The growth point in the European swine production features new sow herds of 800 and more. But there’s still plenty of room for the smaller family farm, as this example from Germany shows
by NORMAN DUNN
The 200-sow, farrow-to-finish unit run by the Hüppes near Hörstel in German Westphalia really deserves the name “family farm.”
All the sow work – AI, farrowing, weaning, feeding and high-pressure washing – is carried out by farmer Franz-Joseph Hüppe on his own. And, after weaning and growing-on to 20-25 kilograms, most of the Hüppe pigs are driven straight across the farmyard into the 1,500-place feeding barn run by daughter Sabine. She works alone, too, with the planned output of 120-kilogram pigs topping 5,000 per year.