Pigs: cost-effective and efficient soil improvers

Western Cape farmer Angus McIntosh has shown that pigs can earn their keep through the eco-services they contribute, as well as the bacon they provide. He spoke to Glenneis Kriel about his outdoor pigs, whose movement is carefully controlled to make the most of their foraging habits.

- Glenneis Kriel

Angus McIntosh, a champion of regenerative agriculture in South Africa, has applied biodynamic practices to beef, broiler and egg production since he began farming on Spier Wine Estate near Stellenbosch in 2008.

Almost from inception, his customers asked him to add pork to his offering, but it was only in 2016 that he decided to do so.

“My clients were looking for pork produced outside, in the same way as my beef, broilers, and eggs,” he says.

He emphasises that he is not talking about ‘free-range’ livestock, a term which, according to him, has been grossly abused to make money and inflate prices. Instead, he carefully controls his animals’ movements to make the most of their foraging habits.

MIMICKING HERDS OF GAME

“We use high-density strip grazing, which means the animals are systematically moved over 123ha of irrigated pastures on the farm, mimicking the way a herd of game range through the veld when they have access to large, open spaces,” he explains.

The idea behind the system is for pasture to be grazed short enough to remain palatable, and then to give it at least six weeks to recover from grazing. Broilers are moved daily to a new patch of pasture, whereas cattle are moved up to three times a day, depending on the quality of the pasture. The pigs, because of their destructive foraging habits, are only allowed on poorer pastures destined for re-establishment. They are moved systematically every three to five days over this area.

“Pigs are like the ultimate tractor, except they fertilise the soil while loosening it and don’t have any breakable parts, nor cause compaction. In addition, you can eat them once they’ve finished working,” McIntosh says.

He was, nevertheless, initially hesitant to include pigs in his production system.