A Comprehensive Analysis of Common Problems in Small and Medium-Sized Pig Farms
Small and medium-sized pig farms are the mainstream type of pig farm in China's rural areas, and they have become widespread because they are simple to build. However, with social progress, some of the problems these pig farms have need to be taken seriously, otherwise they may well suffer setbacks because of them in the future. Below, let's take a rough look at a few points!
1. Unreasonable sewage discharge
Small and medium-sized pig farms have always been very casual when it comes to site selection. Many farmers convert their own old houses for the purpose, creating serious environmental pollution. Especially in recent years, conflicts between pig farmers' sewage discharge and villagers have become increasingly intense. The state is now paying more and more attention to environmental protection, especially in recent years, so the random distribution of small and medium-sized pig farm locations has already become a hidden danger, and everyone still needs to take this seriously.
2. Incomplete pig farm equipment
Pig farming has now gradually formed a breeding system, with a relatively complete process from piglets to finished pigs. Many large pig farms are following standards to improve their own farms and ensure high pork yields. Small and medium-sized pig farms, however, are inherently relatively crude, and many farmers are still unwilling to invest in improving equipment, which causes their competitiveness to decline day by day. Add to that the smaller number of animals raised, and if they still do not keep up with the pace of equipment improvement, the later impact will become increasingly serious, and the gap between them will grow larger and larger.
3. Low resistance to market risk
Fluctuations in the pork market are very normal. For example, as soon as the African swine fever incident came out this year, pork prices had a big fluctuation. For small and medium-sized pig farmers, this is a serious blow, because due to the smaller numbers, small and medium-sized pig farms are often passively suppressed by distributors and cannot discuss prices on equal terms. Once the market fluctuates, price suppression becomes very common. Farmers need to continue capital flow to start the next round of breeding plans, while for distributors, if you do not go along with their price, they just switch to another farm; after all, the quantity is not large and it is easy to replenish fully. Therefore, it is generally recommended that small and medium-sized pig farms form regional alliances to stand up to distributors and improve their ability to withstand market risk.
4. Unqualified pig pen hygiene
Hygiene has always been a major issue in pig farming, and farmers have often suffered a series of losses because of hygiene problems. But now, with technological progress, slightly larger pig farms pay close attention to this issue because their overall costs are lower. However, this will always trouble small and medium-sized pig farms. When hygiene is poor, the pork produced is not of very good quality, and it is not easy to fatten the pigs. It is recommended that farmers still need to generally keep the pig farm tidy, and at the very least not let pigs retain feces on their bodies for long periods.
Scientific pig farming is the development trend of the later period. Small and medium-sized pig farms do not necessarily have to build their farms entirely according to standards, as that costs too much and is not worthwhile. But everyone can move closer to this direction as much as possible, improve their own farming standards, and avoid being eliminated.