I must admit, I had never heard of a “boar limo.” Nor did I know about “Prosperm,” “pit additives,” or the risks of “plug pulling.” But when you sit around a table with a bunch of pork producers, you learn quickly. And when you find out that the lady sitting next to you can castrate a boar in 1.5 seconds, you pay attention to the conversation. You learn how hard these farmers work, how daily life centers on feed costs, pork futures, worries about bacteria, concerns about smells, and insecurity about income. But you also find out how remarkably “scientific” pork production has become, and how extensively animal welfare and environmental concerns are addressed.
These days, pork production generally begins with artificial insemination of the sow. Farmers can purchase a variety of sperm to match their needs, but need to know exactly when a sow is in heat to maximize the chance of breeding. The best indication of heat is the so-called “immobilization response,” whereby the sow’s ears become erect (they “pop” in trade lingo) as she assumes a rigid position, ready to be mounted. But sows certainly did not evolve to have romantic relationships with artificial inseminating rods, so a boar is still needed. Or at least his smell is. Boars produce a mixture of compounds, of which androstenol and androstenone are the most dominant, to trigger mating behavior in the female. These compounds make for an unpleasant “boar-taint” in meat, the reason most boars are deprived of their testicles soon after birth.
Farmers can detect heat in a sow by guiding a boar (one with testicles intact) down the aisle between the stalls that house the females as they watch for a response. This is the process made more efficient with a “boar limo,” the remote-controlled, motorized cart into which the boar is loaded for his romantic journey. As the farmer watches from behind the female, he maneuvers the limo to allow full “snout to snout contact,” taking advantage of the four key factors needed for sow stimulation: sight, smell, sound, and saliva.
Producers who don’t want to mess around with a boar to detect estrus can avail themselves of “Boar Mate,” an aerosol spray that contains androstenol and androstenone. If a sow is in heat, she will assume the mating position when Boar Mate is sprayed in front of her nose, and the insemination rod then goes into action. The success of the insemination, as well as the size of the litter produced, depend on many factors, including quality and quantity of sperm. This is where products such as “Prosperm” come in. This fertility enhancer can be fed to boars as a dietary supplement. Its marketers claim a significant increase in effective matings and in piglets per litter. What is this magic formula? Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a fatty acid that is an essential component of sperm cells, combined with vitamin E and selenium to protect the DHA from oxidative damage. DHA is readily isolated from tuna. Needless to say, some unethical entrepreneurs already promote such products to men who are concerned about their prowess, and suggest that the “Tuna Love Pill” can perform miracles. They cite a 15 percent increase in boar sperm count, and a testicle size increase of some 20 percent. As far as I can tell, the scientific literature provides no data on whether tuna eaters are better lovers.
Feeding pigs is not a simple business. Not because they are finicky eaters; in fact, pigs will eat most anything. Cost and nutrition are the issues here! Soy, corn, oats, barley, peas, lentils, and canola are the common feed components, but these differ in price and protein content, so they have to be judiciously selected and blended. Pigs, like humans, need amino acids to synthesize muscle tissue and enzymes. These come from breaking down dietary protein into its component amino acids. But if the amino acid ratios are not exactly what the pigs need, some of the excess will be excreted in the feces. This can be a problem, because amino acids can be a source of both nitrates and ammonia, which are environmental concerns. An effective approach is to add amino acids, such as lysine or methionine, to the feed in appropriate amounts, but the viability of this depends on relative costs.
One of the greatest concerns of a pig facility is the copious amount of manure the animals produce—up to 8 pounds a day, each. The stuff falls through the slats in the floor of the piggery and collects in tanks underneath. Periodically, the farmer pulls a plug, allowing the liquid manure to flow into outdoor lagoons. This is a potentially dangerous process, because anaerobic fermentation produces toxic hydrogen sulphide gas, which is liberated into the air when manure is agitated. The lagoons are designed by engineers and use various high-tech liners to ensure that there is no leakage. No manure is dumped into lakes or rivers, and groundwater around lagoons is constantly tested.
Pig manure makes for a highly effective, “organic” fertilizer, and farmers pump it into the soil to raise crops. Pig sludge can even be dried, mixed with wastepaper and sawdust, and burned for energy production. Waste management systems can be designed to capture the methane gas produced by decomposing manure, which in turn can be burned to produce electricity.
No doubt about it, though, the smell of manure is a huge problem. Trees planted around manure lagoons and “pit additives,” such as certain enzymes and copper compounds that break down odiferous compounds, can help, as can the use of zeolites (a special form of volcanic rock) that can absorb smells. Odors are not only a problem for the neighbors; they are worrisome for the farmer as well. A buildup of ammonia in a barn is dangerous to the health of piglets, and there is concern about some of the “endotoxins” produced by bacteria that are housed by pigs. Inhalation of these vapors can cause severe respiratory problems. Antibiotics in the feed control bacteria, but raise the issue of developing resistance to these drugs. To prevent this, stringent laws are enforced, and animals with even a trace of antibiotic residue cannot be marketed. Farmers are subjected to crippling fines if they do not adhere to the regulations.
Even if the animals have been successfully raised, there is the matter of transportation on their final journey. A study in The American Journal of Public Health, with the tantalizing title of “Salmonella Excretion in Joyriding Pigs,” concluded that stressed pigs release higher levels of salmonella. Bringing piggies to market is not a simple business.