By Jack Bosworth, Director, FJ Bosworth & Sons. Published 22 June 2022.
I hope everyone is well.
When I ended my last article, I mentioned that revisiting the idea of a ban on conventional farrowing crates would be unthinkable given the financial strain the industry is already under. So I feared the worst when I saw there was to be a debate on the use of cages in farming this Monday in the House of Commons.
What I took from Victoria Prentis’s comments
With growing concern about food shortages, my reading of what Victoria Prentis said suggested DEFRA may have learnt lessons from the impact the ban on sow stalls had on the size of the UK industry over twenty years ago. That is, at the very least, an encouraging signal.
The context that any debate has to start from is this:
- The UK sow herd has already contracted by 13 per cent in the last year.
- That figure is set to rise.
- There is still a backlog of pigs working through the system.
- Producers who are on their way out are still moving pigs through their farms for the last time.
Plenty of pigs are about today. The honest question is what the position looks like in 12 months’ time.
What would have to be true before any ban could work
My position on a ban on conventional farrowing crates is straightforward. Nothing can happen until all four of the following are true:
- More evidence that it actually needs to happen.
- Suitable alternative equipment that is tried and tested over many years and does not compromise piglet welfare or staff safety.
- Clear answers on funding to help producers make the change.
- A realistic phase-out period.
Without those, you do not have a policy. You have a wish.
Where I actually stand on this
I want to be clear, because some of this may read like a flat objection.
I am not against a ban in the future. Systems move on, and I am genuinely open to that. What I will not buy into is a change that improves welfare for one part of the system at the cost of another part.
The parliamentary debate mentioned scientific evidence of improved sow welfare without crates. It did not mention the effect on piglet welfare or on staff safety. We will not invest in anything that reduces piglet welfare, and we will not invest in anything that puts staff safety at risk. Those are not negotiable.
Our numbers, for the record
These are the figures from our herd for 2021, as benchmarked by AgroVision against UK indoor producers:
| Measure | Our 2021 figure | Benchmark position |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-weaning mortality | 4.64 per cent | 3rd of 226 producers |
| Pigs weaned per sow per year | 31.41 | 22nd of 226 producers |
A pre-weaning mortality of 4.64 per cent, placing us 3rd out of 226 producers in the country, suggests:
- The environment our pigs live in is good.
- The sows are giving their piglets strong early nutrition.
- Piglet welfare is first class.
The fact that those sows can give birth to, and wean, consistent numbers time after time raises a fair question: what actually needs fixing here? The scores suggest our sows enter and leave farrowing accommodation in good condition, healthy enough to wean those kinds of numbers year on year. A healthy sow produces good, consistent results. An unhealthy one does not. It really is as simple as that.
An open invitation
If Minister Prentis or her team happen to read Farmers Weekly, they are more than welcome to contact me about visiting our family farming business. I would rather they form a view based on what is actually happening on a working unit than on briefings.
And one last point
If a ban on conventional farrowing crates does come in for UK producers, will pork still be imported from overseas producers who continue to use them?
If so, I had better start including delivery to Europe on the eBay ad.
Editor’s note (May 2026)
Since this article was written, FJ Bosworth & Sons has continued to invest in welfare, sustainability and the wider farm-to-fork model. The farm won the National Pig Awards Sustainable Farming Award 2024, and was a finalist for both National Pig Awards Pig Producer of the Year 2024 and Farmers Weekly Mixed Farm of the Year 2024. In 2024 the business also acquired Procters Sausages, completing the farm-to-fork chain from field to finished product. You can read more on the Our Pork section of this site.
About the author
Jack Bosworth is a fourth-generation farmer and Director of FJ Bosworth & Sons, an arable and pig farming business at Spains Hall, Willingale, Essex. The farm has been in the family since 1919, and Jack farms alongside his father Stuart Bosworth, who was named Farmers Weekly Pig Farmer of the Year in 2011. The business is Red Tractor assured and runs an integrated farm-to-fork model, with home-grown cereals milled on site using solar-generated electricity.
You can follow Jack’s articles on fjbosworth.com, or get in touch via the WhatsApp link on the site.
Fourth-generation farmer at Spains Hall, Willingale. Runs the contracting team and writes most of what appears here.