- Bavarian Agricultural Producers Maintain Higher Pork Population
Agricultural workers in Bavaria are housing more swine once more. The Bavarian State Statistical Office discloses a reversal in trends. As of May 3, 2024, a sum of 2,407,500 pigs were reared in the free state, marking an increase of 0.5% relative to the preceding year. A fall of 5.3% had been documented in the year prior.
However, the count of swine farming ventures decreased by approximately 130. Every remnant operation now holds approximately 740 pigs, which is a rise of 31 compared to the year prior, 2023.
As per the statistics office, 3,260 operations continued to exist in the free state. Of these, nearly 900 (27.4%) possess herds of more than 1,000 animals. In these operations, over half of the Bavarian herds are reared (56.9%).
The most significant reduction in operation numbers was witnessed in medium-sized operations, which house 100 to 249 pigs. Here, the number of operations declined by 20.1%, while small operations with fewer than 100 pigs experienced a decrease of 13%.
Despite the decline in the number of swine farming operations, some larger farms are expanding. The forth largest operation in Bavaria, for instance, increased its pig population by 15%.
In contrast to the rise in large-scale operations, smaller farms continue to decrease in size. Only a few forts (remaining) operations, those with less than 100 pigs, are managing to maintain their pig population, showing a slight increase of 2%.
