Free-range pigs: animal welfare meets market success

The sows at Greens­gaard, near Give, have masses of space – each having the equiv­a­lent of a medium-sized Danish detached house. The 1,050 sows are raised by Peter Bruun and Lene Conradsen, who supply their entire annual produc­tion of 29,000 pigs to the retail chain Rema 1000 under the brand ‘Frilands­grise fra Peter og Lene’ (Free-range pigs from Peter and Lene).

When they began their collab­o­ra­tion with the retail chain in 2018, the agree­ment was based on the delivery of 330 pigs per week. Although they were producing 360, the store chain was hesi­tant to purchase that quan­tity. However, the free-range meat was popular with customers and over the past seven years the couple has nearly doubled the number of sows. In 2022, Rema 1000 brought in a new producer to meet growing demand.

For now, it’s Peter and Lene who have capped the deliv­eries to the store. Greens­gaard Farm is of a size that suits them, balancing economy, animal welfare, working prac­tices, employees, animals, and land. So further growth is not imme­di­ately on the agenda.

Three-pronged collab­o­ra­tion

The large kitchen area at Greens­gaard is cleared of employees following the morning’s combined coffee break, discus­sion of the day’s work, and addressing various ques­tions and issues. There is home­made cake on the table – some­thing that occurs frequently. On the wall hangs a large board listing each of the approx­i­mately 20 employees’ names and tasks, so everyone knows where each person is and when. If anyone is unsure, both Lene and Peter are ready to provide clar­i­fi­ca­tion before the indi­vidual leaves for their tasks.

From the start, ‘Free-range pigs from Peter and Lene’ has been based on a three-pronged part­ner­ship includ­ingslaughter company Tama­coand Rema 1000, which has committed to purchasing the entire pig, ensuring the meat remains within a Danish cycle. Each partner has a distinct role. Or, as Peter expresses it: “Our knowl­edge of pigs ends when the pig walks up the loading ramp.”

Simi­larly, the divi­sion of labour between the owners of Greens­gaard is clear. Lene manages the outdoor life and long-term plan­ning for the sows and piglets, while Peter is respon­sible for their indoor life, taking over when the piglets are five weeks old and moved to a spacious straw barn and asso­ci­ated outdoor area, to be fattened. “He is also respon­sible for the farm’s main­te­nance and pays the bills,” Lene adds with a laugh.

Employee loyalty through appre­ci­a­tion and trust

Insem­i­nating 1,050 sows, castrating 15,000 young male pigs, fattening 29,000 finishers, and providing feed, water, and bedding for the entire herd – a signif­i­cant portion of which roam freely on 90ha – requires many skilled hands and minds. And this in a profes­sion that frequently has labour issues.

“We don’t recruit many employees because we keep them,” Lene states with confi­dence before elab­o­rating: “We put a great deal of effort into the job inter­view process. We want to ensure they under­stand that everyone should thrive here, that we main­tain a proper tone, co-operate together, and respect each other.”

The demands of the job do not intim­i­date the staff, many of whom are Danish; several have years of expe­ri­ence at Greens­gaard. Some have even been here for 10 or 20 years, adds Peter, who empha­sises that work should be enjoy­able and even fun. Part of employee care includes group gymnas­tics every Wednesday, during work hours, with pay.

Precise processes for healthy animals

Industry is often asso­ci­ated with assembly lines, where employees repeat the same three func­tions while the product rolls by. But nothing could be further from working at Greens­gaard – although with so many animals, each with different needs at different times, assembly line logis­tics are a benefit. But here, it’s the staff that make up the moving part, not the pigs.

Take castra­tion, for example: During the first five to seven days of life, the piglets remain in the sow hut, where the proce­dure takes place. The sow is lured out of the hut with feed. The employee checks the sex of the piglet, admin­is­ters anaes­thesia, performs castra­tion, gives a pain relief injec­tion, and returns the piglet to the herd. It’s a short proce­dure, but one that extends over three days a week.

During insem­i­na­tion, the approach is reversed. In the past, sows were insem­i­nated in the field, but sun, wind, and weather can cause the heat cycle to fluc­tuate slightly from sow to sow, so not all were in heat when it was time to insem­i­nate. Not even the scent of a fragrant boar could synchro­nise them. “So now, instead, we take the sows in ques­tion to the barn for four to six days, during which they come into heat, are insem­i­nated, and then released back into the field,” explains Peter.

Pig life under the open sky

Except for insem­i­na­tion, the sows spend their entire lives outdoors. Farrowing occurs in pig huts throughout the year, and regard­less of the weather, the piglets remain with the sow until weaning. “The pigs thrive in the winter weather,” says Lene. “Except that we often run around with head­lamp torches,” she adds with a smile. “Summer requires much more work. We need much more water, because we have to create mud pits for the pigs to bathe in. The mud protects the pigs from sunburn so it has to be just right.

One of the tasks asso­ci­ated with free-range produc­tion is the instal­la­tion and main­te­nance of fences. At Greens­gaard, the field is surrounded by seven kilo­me­tres of fencing, designed to prevent foxes from jumping over or digging in to reach the piglets. However, gulls, ravens, and rooks still pose a threat. “We try to keep them away using various deter­rents, but we are only allowed to shoot a very small number, so the popu­la­tion is increasing,” states Peter.

Since the start in 2003, the couple have sworn by free-range pigs. Peter, a trained farmer, was inspired by methods observed in England and brought them with him when he estab­lished his farm after several years working as an educator and with the Danish Church Aid. Lene, who had orig­i­nally aspired to become a veteri­narian, agreed, drawn to the way free-range life mirrors the pigs’ natural behav­iour. “I feel happy every day when I walk among the animals, seeing that they are well and content,” she says.

Animal welfare without an organic label

It might seem natural for the couple to take the next step and operate Greens­gaard as an organic free-range farm. But while they have consid­ered they idea, they have rejected it. They openly admit that they are not ecol­o­gists at heart. What they are, however, is free-range enthu­si­asts, where the welfare and well-being of the animals is para­mount. They appre­ciate the way animals are kept and commend sensible farming, where not a gram of fertiliser or pesti­cides is used more than neces­sary. When it comes to envi­ron­mental impact and piglet mortality, which are common objec­tions to free-range farming, Greens­gaard performs just as well or even better than both conven­tional and organic farms.

Each year, the sows are moved to new pastures, and the old field is drilled with crops that absorb the nutri­ents from the pigs’ manure. Straw and feed residues from pastures are sent along with manure and bedding to a biogas facility. In 2022, piglet mortality (including still­births and deaths in the farrowing house) was 23% in conven­tional farms and 30% in organic farms. At Greens­gaard, it was only 18%. However, the low number has a harsh back­ground: Over the years, the pigs had contracted several diseases and even­tu­ally also the lung disease APP2.  After imple­menting various measures, the couple decided to cull the entire herd in 2022/23. It was an expen­sive story that cost them 4m kroner (£460,600).

“On that occa­sion, we switched to sows from Topigs Norsvin,” says Peter. “They have two addi­tional teats and produce an average of four fewer piglets per litter. The advan­tage is that this means that the piglets are larger and more robust. We avoid the stress with nursing sows and have a low mortality rate among piglets. Luckily, the bank said yes.”