Lessons from Brazil on breeding pigs

Piglets suckle as their mother feeds on the mash. NMG photo.

Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, is one of the most populous cities in the country, with a population of about five million people.

Being a vibrant city and the seat of government, the area is home to tens of high-rise buildings and hosts the headquarters of several multinationals and local companies.

Away from the skyscrapers, however, are large crop and animal farms that feed the millions in Brasilia and beyond.
Seeds of Gold team visited one of the biggest pig farms in the country to sample how the Brazilians practice farming.

The more than 10-acre farm named Fazenda Miunca, run by Prof Rubens Valentini, is home to 4,000 pigs of the Middle white breed.

It can be described as modern in every sense of the word, thanks to its advanced use of technology which is fully integrated in pig production.

Prof Valentini has been in the piggery business since 1986 and over the years he has modernised his farm to the point that every aspect of it is automated.

Hygiene is key
We find him at the entrance of the vast farm waiting to welcome us.
“This farm is disease-free and must remain so,” he says as he offers to take us around in his car.

“For you to get into contact with the animals, you must bath first, wash your hair and put on specific disinfected clothes to reduce chances of transferring infections to the animals,” he adds as he revs the engine after some pleasantries.
Soon, he stops the car and points at a huge structure filled with manure and at the top are dead pigs.

“We keep the dead animals there so that they decompose and we turn the carcass into manure. After decomposing, the entire waste is pumped with water and mixed to bio-digesters to produce biogas,” says Prof Valentine, an agronomist and a former university lecturer.

The pigsties are constructed in a way that makes cleaning easy. During cleaning, the waste is channelled through an underground tunnel ending up in the bio-digester for the production biogas.

He uses the biogas produced from the manure to light the entire farm, besides for cooking and pumping water.

Main business
Prof Valentini’s main business is the production of piglets, with the farm churning out 2,200 animals every week.
From the 2,200 piglets, he raises 700 of each from each group and sells the rest to farmers across the country.

“I have 3,000 sows. Each week approximately 200 of them farrow between 10 and 16 piglets. On average, however, the pigs farrow 14 piglets enabling me to get the 2,200 piglets per week,” he says, adding that he has 100 boars.

He sells the piglets for 200 Brazilian Reals, which is about KShs6,300 (Shs226,800) each, to farmers for pork production.

A pig that is well cared for lasts 15 to 20 years. However, Prof Valentini sells the mature animals for meat after four to five years at 1,600 Brazilian Reals, which is approximately KShs25,000 (Shs900,000).

Brazil is the fourth largest producer of pork in the world, offering some four million tonnes annually, creating big business for farmers.
Prof Valentini’s farm relies heavily on technology to achieve weekly production target, besides maintaining top management practices that include keeping the animals in separate pigsties, according to age and status.

The farmer has installed a computer system in each of the pigsties that allows him to keep the record of the animals’ ages, determine the amount of food each pig needs per day and keep track of when the females are on heat.

“Once a piglet is born, it is vaccinated after eight days against various diseases among them Colibacillosis that causes diarrhoea and sudden death, and swine dysentery.” After that, no any other medication is given to the animals, the reason why hygiene is paramount on the farm as the don strives to raise disease-free animals.The pigs are fitted with two electronic chips in their ears, one on the right and the other on the left.

The chips are read by the computer each time they get into the feeding system to ensure the animals feed appropriately.

Special maternity
When a sow conceives, it is separated from the rest of the animals, and taken at the maternity wing. It will then be given special meals with more nutrition to allow it stay healthier.

Some 21 days to delivery (gestation period of a pig is 116 days), pregnant sows are transferred to special maternity rooms in the ‘labour ward’ where they stay until they deliver. The piglets are then transferred to a separate structure and vaccinated after eight days. Prof Valentini, thereafter, separates the piglets meant for sale from the ones he will breed to maintain his production goals.

“Those that remain on the farm are marked with the electronic chips when they are 77 to 83 days, having been tattooed after birth for easy identification. Sows are ready for reproduction after five to six months,” he says.

While he is an agricultural specialist, each week the farmer engages a veterinary officer to monitor the health of the pigs.
“Only those that are sick are given medication. The boars are kept in a cage and only mix with the females during mating.”
Marconi Moreira, an agronomist in Brazil, says high levels of hygiene reduces diseases in pigs and other livestock.

Farm restaurant
Prof Valentini has a ‘restaurant’ on the farm where all the pig food is prepared and channelled through pipes to a storage tank situated next to each of the pigs structures.

“The meal is wholesome; it is a mixture of various ingredients including soy beans, con flower and vegetables. The meal is also mixed with calcium and phosphorous minerals,” says the farmer, who grows soya beans which are rich in protein that is good for pregnant sows.

At feeding time, the machines at the feeding lots make some noise signalling the animals that food is ready.
“Each lines up at various feeding structures, which have been connected to a central computer where all their records are kept. The machine dispenses the feeds according to the weight of the animal.”

Once a pig has finished its food, it gets out through a different door, allowing another to get into the feeding lot and the process continues. Feeding is twice a day, in the morning and in the evening.
Inside the feeding lot, the computer also helps to detect whether a sow is on heat or not. If on heat, the animal is directed to a different exit where the boar is.