Future-Ready Facilities: Producer-Led Research Puts Farrowing Housing to the Test

Future-Ready Facilities: Producer-Led Research Puts Farrowing Housing to the Test

On this page:

• NPB's Five-Year Farrowing Housing Research Plan
• Why Farrowing Housing Matters Now
• Evaluating Farrowing Housing Options
• Staying Proactive, Not Reactive
• Stay Informed. Stay Ahead.

NPB's Five-Year Farrowing Housing Research Plan

Not every farm needs to change - but every farm deserves the freedom to decide.

In 2025, the National Pork Board launched a producer-led, five-year research initiative to evaluate farrowing housing systems. The goal is simple: generate practical, U.S.-specific data that helps producers defend what works or adapt if needed on their terms.

This project isn't about promoting or rejecting any one system. It's about protecting producer choice by creating a fact-based foundation to support decisions. For some, that may mean staying the course. For others, it could mean evaluating alternatives. Either way, the research puts producers in control.

"I'm not interested in change for the sake of change, and I know most producers feel the same way," said Todd Marotz, chief production officer at Wakefield Pork and a member of the Farrowing Housing task force. "But if we're going to be forced to have these conversations - whether with a customer, a boardroom or a ballot box - I'd rather have credible, U.S.-specific research in my back pocket than assumptions or opinions. This project gives us that. It's about protecting our ability to decide what works on our farms, based on data - not mandates."

Why Farrowing Housing Matters Now

Across Europe, countries like Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Austria and others have implemented bans or restrictions on farrowing stalls. We've seen how international trends, five to 10 years later, can influence U.S. supply chains, corporate sourcing policies and even state ballot initiatives.

That doesn't mean change is certain. But it does mean we need solid, U.S.-specific data to help producers lead the conversation, whether that's to validate current systems or explain the trade-offs of others.

The best way to stay in control is to be prepared with facts, not emotions.

Evaluating Farrowing Housing Options

This research doesn't just compare one pen to another. It looks at the big picture of how different systems function across the full operation. That includes animal outcomes, caregiver needs, facility demands, environmental impacts and more.

Here's what the research will evaluate:

Animal Welfare: Measuring sow and piglet outcomes, including survivability, behavior, injury rates and stress indicators across housing types.

Economics: Comparing costs to build, retrofit and maintain each system - plus impacts on sow productivity, piglet output and long-term ROI.

Facility Infrastructure: Assessing how changes in housing affect flooring, ventilation, manure handling, and climate control and what that means for both performance and cost.

Labor: Evaluating labor efficiency, safety, training requirements and how each system affects daily workflow.

Environmental Impact: Quantifying how housing changes affect water use, emissions, manure storage and nutrient management strategies.

The goal is not to endorse a system; it's to understand how each one performs so that producers can make informed decisions backed by science.

Research results will be shared annually to ensure producers have timely, applicable data to support what's right for their farm.

Staying Proactive, Not Reactive

As my colleague Dr. Brett Kaysen often says, "If we don't tell our story, someone else will."

Producers have a strong story to tell, one that's grounded in animal care, hard work and sound decision-making. But that story holds more weight when it's supported by credible, peer-reviewed research.

This project helps producers:

• Preserve the freedom to choose what works best on their farm

• Defend current systems when supported by relevant outcomes and performance data

• Strengthen transparency across the supply chain by showing how decisions are made

• Stay in control of the narrative and the future of U.S. pork production

We're not preparing for change, we're preparing to defend our farms, our decisions and our ability to choose to do what's best for people, pigs and the planet.

Stay Informed. Stay Ahead.

Whether the research confirms what you're already doing or reveals new options worth considering, the purpose is the same: support independent, informed decision-making for producers.

Subscribe to news from NPB and follow the research and receive updates as new data becomes available.

If you have questions about farrowing housing or want to learn more about NPB's five-year research plan, contact me directly at [email protected].