Great success for the webinar on non-castrated male pigs in France!

– by Sarah Lombard (ITAB)

On the 11^th of March, a webinar on rearing non-castrated male pigs and valorizing the meat from boar-tainted carcasses was organized in France in collaboration with the European project PPILOW and the French project FARINELLI. Six presentations were achieved during the webinar. The first one focused on the context of organic pig production and on the reasons for focusing on rearing non-castrated pigs. Then, the technical and economic issues for valorizing the meat from non-castrated male pigs and the associated perspectives were presented. The results from a sensory analysis of products including varying amounts of fat from boar-tainted carcasses were also shown. Some good farming practices for non-castrated males in organic farming related to breeding, feeding, age at slaughter, straw management… were assessed in the project. Their effects on the technical performances of the pigs and on the composition and quality of carcasses (weight, lean meat percentage) and pork, including boar taint and sensory traits, were described.  To conclude, the feedback from a farmer and the manager of the “Porganic” INRAE experimental facility for organic, non-castrated pigs was provided to the participants to sum up the main recommendations to consider for rearing non-castrated male pigs. Around 80 people were connected during the webinar. Participants were mainly farmers (22%), advisors (20%), researchers (14%), students, suppliers, vets, … Participants were interested in the subject and active in the chat. Conclusions are that more research is needed on this topic, as some questions such as how to rear non-castrated male pigs from local or rustic breeds have not been considered yet. This webinar will soon be available in replay with English subtitles on this website : Alternatives à la castration des porcs bio – Projet CASDAR Farinelli (produire-bio.fr).

© photo ITAB