– We have been observing what was happening in other parts of the country for years, but we still did not allow ourselves to believe that the disease would reach our region. In the case of our farm, the crop currently fattened will be the last one – we no longer intend to breed pigs. We also have beef cattle, so we will adapt the pig building into a building suitable for cattle. However, many farms do not have the opportunity to change the direction of production and are somehow condemned to raising pigs, says a farmer who runs a farm with her husband in Chodzież County, northern Greater Poland.
Our interlocutor referred to the situation in the region:
The harvest is in full swing, and farmers cannot focus on their work in peace because they live in uncertainty all the time. Producers specializing in sow breeding and piglet production were in the worst situation. They have a strictly defined production cycle, according to which, for example, they sell a specific batch of animals every 14 days. When a herd is blocked, they simply do not have the infrastructure to keep the animals for the next several dozen days. In addition, there is the problem of the feed base and increased feeding costs – says our interlocutor.
read more
ASF may lead to the elimination of pig breeding on subsequent farms
Preventive culling of herds is the lesser evil?
The farmer referred to cooperation with the Veterinary Inspection authorities:
– We cannot say a bad word about the representatives of the district veterinary inspectorate, they approach our problems with full understanding and often devote their private time to us. However, many things do not depend on the will of the Veterinary Inspection, but are determined by EU regulations – says our interlocutor.
The farmer also referred to the issue of preventive culling of herds ordered in the Gniezno district:
– At first, such actions seem unthinkable, but if we take into account the situation of farmers whose herds have been blocked, we wonder whether such an extermination and obtaining full compensation is not a choice of the lesser evil – he says farmer.
read more
Is stopping the preventive slaughter of herds in the Gniezno district a good decision?
Farmers need support
We are in constant contact with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Currently, our priority is to restore the mechanism for compensating losses that breeders incur when selling pigs from the zone at lower prices. It is not the farmer's fault to be in restricted areas. If we are talking about a disease that is combated ex officio, the state should participate in the losses incurred by breeders as a result of it, said the farmer.
read more
Will the preventive slaughter of pigs in the Gniezno district be resumed?
