Pig breeding in France: no single model but an array of systems

The study population included all 20,000 farms with at least 5 sows or 20 pigs. The breakdown into 4 classes gives a simple and didactic overview of pig farming operations - whether swine production is or is not combined with field crops and cattle farms - assigned to categories reflecting the economic size of the holding: type 4.1 = grain-producing businesses possessing pig barns; type 4.2 = specialist pig farms; type 4.3 = small operations possessing pigs;and type 4.4 = mixed cattle and pig livestock production. Each category can be divided in two, providing a more detailed breakdown into 8 classes. Specialist pig farms are rarely the leading structure, even in Brittany (50% specialist pig farms, 50% mixed dairy cattle/pig livestock). This region nevertheless accounts for 75% of all specialist pig farms, which are mainly large structures where the pig barn is a farrow-to-finish operation, generating greater added value than separate farrow or finishing operations but requiring a higher level of expertise.