Thursday, January 29, 2015

Cargill has phased out sow gestation stalls

Cargill says it has completed conversion of its barns from stalls to loose housing for gestating sows.

It’s a year ahead of the schedule was for completion by the end of this year.

“We are pleased to achieve 100 percent group housing at Cargill Pork farms nearly one year ahead of schedule,” said Mike Luker, president of Cargill Meat Solutions Corp.’s pork business.

“This is a significant investment in the future of our pork business.”

The barn conversions puts Cargill in a strong position to market pork to restaurant and supermarket chains and foodservices companies who have announced deadlines after which they will no longer buy pork that comes from farms that use gestation stalls.

Do you think that high profits in hog farming and outbreaks of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus in farrowing operations might have had something to do with beating the company's deadline by 11 months?