Pig farming 'under the glare of watching eyes'

Friday, December 5, 2014

Indiana's Fair Oaks Farms is taking transparency to a new level by opening the doors to paying visitors and allowing them to view every aspect of their commercial breeding and weaning facility.

A video report on the Pig Progress website describes the Pig Adventure, where visitors can wander through the Birthing, Gestation & Weaning and Growing sections and view gilts in a nursery, see 2,400 gestating sows being fed by electronic feeders, and even watch piglets being born (from behind protective glass).

According to the Pig Progress video, "considerable time and money has been invested in making sure the user experience is both entertaining and educational." Sara Hoek, assistant farm manager, said the Pig Adventure brings in 1,000 to 1,200 people a day in their busiest months of May to August.

All this might make you forget there's actual pig farming going on. But in fact, since opening in June of 2013, Fair Oaks farrows 100 to 125 sows per week, with an average of 14 pigs per litter. Pig Progress says Fair Oaks aims for "maximum transparency about the U.S. pig industry, and carries out all practices under the glare of watching eyes from the giant windows." BP