November 19, 2010

Sow stall ban to badly hit Western Australia's pig sector

A Western Australian pork producer says the costs associated with phasing out the use of sow stalls will be felt by consumers and could force some farmers out of the industry altogether.

On November 17, the Australian pork industry voted to begin a voluntary move away from using gestation stalls by 2017.

"The increase in their costs will come through a number of different areas, there will be the capital costs that they need to spend and there will also be productivity decreases. It's likely that inefficient farmers will exit the industry," David Locke, chief executive of the Craig Mostyn Group, said.

Craig Mostyn Group operates pig farms across Western Australia.