Pigs, in regards to the meat obtained from the animal, are among the 22 percent of the meat produced by US farmers by the year 2003. This makes pork a part of the US agriculture, the largest exporters of the agriculture industry. Because the meat provided from the pig is vital, the husbandry of the pig from gestation to slaughterhouse is just as important. A farmer has to ensure the quality of their pig’s meat in order to guarantee that a profit will be made for all their hard work. An aspect of the husbandry for pigs is where they are housed for their means of shelter, food, water, and behavioral development. Two of the most familiar methods are using farrowing pens and crates or free ranging their animals. The method of how the pigs are…show more content… This would mean for the farm that was raising them that they could expect a higher amount of piglets to reach the age and weight requirement for slaughter to make a profit. The reason this being that the piglets, and therefore the meat, would less likely to have been damaged due to injuries. Another positive reason for the use of the farrowing crates is to make the most of available space, allowing for more sows and piglets to be fit into a location. The close proximity allows for ease in supervising of the growth and condition of the pigs and daily maintenance of the areas since it would be in reach of the workers to do since the animals would be within arm’s reach so to speak. With this use of the farrowing crates, it would made it easier for workers of the crates to give pigs their needed attention since they would be able to note and get access to piglet whether it needs medical attention or extra feedings. (Gregory p.167). This would be in comparison of having to go out into a field to care and supervise the…show more content… It would seem like this because free-ranging pigs for meat production takes up too much space and time to produce the same or only slightly higher in quality meat to that of piglets that were raised around farrowing crates. As previously mentioned, free range pigs require a large amount of land and larger amounts of hands to take care of individual pigs since they will be anyway within their enclosure or have gotten out of the enclosure. Pigs that can suffer injuries due to the outdoor elements, predators and can suffer malnutrition that is not