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Producer Yarn

Melanda Park Pasture Raised Pork is owned and run by Matt and Sue Simmons. Matt and Sue's property is 100 acres and is located in the Hawkesbury Valley, one hour west of Sydney. The farm has been in the family for almost 100 years. Sue's grandfather and great grandfather farmed citrus until the 80’s, before the market for Australian citrus fell through. Sue and Matt took over the farm in the early 90’s and pulled out the old citrus trees to grow organic vegetables and in 2008 free range pigs were introduced when help was needed to remove left over potatoes from the paddocks.

love of the land

Pigs n' mudAustralian Pork limited’s newsletter issue 2 | Autumn 2015

Welcome to Pigs n' mudWelcome to the Autumn edition of Pigs N' Mud, Australian Pork Limited’s (APL) newsletter for the free range and small producer.

This Autumn 2015 edition includes:• An article featuring Matt and Sue Simmons of

Melanda Park Pasture Raised Pork• An information piece by Jayce Morgan,

DevelopmentOfficer–Pigs,NSWDPI,titled,"Autumn and the Outdoor Pig"

• Some nutrition tips for autumn by Tony Edwards, National Food Solutions

• An exciting PorkFest event scheduled for April.

We encourage all producers to share their pig farming stories with us by contacting Pigs N' Mud.

In2015,thefirstfoureditionsofPigsN'Mudwillbe provided to APL members and non-members.

We hope you enjoy reading the Autumn edition and look forward to hearing your feedback.

For more information about Pigs N' Mud and APL Membership, call Maree Winmill on 02 6270 8832 or visit the APL website at www.australianpork.com.au/members.

Matt and Sue run 100 free range sows and rotate them through irrigated pastures and fodder crops. The farm boasts happy, healthy pigs that are pasture raised in small family groups. The sows have never seen a farrowing crate or sow stall, instead they are free to graze pasture, root soil and build nests for their young.

Do you encounter any issues in Autumn with the cooler weather coming in?"Autumn is a great time for pigs in our area, summer can be a little hot, so autumn is just nice. The main issue we face at this time is summer infertility brought about from hot days in December and January which means a lot of sows that should be farrowing in March havereturnedandnowwon'tfarrowuntilApril.Italsomeans that we have too many sows farrowing in April.As far as cool weather goes, it really does not get cold enough in our district to effect the pigs greatly, the summer heat being by far a greater problem."

So how do you manage these issues?"Summer infertility is hard to manage, some years its worsethanothers,Itrytoputasmanygiltstotheboar as possible over the summer period to make up for sows not being in pig but it’s a little hit and miss. The problem with summer infertility is that you don’t know if or when your sow might return. By the time she returns it’s too late to put extra gilts to the boar. By then you already have a hole in production. Cooler and wetter weather is managed simply by providing a little more hay for piglets and making sure sows all have a dry place to retire to."

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How did you get into pork production?"SueandItookoverthefarminthe90sandstartedgrowing organic vegetables, particularly potatoes. As spuds are a root vegetable they are very hard to remove 100 percent from the paddock without herbicide. Even after harvest there would be tonnes of spuds left over that either fell through the grader or were sorted out as they had some kind of imperfections. We simply could not get rid of all the potatoesandtheycontinuallygrewbackasweeds.Ihad an idea to run a few porkers through the paddock afterharvesttofindandeattheleftoverspuds.Thepigs did such a good job of removing the spuds that they quickly moved on to weeds and then soil grubs thatatethespuds.AfterafewyearsIworkedoutthatthere was a better market for pigs than potatoes so now we concentrate on pigs."

Do you have any staff?"We have a guy who works part time in feeding and watering, and he takes over when we go on holidays, otherwiseit'sonly,SueandIonthefarm."

Do you market pigs weekly?"We sell pigs every week to regular customers in Sydney, mostly restaurants and boutique butchers. Most of our pigs go out as suckling pigs at 12kg carcass weight anything up to 45 per week, with about a half dozen porkers going to butchers each week. We market about 50 pigs per week but only kill to order. Suppling the restaurants has been a challenge as they can never decide how many pigs they are going to needfromweektoweek,.Planningforwardisdifficultif one week a restaurant wants 12 pigs and then 20 the next. We have had to put on a small refrigerated truck to go on deliveries as the normal abattoir delivery trucks will not deliver to restaurants."

What do you feed your pigs?"All our pigs are fed a complete ration pellet from a local feed mill. We use four grower rations and a lactating sow diet. The lactating sow and two older grower diets are vegetarian, with only young piglets getting meat meal. Besides that our sows graze a lot on grass and grower pigs forage on planted crops like barley, oats or sorghum."

What's your favourite thing about producing pigs?"Ilovethesystematicapproachthatcomeswithpigfarming. We use a three weekly batch system and besides seasonal variations like summer infertility, the system works like clockwork. My favourite time of the day is late afternoon as the sun starts to set and the heat of the day begins to wash off, the pigs come to life and spread around the paddock grazing and the piglets play and bounce around."

For more information about Melanda Park, visit their website at www.melandapark.com.au. There's also a blog at www.porkytorky.com.

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Paddockfeed–Autumntendstobedrysothereislittle nourishment in the paddock for pigs. Pigs should befedagrainbasedration–pigpelletsormashisreadily purchased. Pellets are good for outdoors because you will waste less feed.

Rations based on by-products such as fruit and vegetable waste or non-meat bakery products are moredifficulttogetright.Thehighmoisturecontentandextrafibreoffruitandvegetablesdilutesthefeedvalue per kg of feed. Cold weather will increase the energy needs of the pig and they need more feed. Don’t forget the vitamin and mineral supplements.

Check and repair leaks and draughts in pig shelters –especiallythoseatpigletlevel.Coldstressinyoungpigs will impair immunity and slow down growth rates. Make sure water cannot pool inside the shelters. Face huts to the north and east away from the prevailing winds and reduce draughts.

Make sure there is plenty of straw or other bedding wherever the sows are giving birth or where young pigsarekept–babypigsrelyonthistokeepthemwarm between suckles, and newly weaned and very young pigs really need bedding to insulate them against thecolderweather.Ifyouareseeingpiggystacksyour pigs are cold. Making sure that younger pigs are comfortable and warm, even in the coldest of weather, will pay big dividends as far as welfare and growth rates are concerned.

Predatorcheck–foxbreedingseasonbeginssoonandfoxes whelp mid-winter. Planned fox control now can reduce predator losses at farrowing later in the year. Fencecheck–makesuretheboundaryfenceissecure to keep feral pigs out. They can introduce disease. Check the internal electric fences to maintain their effectiveness. Don’t upset the neighbours with wandering pigs.

Article written by Jayce Morgan,DevelopmentOfficerPigsNSWDPIEmail [email protected].

Autumn and the outdoor Pig

Why is feeding swill to pigs illegal?

Remember that it is illegal to feed meat, meat products or anything that has been in contact with meat to pigs. Restaurant waste or carcass material is considered swill and feeding this to pigs is also illegal. Meat is a valuable source of amino acids for pigs but the only allowed form of meat that can be fed to pigs is properly rendered meat meal. This is law for all states and territories in Australia and also applies to pet pigs.

Meat and other by-products can contain viruses that are not found in Australian livestock. Diseases like Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Classical and African Swine Fever and Transmissible Gastroenteritis can be carried and transmitted by feeding swill to pigs.

An outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease would be disastrous and would result in the slaughter of many species of livestock and the immediate closure of markets. Feeding swill to pigs is believed to have caused the outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth disease in the UK in 2001.

swill Feeding – it's illegal

More information about swill feeding is available from the Australian Pork Limited website at http://bit.ly/18Z95Se.

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nutrition tips for Autumnthe basic energy: Protein relationships don't vary greatly between seasons, however appetite can. The evolutionary instinct of the pig is to respond to shortening day length as a signal that winter is approaching. This tends to shift the balance of metabolic hormones in pigs, promoting intake and an increase in fat deposition (energy reserves) for winter. This tendency has been reduced by selection over the years but can still be observed.

Consequently the autumn period is often associated with a rise in backfat levels and may require some dietary adjustments to prevent this. For example, a reduction in energy density of the diets and the use of repartitioning agents that favour muscle growth at the expense of fat, such as organic chromium, pantothenic acid, betaine etc.

Weaner pigs are vulnerable to chilling so greater attention to environmental control is advised at this time. This involves temperature control, avoiding draughts but maintaining adequate ventilation, keeping pigs dry etc. Providing straw for weaners is a very effective way of allowing them to regulate their own microclimate.

The basic tenets of providing quality diets of an appropriatespecificationforthepigsateachstageofproduction, in an unrestricted manner and with ready access to clean water are relevant to all seasons.

However, it is particularly so in Autumn as pigs appetites lift and their potential for growth is probably at a maximum at this time. Don't let this opportunity go unrealised.

With regard to breeding sows feeding rates may need to be adjusted as the weather cools but this need to be offset against the observation that recently created group housed systems have resulted in sows getting a little fatter (maybe due to a lower maintenance requirement). Maintaining sow condition close to optimal is important for maximum productivity especially in lactation.

Article written by Tony Edwards,Nutritionist, National Feed SolutionsEmail [email protected].

We'd love to hear from youTo go in the running to feature as a piggery in the next edition of Pigs N' Mud, or to simply get in touch with us, contact Maree Winmill, APL Events and Membership Officeron0262708832oremail [email protected].

PorkFest is underway, celebrating great Australian pork and encouraging people to try new recipes.

The Australian Festival of Pork, known as PorkFest, kicked off on 22 March and runs through to 25 April, coinciding with a strong demand for pork and a change in temperature that has people looking for warming meals.

Award-winning chef and PorkStar, Colin Fassnidge, is the PorkFest ambassador and is sharing his love of pork. While he’s known for his nose-to-tail dining, he’s sharing four recipes for people to cook at home, using the pork loin roast with crackling, shoulder, loin chop and mince.

Butchers and retailers are on board for PorkFest to help people get their hands on high quality pork at a great price. Pubs and restaurants have also joined the celebrations, serving up delicious pork dishes.

Join in PorkFest by checking out Colin’s recipes and plenty more at www.pork.com.au!

Getting more Pork on Aussie Forks

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