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The plight of a free-range pig farmer

Words by James M

03 August 2024 | 

2 mins

Simon, one of our pig farmers

I’m James, co-founder of Field & Flower. Recently we decided we had become too "salesy", so we’ve decided to do something a little different, and a lot more "us". We're refocusing on our two great loves and the reason we do what we do - food and farming. The issues we face in our food system are more pressing than ever, and we’d like to share more from the front line of our work with our brilliant farmers around the UK and the delicious food they bring to our tables.

Simon's pigs

We know food and farming matter to you too. Two years ago, we ran a campaign to support one of our free-range pig farmers, Simon. Simon’s cost of production had soared and you helped us provide funding for his new free range pig arks.

The generosity of your donations was extremely well received, and the pig arks were repaired and are being used today. The problem we have is that free range pig farming hasn’t got any easier. Farming can be brutal. The cost of production is still high, feed still accounts for 65% of the cost of rearing a free-range pig, and the wet weather on the South coast where Simon farms has been unforgiving. The economics of livestock farming depend on the growth of the animal against the feed input cost. With inclement weather, the growth rate slows and even more so in a free-range system, directly impacting profitability. When I spoke to Simon this week, he said the outlook for free-range farming on a small scale is still very difficult because of the variables he deals with each day.

Simon's pigs

Simon's a great farmer and a lovely man. When founding Field & Flower it was always an ambition of mine to be able to support a wider group of farmers. Without the orders you place each week, free-range farmers like Simon wouldn’t be in business. Whenever I visit Simon on the Devonshire coast, he remarks on the salt that carries in the misty sea breeze (that same salt that had been rusting said pig arks) and how good these conditions are for free-range pigs to be able to live in as they can exhibit natural behaviour. It really is a remarkable and wild way of farming that we have nearly completely lost through the intensification of the pork industry.