Increased utilization of ley crops in feed for organic pigs

The ley has positive effects in the crop rotation on a pig farm, but there is little knowledge about feeding silage to pigs. In what form should it be fed? Does the pig grow on silage? Is the silage healthy for the pig? Is silage fed to pigs profitable for the farmer and reduce risk of nitrogen losses to the environment?

In the project we want to evaluate the usefulness of grass/clover silage as a locally grown feed resource in organic pig production. There is limited access to high quality organic protein feed, which makes it necessary to find and evaluate alternative feed sources for organic pigs. Ley crops also gives the pigs an increased opportunity to perform natural behaviours and there are studies showing that the gut microbes are involved in the development of both nervous system and brain. A fibre-rich diet can thus reduce both stress and illness among the pigs. We also want to investigate how growing ley on a pig farm and feeding ley to pigs is influencing farm economy and risk of nitrogen losses to the environment.