[The feeding of "organic swine"--a field study]

In a field study, the feeding practice in fattening pigs practised on 22 organic farms (associations Demeter and Bioland) in the North of Germany was investigated. Diets were calculated and compared with the respective performance requirements and the hygienic status of the feedstuff was evaluated. There were considerable differences between individual farms however, the following tendencies were obvious: Crude protein and essential amino acid supply was below requirements, especially during the initial fattening period. There were also serious imbalances in mineral supply, mostly because some farmers did not add mineral supplements for ideological reasons. Clinically apparent deficiencies, however, were not observed. The hygienic quality of the feedstuff was often objectionable. Considering the daily energy intake the fattening performance of the pigs were lower than expected. Apart from the imbalanced nutrient supply and the bad feed hygiene, the pigs' sometimes poor health conditions has to be considered as a further cause for the low performance. The tendencies described were more prominent with Demeter than Bioland farms.