The pig industry tends to be concentrated into particular locations. Without careful managment of waste products, pollution does become a problem. We detail some of the processes in use for waste disposal.

Pigs are either housed in buildings that use straw or they are housed in buildings with slatted floors. Straw is most plentiful in the eastern part of the UK where it is much cheaper for the pig farmer and this is where the pig industry is primarily located.

Straw use around small yards demands specialist equipment, both for the placement and distribution of fresh straw as well as for the removal of manure. After removal from the yard the manure is built into a dung heap for rotting down and eventual return to the land.

After a few months the manure becomes sufficiently well rotted that it can be spread back onto the land. Farmyard manure returns important nutrients and organic matter to the soil and is beneficial for enhancing soil structure by increasing the humus content and increasing the population of beneficial soil borne fauna.

Effluent from the muck heap is safely captured and then spread or injected into the fields. If effluent escapes into a water course, its high BOD (biological oxygen demand) can quickly suffocate life in the water. Effluent traps are important for environmental reasons and they are fenced for protection.

Muck spreading is underway on recently harvested stubble. Farmer's have to ensure that spreading is not done when the ground is wet as surface run off and seepage into the drainage system may occur causing water pollution.

Some pig systems uses slatted floors. This allows the muck to drop away from the animals and into a collection pit. This is then pumped into a slurry lagoon and stored until it can be spread on the land in suitable conditions.

The inside of the slurry lagoon when nearly empty. Wet winters with excessive rainfall can put slurry systems under pressure unless sufficient capacity has been designed into the system at the outset. Latest legislation requires all new slurry stores to have 400 days capacity.

A good dose of muck helps maintain fertility and returns useful organic matter to the soil. The importance of the pig industry in helping maintain organic matter in areas that traditionally have few livestock, should not be underestimated. Best practice states that muck should be ploughed into the land within 24 hours. This helps reduce atmospheric pollution and conserves the nutrients within the soil.

Further reading for Pigs - Production cycle

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