it can seem disheartening, there are positives to be taken here. If we can’t protect our farmers through legislation, we can protect them by consciously choosing who (and what) we promote. Free-range farmers like Simon Price give us the opportunity to actively support high-welfare and sustainable farming, endorsing standards that far exceed many around the globe. By backing our British farmers, we can make this harmonious way of farming a reality for generations to come.