The main differences between the GB pig industry and all other EU industries (with the exception of Sweden) is our high welfare standards, i.e no sow stalls and no castration of pigs within the GB assurance schemes which account for 92% of pig meat production.

The higher welfare standards that we proudly use in our pig husbandry do have some impact on physical production and therefore our cost of production is c. 6-8% higher than if we used production systems operated in other EU countries. The main impacts are lower conception rates and litter size and few pig born and sold per sow per year.

Additionally we are the only country in the UK to keep sows (breeding females) outdoors. Currently 41% of our breeding herd is kept outdoors. Whilst performance of these outdoor herds is very similar to indoor herds there is a slight reduction in performance due to the sows having to adapt to higher fluctuations in temperature during the year and predation of piglets by wild animals.