articles about gestation in Press releases

New farrowing stalls by Osborne address the two major economic concerns in farrowing: pre-wean mortality and sow appetite.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. announced today that at the end of 2012 it had successfully transitioned 38% of pregnant sows on its company-owned farms in the United States from individual gestation stalls to group housing systems.

ConAgra is asking their pork suppliers to present actionable plans by 2017 that address both the elimination of gestation stalls and creation of traceability systems within the pork supply chain.

Though Hillshire Brands does not raise pigs, the company’s plan is to source all pork from suppliers who use housing that provides the animals the opportunity for adequate movement and comfort, while also ensuring their safety.

Atlantic Premium Brands Ltd. announced, with the support of The Humane Society of the United States, plans to eliminate controversial pig “gestation crates” from its supply chain.

A surge of fast-food giants, pork producers, and grocers move to phase out gestation crates for pigs.

The goal of McDonald's ten-year plan, is to source all pork for its U.S. business from producers that do not house pregnant sows in gestation stalls by the end of 2022.

From 1 January 2013 all sow farmers in the EU will have to house pregnant sows in a group. In order to give a clear and complete picture of the options relating to group housing using pig feeding stations, the information campaign ’Welcome to 2013’ will be launched in September.

SonoCheck is a newly-developed device for automatic pregnancy checking of sows in group housing

As of 2013, the European Union has made new requirements for gestated sows. The ordinary static crate will be phased out by law but there are other solutions. A high level of efficiency, an improved working environment and more animal welfare is the outcome of the popular and flexible gestation crate, JB5000 from Jyden Bur – a Danish company with an international perspective.

Vital research to reduce seasonal infertility, an ongoing problem for Australia’s pig industry, has been rewarded with a 2009 Science and Innovation Award for Michael Bertoldo, a Pork CRC supported PhD student at The University of Sydney.

With good returns on finished pigs, attractive cull sow prices and a contracting EU pig herd, many producers are building up their breeding herds again, some of which have been run at below optimum capacity for a long time.

Last year many herds suffered from reduced fertility in both summer and autumn. On many units this is a predictable effect says Paul Thompson, veterinary consultant to pig- breeding company, ACMC Ltd.