BY HER own admission, the best features of The Pig Pen near Euroa are those owner Claire Penniceard doesn't have to worry about.

The commercial piggery supplies $9 million worth of export-quality product at the farm gate annually and provides 10 per cent of Singapore's pork, all via long-term contracts with Australia's leading pork producer, Rivalea.

    THE PIG PEN
  • EUROA, VICTORIA
  • Property: pigs
  • Size: 12.5ha
  • Price: $3.5 million
  • Agent: Landmark Euroa
  • Contact: Steven Jeffery 0427 595 760 or John Stringer 0418 575 156

"I don't have to find markets," Claire said.

"The business is in a place where the shire and neighbours are all happy for it to be and it's properly resourced with all the infrastructure it needs to operate with a very well-managed production regime supported by Rivalea."

The business is managed across two 6.25ha sites, each with 12 sheds (9m x 45m) with blinds to control air flow and concrete floors covered in deep straw bedding.

There are no gates or pens within the sheds, just a raised, double-sided feed pad dispensing feed and water 24 hours a day. This design allows for the animals' natural socialising process, which takes between eight and 14 days and defines which feed stations each animal uses and where it sleeps.

"It's just a matter of attending to their natural behaviours and how I can service these so they have a great life and their needs are met," Claire said.

The pigs are delivered as weaners and turned out every six months. Rivalea supplies the stock and feed, which is adapted according to the pigs' changing nutritional requirements.

The sites are run off-sync for ease of management, and at the end of each production cycle the spent bedding is removed and sold as compost and the site cleaned.

The business produces about $1 million of product at farm gate for each megalitre of water and uses less energy than a domestic household.

Now entering its second decade, The Pig Pen has just secured another 10-year contract with Rivalea.

"As a business proposition, even if novice, it provides a level of insurance about production excellence that is very rare," Claire said. "You can manage a significant business and can live where you like, as can your employees."

Not that The Pig Pen requires many - general maintenance is mostly carried out by contractors between production cycles and a single stock person is able to manage the day-to-day animal health and welfare requirements.

And at a time where farmers are increasingly being asked to do more with less, Claire hopes The Pig Pen business model will inspire young farmers to think laterally about land use.

"With highly skilled, highly professional support, you can make an identity of yourself and business," she said.

"Hopefully we will see more of this sort of farming, but right now this is ripe for someone else to come in and ride the next wave of a hugely successful production strategy."