SPRING SUMMER BONUS MAGAZINE 2026

Free-range pig farming – a practical how-to guide Danielle van der Merwe - Technical Advisor: Monogastric Pig farming is an integral part of the South African agricultural sector, playing an important role in food security. Traditionally, the formal market has focused on intensive production systems. Free-range pigs requiremore feed and often longer growing periods to reach an acceptable slaughter weight. This is due to higher energy expenditure on roaming and exposure to the elements, compared to intensive systems. Intensive farmingmaximises the economy of scale with higher stocking densities and quicker turnaround times. Free-range farming will not replace intensive systems any time soon, but there has been a shift in consumer awareness around animal welfare and wellbeing. More consumers, especially in affluent areas, want produce from “happy” animals. The free- range pigmarket is a niche, but expandingmarket. There aremany things to consider when setting up a free-range pig operation. Breed choice Firstly, when starting a free-range pig farm, you will have to choose from a variety of breeds. Breed choice should be led by characteristics such as disease tolerance, heat resistance, and good mothering abilities. Free-range pigs must be able to walk and forage, tolerate exposure to the elements, maintain body condition on variable diets, and reach market weight in a reasonable time. These traits are seen in indigenous and free-range adapted breeds. While these breeds tend to be slow growing, with lower carcass yields, they are hardy and well-suited for a free-range operation. Crosses between commercial and indigenous breeds can strike a balance between hardy genetics and improved growth rates. On the commercial side, the Landrace has been noted to have excellent mothering abilities, large litter sizes, high lean meat yield, and good feed efficiencies. PIC genetics are focused on high performance, uniformity and good feed conversion ratios and are popular in commercial systems. Figure 1: Example of the Landrace (left) and PIC (right) Spring/Summer 2026 BONUS www.agribonus.co.za 78