6.Suehiro Farm (Chiba, Japan)

1. History

This farm is located approximately 12 km east of Narita Fudo, and was founded in July 1888 when the ” Iwasaki family ” purchased a collective land of 300 hectares here and planted trees under the management of Mitsubishi Limited Partnership Company. It was called Suehiro Field because the topography of the area resembled an unfolded fan, and then on January 1, 1912, the name was changed to Suehiro Farm, and the ” Iwasaki Family Office ” started with three businesses: pig farming and tillage. It is currently managed by the company. The farm employs approximately 60 people, including Mr. Tsuneyoshi Tachibana, the farm manager, and six employees.

2 Business overview

Pig farming is mainly large and medium Yorkshire breeds, with Berkshire breeds as well, and to this day, we often breed high-quality purebred pigs for use as breeding pigs and processed products, and we have bred more than 70 breeding sows every year. The farm produces 700 to 800 piglets, and the breeding pigs go through the Tachikawa Pig Farm and are sold throughout the country. Some of the meat pigs are used for in-house processing, while others are supplied to the general market under control.

We raise about 2,000 adult chickens, mainly White Leghorn and Rhode Island breeds, but also Light Sussex Shamoin Indian game for meat, and out of these, we raise over 50 chickens that can produce over 300 eggs per year. The annual production amount reaches approximately 450,000 units, which are sold to the general market through the hands of local industry associations. On the other hand, they are equipped with an electric incubator to hatch and raise 8,000 chicks a year, and perform early male and female differentiation, and males other than potential breeding chicks are castrated, fattened, and shipped for meat, as well as for on-site processing.

Farmers cultivate barley, wheat, corn, and vegetables for the purpose of self-sufficiency in feed for their own livestock. The area under which corn is cultivated is approximately 50 hectares, and the area for wheat is 22,3 hectares, with a yield of approximately 45 tons. In addition, for the purposes of fertilizer testing, usage area testing, and sowing season testing, we have set up an experimental garden measuring approximately 7 hectares to conduct various research tests.

The forest is mainly made up of cedar, pine, and cypress, and extends over approximately 200 hectares, but the time has not yet come for clear-cutting, and the forest is cut down at appropriate times and used primarily for internal purposes.

In addition, the farm is equipped with an ice-making and canning factory, and has been producing ham, bacon, and various sausages since last year using pigs and fattened chicks.