Running active and occupied pigs has remained the key to the Mansfield family’s successful free-range Berkshire pig operation at Mount Pleasant.
Operating in conditions that are as close to a wild habitat as possible, the 200 sow breeding herd and 10 boars are prolific breeders and live completely stress-free – because of that Denni Mansfield has earned the title of SA’s largest free-range pig farm.
The Berkshire breed was selected for its heritage breed premium and its free-range suitability.
“They are perfect for a truly free-range environment because of the black skin – if we had white pigs they would have to be sheltered from the heat and weather for the majority of the time,” Mrs Mansfield said.
“Berkshires are robust and because we are an antibiotic-free operation, having this trait to help maintain the herd’s health is paramount to our success,” she said.
At about one year old, sows are mated naturally, four months later the sow will then farrow and produce about eight to 10 piglets.
Sows then enter the “maternity ward”, a paddock with an open hut to farrow, where they recieve a honeycomb ration to help supply energy needed at lactating.
“They have access to a paddock at all times, even when they are farrowing, so they can farrow outside,” Mrs Mansfield said.
Piglets are weaned at four weeks old and grown out on 160 hectares at Cambrai.
Piglets are on a feed regime of hay, pellets, grape marc, almond hull, potatoes and dairy waste, including whey, to help piglets grow to the Mansfield’s target weights.
About 40 to 60 pigs are sold to local butchers each week.
Mrs Mansfield’s has three market options, spit pigs, sold at 8-12 weeks old, porkers, sold at 50 kilograms caracaseweight, and bacon, which is a 24-week-old pig at about 80kgcwt.
By default the breed and free-range environment ensured Mrs Mansfield was well-suited for the bacon market with a good premium attached.
“We just fell into that market because the pigs grew out timely,” she said.
“I literally go direct from our farm to a butcher and we get about a $1 per kilogram extra, but I do try to make it so the butchers can make our product available to everyone.
“We also get a premium with the heritage breed because of its taste and marbling.”
Although Mrs Mansfield is in the business to provide a financial future for her son Jesse, she said that is not what gets her out of bed on a cold morning.
“We do not run our farm in this way for money, we do it because we believe in the way our pigs are farmed,” she said.
Rapid growth after humble beginnings
WITH a family history of living on the land but no outlet for her passion for agriculture in sight, Denni Mansfield took a chance five years ago and began what has become SA's largest free-range pig farm.
On 195 hectares stretched across two properties at Mount Pleasant and Cambrai, Mrs Mansfield has committed wholeheartedly to the welfare of her Berkshire herd, as one of only about five free-range producers in the state.
“I have always loved pigs – as a young woman I visited piggeries and realised I always wanted my own, but I wanted to do it differently,” Mrs Mansfield said.
“When I was a little girl, my parents thought I got lost at the Royal Adelaide Show because I was watching the pig judging so intensely, my parents left and I did not realise,” she said.
Mrs Mansfield began with just three sows and a bore but quickly increased to 30 breeders and got her electrician husband Tim on board with the family’s new venture.
“My husband was not interested at all until he realised that it could become a full-time business for the family – so now he is a converted farmer,” she said.
“My son and I ran about 300 sheep and cut hay before I started breeding pigs but because he wanted to be in agriculture so much and we could not get the sheep farm big enough to provide that opportunity for him, I decided it was easier to hand him a big free-range pig farm instead,” she said.
“He was and still is the biggest driver to make this work.”