Kayla Patrick

Professor Fredrickson
AGR 125
28 October 2014
Finding Solutions to Real World Problems
The main point, and problem around the swine industry is the abusive gestation crate
systems that majority of the swine industries around the country have been using to keep their
sows from harming one another and guaranty that every sow gets the feed she needs to provide
for her future piglets. The objectives that determine what new system that will be used in an
industry will highly rely on the cost the farmer will have to pay in order to maintain his or her
swine production, also it will affect the amount of space on the property. My solution to the
effort of developing a new swine system would involve using areas like the finishing barns; this
will allow the sows and gilts to be able to roam as they please and will be allowed to feed at any
point they want. The only catch to my choice in using this system is for the farmers to keeping
sows and gilts separated in the pens to make sure the sows will not overthrow the gilt and kill her
and her piglets. This system, in my opinion, is the best way to satisfy the new laws that are being
passed across the country to band the gestation crates completely, I imagine that this system
would be implemented to the majority of the swine industry because this system is already being
used within the swine industry. Yes, this system is only a theory, but I believe that it is a good
candidate for being the new way of keeping gestation sows/gilts. This system can be used by
selecting the swine that will farrow around the same time, like how the finishing floor keeps the
weight of the pigs together throughout the finishing phase, and it would also keep the whole
industry in a better order as well. With the finishing styled system for gestation areas, I expect

the female pigs to progress well throughout their pregnancies and possibly even better now that
they will be able to socialize, pig-to-pig, will other gilts and sows that they are in pens with,
other than socializing with other pigs that they could never see in the gestation creates.