A New Angle for the Swine Industry?

February 4, 2000

Greensboro, NC: A grant will help researchers at North Carolina A&T State University study alternative methods for small-scale producers to raise and sell hogs in environmentally sound management systems.

Under the project, entitled "Integrated Crop and Sylvan Systems with Swine: A State and National Initiative," collaborators will examine the market potential and environmental impact of raising hogs on natural bedding. The project is funded by a grant from Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, a United States Department of Agriculture-funded initiative that sponsors competitive grants for sustainable agriculture research and education.

According to Dr. Charles Talbott, the project's principal investigator, the project will help small-scale producers profit while raising their swine in an environmentally-friendly way.

"Small-scale hog producers face a tremendous amount of competition from large swine production facilities," said Talbott. "With pork prices as low as they currently are, small-scale producers can't effectively compete in the same market as the larger producers. With this project, we hope to help farmers find a new market and higher profit margins by raising swine in way that may enhance the flavor of pork while minimizing the environmental impact of raising hogs."

To do this, Talbott and a team of researchers will experiment with raising hogs on plots where they use mulch, such as leaves and hay, as a bedding. The mulch will then be examined for its potential use in developing organic soils for garden plots.

"Hogs constantly turn and trample the ground beneath them," said Talbott. "We hope to use the manure and mulch combination as a compost for organic vegetables. The bedding also could serve to reduce hog waste runoff and parasites."

Talbott also believes that swine raised this way may have greater profit potential than swine raised in conventional grow-out facilities, due to the unique flavor of the pork produced.

The research will involve small-scale swine producers in North Carolina who will annually rotate the lots used by their animals, and harvest a crop or forage before returning pigs to the same lots.

Collaborators on the project include: Greg and Lei Gunthorp, hog producers and small farm advocates, The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA), as well as other local farmers and researchers from NC A&T State University.

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For more information, please contact Dr. Charles Talbott, NC A&T Department of Animal Science, (336) 334-7786.