Baynesfield Estate, located not far from Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal province, is not only specialised in pig farming. In the 10,000 ha estate, crops like maize, soya, avocado, timber and sugarcane are being cultivated as well. Some are used on-farm for pig diets.

Farm manager at the estate's 'Nel's Rust' pig farm is Gerd Baum, 36. Originally Austrian, he moved to South Africa in 1993 to become a pig farm manager. The farrow-to-finish facility produces about 29,000 pigs per year.

Nel's Rust houses approximately 1,250 sows. They are PIC Cambridge 22 sows and receive AI with genetics from Topigs Tempo 40 boars. Sows are vaccinated for parvovirus, Lepto Spirosis and Erysipelas.

The sows are kept in crates during gestation - but Baum has plans to switch to loose sow housing in the future. The pig houses have open ventilation, which can be closed down if needed. It can be hot and humid in summer (up to 40¢ªC) and rather chilly in winter with temperatures coming down to 0¢ªC.

In total, a staff of 31, living nearby, keeps an eye on the animals on-farm. Here, a farrowing is attended by one of the staff members.

New-born piglets will be placed into a bucket of Mistral, by Olmix, wicking away moisture off its body, while helping to maintain body temperature. The piglets will receive a vaccination for mycoplasma.

Young piglets are weaned at an average of 7.5 kg, at 27 days of age. In the nursery, they receive two different diets. Total numbers of pigs weaned/sow/year is 25.2.

Once the piglets are old enough, at approximately 30-33 kg, they are being brought to the finishing facility by tractor.

The finishers are staying in the oldest part of the farm – a barn dating back from 1908. It is equipped with welfare material for them to play with. The growers reach an average daily gain of 850 g/day.

The farm facility is closed off from the rest of the estate with fencing as unwanted animals need to be kept out. Outside, reedbucks, bushbucks, several wild cat species, lynxes and bushpigs can be found. They could potentially cause stress or diseases among the animals.

Baum has plans to expand the current farm, by adding another facility to the current farm, about three km away. This will lead to a revision of the current setup as weaning and fattening will be moved to that location.

Outside the estate, Baynesfield's slaughterhouse (Frey's Quality Meats) and butchery is located. All pigs will be slaughtered here, prior to using the meat for e.g. Debonairs Pizza, Wimpy's and Southern Sun hotels.

South Africa, like the UK and Ireland, does not have a tradition of castration. Pigs are grown as entires and slaughtered at 77 kg deadweight, in the case of Nel's Rust. Baynesfield slaughterhouse also processed pigs, treated with the immunovaccine Improvac, manufactured by Pfizer Animal Health.