For Your Information

1. For Your Information Hogs are raised to produce pork products such as pork chops, ham, pork tenderloins, and pork sausage. There are about 65 million hogs in the U.S. About 6 million of these are sows, which are female hogs used for breeding. Females will give birth to around 9 pigs per litter, and on average, will have about 2.2 litters each year. A sow will live about 4-5 years and her offspring will be harvested at about 9 months of age. There are many different ways one can raise sows and their offspring, each with different consequences for animal well-being. This presentation will familiarize you with these alternatives.

2. Today’s Activity • You will answer a series of survey questions. • Through these answers, you may purchase one of the five pork products at the front of the room. • If a purchase is made, you may pay with cash, check, or any credit/debit card. • Please answer all questions reflecting your true preferences, and how you would make purchasing decisions on a typical grocery store trip.

3. To help you answer the survey questions, we will briefly describe the pork production process and how the five pork products differ.

4. For Your Information Gestation Crate Barn Space Per Gestating Sow (sows) A gestating sow is a pregnant sow. Sows can be housed in gestation crates, in group pens, or in pastures. If there is little space per sow, they must be kept in gestation crates to protect them from injuring one another. When kept in groups, the greater the space, the less the aggression between sows. Group Pen Pasture w/ Shelter

5. For Your Information Barn Space Per Nursing Sow (sows) Some systems confine the nursing sow to a crate just a little larger than the sow herself. Other systems provide the mother room to turn around and walk, and others allow even more room and the ability to temporarily leave the nest for pasture. More space provides more comfort and reduces aggression between pigs.

6. For Your Information Barn Space Per Growing Pig (offspring) The sows’ offspring are referred to as a growing pigs. Growing pigs are weaned at about 15 pounds and are harvested at about 250 pounds. Greater space provides greater comfort and reduces aggression between pigs.

7. For Your Information Baby Survival Rate (offspring) The particular facilities used for nursing sows can impact the survival rate of baby pigs. Some facilities are better at protecting babies from being crushed by their mother and prevent the mother from neglecting her offspring.

8. For Your Information Nesting Provisions (sows) Sows prefer to give birth and nurse in privacy, and like to use straw and similar materials for making a nest.

9. For Your Information Optional Surgeries: tail docking, teeth clipping, and ear notching Tail docking is used to prevent other pigs from biting each others’ tails, and teeth clipping is performed so that when animals bite each other the pain inflicted is reduced. Ear notching is used for animal identification. All are performed without anesthetic. All these minor surgeries can be avoided by providing an appropriate environment. The pain from such surgeries can be minimized if performed before 7 days of age.

10. For Your Information Provision of Dry Straw in Barn Providing material such as straw benefits hogs in three ways. First, hogs like to root (dig with their noses in straw). Second, if enough straw is provided (12 inches), hogs like to use the straw for comfortable bedding and heat regulation. Third, bedding reduces boredom, and consequently, aggression between hogs.

11. For Your Information Free-Range: Access to Outdoors Hogs will go outdoors to exercise and explore in good weather. Access to outdoors is made more attractive to the hogs by providing shelter and pasture for grazing and rooting in the soil. Free-range access also reduces aggression between hogs.

12. For Your Information Group Sizes (sows) Sows can become aggressive and injure one another if they are kept in large groups where they are unable to establish a pecking order quickly. When sows are kept in groups of six or larger and in small spaces, significant injury can occur, and the larger the group size, the greater the injury rate.

13. For Your Information Type of Feed Hogs eat a high-protein feed consisting mostly of grain (e.g. corn and soybean meal). The grain can be organic or non-organic. Grain can be supplemented with antibiotics and/or growth hormones.