Saving my own bacon

Only the particularly pig-headed will stick it out in the pork farming business

MY FATHER LOVED HIS pigs. Not like he loved his dogs of course, but as a business. From the 1970s we were one of the larger breeders in the country, which at the time was a 6,000-sow herd. This meant about 60,000 pigs. You could not be certain because the number changed with piglets being farrowed and — not so good for business — stock dying every hour. We sold 2,000 pigs a week. It is quite likely that you have eaten some of our bacon. In global terms that is small. There are farms in the US with more stock than the UK’s entire herd. Despite impressive economies of scale, their animal welfare and husbandry standards will not be up to a standard that you would be comfortable with,…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 2024

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