From backyard to commercial hog production

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of structural changes in hog production manure management practices. Design/methodology/approach – The data used in this study are obtained from a large-scale nationwide hog producers’ survey in rural China conducted by the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2010. A descriptive analysis between hog manure management and its main determinants was conducted. Based on the collected data, an econometric model on the determinants of hog manure management was constructed and used for analysis. Findings – The results of this study suggest that the scale of hog production has an important impact on the pattern of hog manure management. Moreover, the results from descriptive statistics and multivariate estimation suggest that smaller hog producers are more likely to apply hog manure to their own lands, while larger hog producers are more likely to sell the manure or find other ways to dispose of it. Originality/value – This study contributes to the existing literature by examining the impact of structural changes in hog production on hog manure management and the environment.

Recognition on characteristics and applicability of typical modes for manure & sewage management in pig farming: A case study in Hebei, China

“…As Chen et al ( 2017) indicated, cost-benefit is the key constraint that influences farmers' behavior on MSM. However, most of existing MSM patterns are uneconomical, accompanied by a severe financial burden on farmers (Huang et al, 2016). Small-size farms are more concerned with the cost associated with extra labor hiring and MSM operating (Chen et al, 2017).…”

“…Meanwhile, it also satisfies the development of integration of planting and breeding. Farming structure as a critical factor, its impact on varying degrees of livestock MSM has been proven (Zheng et al, 2014;Huang et al, 2016;Chen et al, 2017;Li et al, 2020a;Pan et al, 2021;Zhang et al, 2021). As Pan et al (2021) and Wu et al (2018) concluded, as farm scale increasing, waste management was more comprehensive and professional, capital-intensive and knowledge-intensive methods were gradually accepted.…”

Adoption of Multiple Sustainable Manure Treatment Technologies by Pig Farmers in Rural China: A Case Study of Poyang Lake Region

“…Our survey results are consistent with previous studies. For example, Huang et al [13] reported that 9.76% of pig farmers sold their manure to markets. Chadwick et al [3] showed that 66% of farmers recycled manure into farmland and almost 20% of farmers discarded manure into rivers or lakes.…”

“…Most existing studies have treated farmers' adoption of SMTTs as separate decisions, focusing on the adoption of only one or two isolated types of SMTTs independently, such as returning to the field [2,9], producing biogas [10,11], composting [12], sale [7], and arbitrary discard [13]. Limited attention has been given to the adoption of multiple types of SMTTs.…”

Changing Structure and Sustainable Development for China’s Hog Sector

“…Fortunately, China's hog sector has experienced structural changes, developing from backyard operations to specialized farms in the past decade [1,[4][5][6], and a new operational structure is forming. More specifically, in 2002, hog farms with fewer than 50 animals (or heads) made up 99% of all China's hog farms and slaughtered 72.8% of the total hog numbers.…”