The nation's best pig farmer says the success of his Norfolk business - and the future of the whole sector - relies on nurturing a passion for animal care among its workforce.
Guy King was named Pig Farmer of the Year at the national 2023 Farmers Weekly Awards, winning praise for his company development and his commitment to the environment.
He set up his own firm from scratch in 2005, and now GSK Pigs manages 8,600 sows across nine outdoor units in Norfolk and Suffolk, employing around 55 staff.
Mr King said this growth was built on a virtuous circle centred on high animal welfare - creating an environment which improves the health and happiness of the pigs, thereby boosting productivity, job satisfaction, staff retention and, ultimately, sustainable business growth.
And he said the challenge for the wider industry is to train and motivate its workforce to make the health and welfare of livestock the main goal of every working day.
"One of my goals for a long time has been to try and enthuse young people into the industry and to get them to stay in it," he said. "Everyone has different abilities and there are jobs out here that are far more rewarding than sitting in an office pushing buttons.
"As an industry, we are pretty competitive when it comes to wages for young people to start their careers but, once they are in, then it is the real challenge.
"What we need to do is try and enthuse them to take more out of the job than just turning up every day and throwing a bit of feed at some pigs.
"Here, we are trying to encourage them to understand the dynamic of why they are doing what they are doing - and what the end result is.
"The quality of life for the pigs should be the rewarding thing for us. It should be the thing we take away with us at the end of the day, knowing that all the pigs have been well-fed and well-cared for. That should give a real sense of achievement.
"Productivity comes with an understanding of why you do the job. If I say to the staff that I want more pigs and that is all I'm worried about, I will get less.
"But if I say to them your job is to take care of those pigs, make their lives as comfortable as possible, keep them as well-fed as possible, keep their vaccines up, and all those types of things, that leads to more productivity because the sows will have more piglets, they will look after them better, the whole thing spirals.
"That is where we need to go as an industry, to sell the husbandry side and give people a sense of purpose so they feel they can make a difference in making these animals' lives better, which has a knock-on effect on production."
Mr King lives at Lexham, near Swaffham, but his home unit, from which the business grew, is based at Guist, near Fakenham.
Most of GSK's pigs are supplied into grower units run by major pork producers BQP, but he has also partnered with a rare breeds farm near Holt, with the meat butchered locally.
In addition, Greenlane Organics, a 400-sow farrow-to-finish setup at Sandringham, is run on behalf of the Organic Pig Company, producing pork for Waitrose.
To reduce his farms' environmental impact, Mr King was among the pioneers of planting deep-rooting grass leys in pig paddocks to improve soil condition, lower the risk of soil erosion and pollution into watercourses, and cool the ground temperature in the summer.
"Sustainability in the industry is something that's really important to me," he said. "I have got two young sons, my youngest is really interested in this business and would like to come into it, so I want it to still be here in the next 50 years.
"I think we look at sustainability in terms of the environment and our carbon footprint, but we forget that no business is sustainable unless we have got the staff to run it.
"That commitment to give young people a decent job and try and give them the enthusiasm to enjoy what they do is key because they have got to be the farm managers of the future."
Mr King is also keen to bring in recruits with "life experience", having picked up valuable transferable skills himself from outside farming, having worked as a mechanic and a builder before setting up his own business.
His staff are offered in-house training and industry-recognised stockman development courses via the AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board).
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