Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 9/8/14


Clemens Food Group said it will require open sow housing from all of its independent producers by 2022.
In announcing its decision to transition from gestation stalls to open sow housing, the Hatfield, Penn.-based parent of Hatfield Quality Meats, targeted full transition by 2017 for all of its company-owned farms and 2022 for all contract farms.

“Clemens Food Group has been researching gestation housing systems for over a decade and has studied these systems in the United States, as well as systems currently used in Europe and Canada,” according to a statement on its website. “Several years ago we made the decision based on our research to transition our company-owned sows to a 'free to roam’ group housing system. All of our new farms are being built with free to roam, or open pen gestation. As we remodel older farms we transition these farms to free to roam as well.”

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com