How are ecological pigs raised? Healthy farming is the key
Recently, this writer walked into the Hualin Pig Farm in Zhangshu City and felt that it was very different from the pig farms in my impression: improved-breed pigs root around in pens covered with rice husks and sawdust, all with glossy coats, and almost no pig manure can be seen in the entire pig house.
Where did the "filth" go? "This is largely thanks to this 'mattress' made of rice husks and sawdust." Farm manager Wu Guihua explained: "This is the currently most popular bio-fermentation bed farming technology. After the pigs' excrement is fully mixed with the fermentation bed, microbial bacteria ferment and transform the organic matter in the excrement, thereby achieving pollution-free, zero-emission operation."
"Last year the whole city sold 800,000 pigs outside, and 20 percent of them were raised on fermentation beds." Zou Shaolin, director of the city's Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Bureau, who accompanied the interview, added.
Promoting the healthy farming model to raise "ecological pigs" is Zhangshu City's transformative move in developing its pig industry. As a major national pig-producing county, the city has expanded its farming scale year by year, but the environmental pollution brought by pig farming has become increasingly serious. In Zhongtuan Village, Zhoushang Township, villager Liao Guocai recalled the village's original scene and could not stop shaking his head: "The pig farm was built inside the village, and pig manure and sewage were dumped either into the pond or beside the road." All year round the village stank to high heaven and sewage ran everywhere, and even when eating people had to hide in tents to avoid mosquitoes and flies.
Changing the pig farming method has become an urgent task. "On the one hand, we break the traditional scattered farming model and open up farming zones outside the villages to achieve 'separation of people and livestock.' On the other hand, we vigorously promote three-dimensional crop-livestock farming models such as 'pig-biogas-fruit,' 'pig-biogas-vegetable,' and 'pig-biogas-fish,' turning pig manure, pig urine and the like into treasure." Zou Shaolin said. At present, the city's pig farming zones have grown to 58, pigs raised in the zones account for more than 80 percent of the total, and all large pig farmers with more than 50 head have built biogas digesters.
In addition to strictly controlling the pollution brought by pig farming, Zhangshu City also runs the concept of standardization through the entire farming process. At Lühuan Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., the city's largest pig farming base, general manager Wang Dongxin pointed to the 3 account books hanging on the wall and said: "If you want to know what the difference is between healthy farming and traditional experience-based farming, the answer is right here." Opening the books, one is a record of pig replenishment, sale, death and culling, one is a record of feed procurement and use, and one is a record of pig epidemic prevention.
"Do not underestimate these 3 account books; there is a lot in them." Zou Shaolin explained: "We require every zone to implement unified management in five aspects, namely unified introduction of improved breeds, unified supply of feed, unified veterinary epidemic prevention, unified archive management, and unified technical services. The breeding pigs in the zones must come from regular large-scale breeding pig farms; every pig must have a 'household registration book' and be included in the zone's archive management; the zones uniformly use high-quality complete feed; we also send specialized technicians to serve as the technical backing for the farming zones, formulate standardized farming technical regulations for the zones, and farmers only need to operate according to the rules, thus controlling the occurrence and spread of livestock and poultry diseases from the source and ensuring the quality and safety of livestock and poultry products."