Group housing is group housing, right?

Loose sow housing is loose sow housing, right?

Wrong.

We've seen it so many times. Other companies are promoting their equipment that only work with their own version of "loose" sow housing. The only problem is that a majority of current design offerings keep sows in stalls for just under half of their gestation.

But it’s not just our opinions on which options are best for sows, the facts speak for themselves.

It should go without saying, but the idea and ethos behind group housing is to get sows out of stalls.

The industry's move toward greater transparency in our animal husbandry practices has coincided with increasing public concern over meat sources. This pressure, combined with an industry adopted Code of Practice (since 2014) in Canada, and various legislative initiatives in some states is leading more and more producers to move to group housing over stalls.

When it comes time to build a new barn including an ESF system, the process can seem overwhelming. If a new barn is in your future, or even if you hope that it is in your future—it is worth checking out this infographic and article explaining what you can expect from the process.  

Olymel L.P. is Canada's leader in the production, processing and distribution of pork and poultry meats and is Canada’s largest hog producer. The company has made feeding the world its mission, which it pursues passionately with products of impeccable quality. The company employs over 12,000 people and has production and processing facilities in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. Olymel exports nearly a third of its total sales. Its annual sales are on the order of $3.5 billion.

When it comes to building a new sow barn, there are a lot of considerations that factor into the final design. One of the things we've learned as we've designed barns for our customers is that everyone has a wish list. We've also learned that while many customers know they want a less stressful setup, they may not necessarily know that barn technology can help with that goal. With that in mind, here is an infographic with five technologies that should not just be on your "wish" list, but your "must-have" list. 

This will probably seem like a no-brainer, but one of the biggest factors determining success on a hog farm is making sure the sows that are supposed to be pregnant are actually pregnant. In traditional gestation stalls workers are tasked with performing ultrasound on each bred sow, a job that can be dangerous both for workers and pigs. Time consumption is a big factor with this method.

Even after switching to group housing, some farms still struggle to find a good system for identifying sows in heat. Watching for visual signs of estrus is a skill that takes time to develop and require close staff monitoring. Thankfully with New Standard and Nedap Livestock Management, the task of identifying and dealing with open sows gets a whole lot easier. 

There are plenty of schools of thought on barn design; some design for the health and happiness of the sow, some design for the most functionality in a small space, some design for the convenience of the owner or producer. But only a sow could design her space exactly how she wants it. Here are four things we believe a sow would include in the blueprints of the barn if she was the one in charge!  

At New Standard, we strongly believe that forward exiting electronic feeders facilitate the best barn layout for sows. In addition to being supported by research, forward exiting just plain works. Forward exiting is vital to ESF success for several reasons.

We love to celebrate the success of our customers! Thomas Livestock, based out of Broken Bow, Nebraska, was recently featured by the National Hog Farmer. We've been honored to partner with Thomas Livestock in their conversion to group sow housing. 

The major question that arises in the group housing planning process relates to pen design and sow grouping strategy. Should I design around static or dynamic sow pens? And should I house the sows in large or small groups?

The research is in and it shows you should go with...well either really. In practice and in research facilities, both static and dynamic pens will produce at a high level with skilled management. According to a review of research by the Prairie Swine Centre, there are no significant differences in birth rate, still births, lameness, or any other major production measurements among sows in static groups and dynamic groups. 

While either pen strategy could work for you, it is important to know the advantages and disadvantages of both.