Organic farming strives for high animal welfare standards, meaning that animals should have the opportunity to express their natural behaviors and that interventions in their integrity should be avoided as much as possible. Like all other organically raised farm animals, organic pigs have daily access to an outdoor run and roughage, which provides variety and enrichment. Procedures such as tail docking and teeth grinding are prohibited in organic pig farming; only castration under general anesthesia is permitted to prevent unpleasant boar taint in the meat.
Partly due to the public debate of recent years, conventional pig farming is seeing a trend towards housing systems that offer improved animal welfare . In areas such as keeping pigs with intact tails, farrowing systems without sow restraint, and preventing post-weaning diarrhea, decades of experience in organic pig farming can provide valuable impetus for the further development of conventional pig farming.
Research for organic pig farming remains crucial! Known challenges such as piglet mortality, health management , and competition for food with humans demand creative solutions. Added to this are new topics such as the impact of climate change on pigsties, sustainable building concepts, and the potential of alternative pig breeds.
The Organic Pig Management department at HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein is staying on top of things and contributing to the organic pig farming of tomorrow! Just listen or watch:
In this podcast episode, Dr. Andreas Steinwidder talks with our expert for organic pig farming, Dr. Lisa Baldinger, from our branch office in Wels, about the topic of "Organic pig farming in Austria":
Further information
- What is organic? - https://www.bio-austria.at/bio-konsument/was-ist-bio/
- Pork food: https://www.landschafftleben.at/lebensmittel/schwein
