Piggery buildings in France : current situation

A postal survey on farm buildings was conducted among 3000 farmers, and was extended by 100 field surveys. The results obtained from 1120 responses gave an overall picture of pig farms in 2006. The breeding-fattening system predominated, with 90% of the sows and 86% of fattening pigs. Half the livestock was found on specialised farms. In our sample, weaning was at 28 days with husbandry in 7 groups for 70% of the sows. Weaning at 21 days and other management systems were present on the larger farms. The buildings were on average more than 15 years old, but were renovated.This modernisation concerned inside layout, feed dispensing and ventilation. Thus currently most of the buildings have full slatted flooring with dynamic ventilation (from 75% for sows to more than 90% for piglets and pigs) and with automatic feeding except for the birthing station (59 % manual). Buildings on pig farms are currently fairly old, though well maintained. Keeping up a competitive production tool will require large investment in the coming years, and not only to meet standards for gestating sows.