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South Central Iowa | I agree that it would never come about voluntarily. It is definitely less economical, that's why the market transitioned. And the pictures are definitely an "idealized" version of the truth. It even kind of afflicts me; there is a romanticized notion of all the animals and the diversity of practices filling the farms and fields with activity and vibrancy over corn, bean, corn, bean, corn, bean, windmill, hogbarn, corn, bean. But I wouldn't do it unless I was handsomely rewarded for it. I don't even like our feeder cattle that much and they are far easier than hogs would be, or god forbid, chickens, lol. It's a less efficient system than what we have now for certain, and the market would not return to it, only government force would cause it en masse.
If they were outdoors, how many sows could a single person care for? 500? 1,000? I know with our cow-calf, 400 is about a full-time, one-man job with the rest of us helping when we work them and the calves. What kind of death loss and litter sizes did you see as opposed to the confinement if you recall? | |
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Abstract: What if there were no Hog Confinements?
