Table 1.

Characteristics of five organic pig farms (A–E)

	A	B	C	D	E
Bedding material (litter type)	Shallow	Shallow	Shallow	Deep	Shallow/deepa
Depth of bedding material (cm)	≤5 cm	≤25 cm	≤20 cm	≤100 cm	≤25 cm/≤100 cma
Stable system	Closed	Closed	Semi-open	Closed	Closed/Semi open
Total number of sows	180	110	190	150	200
Number of starters per pen	20–25	85–90	40–62	55–98	58–65
Number of finishers per pen	13–21	11–24	7–24	30–40	35–40
Size of starter pen (m2)	27	37–40	48	60	39
Size of finisher pen (m2)	14	37–40	48	60	39
Outdoor pigs (years)	5	5	4	13	9
Starter pigs	Stable	Pasture/stable	Pasture/stable	Pasture/stable	Stable
Finishers	Stable	Stable	Stable	Stable	Stable
Dry sows	Pasture	Pasture/stable	Pasture/stable	Pastureb/stable	Pasture
Lactating sows	Pasture	Pasture	Pasture	Pasture	Pasture
Lactating sows – pasture rotation	1 year	1 year	6 months	1 year	3 year strip grazingc
Dry sows - pasture rotation	1 year	1 year	9 months	1 year	3 year strip grazingc
Starters – pasture rotation	-	1 year	6 months	6 months	-
Lactating sow pastures (ha)	1.8	5	0.8	2	16c
Dry sow pastures (ha)	1.8	5	0.8	3	16c

^aStarter pigs were kept on shallow litter whereas finishers were kept on deep litter

^bOnly during spring to early autumn

^cDry and lactating sows were kept on the same pasture equal to 99 ha, but only approx. 16 ha were in use during the study