The Silence of Empty Farms – A Lesson in Resilience for Romania’s Pig Industry

In the latest episode of Meat.Milk., Adrian Balaban, veterinarian and president of the Romanian Pig Producers Association (APCPR), speaks about one of the least understood realities of Romanian agriculture: the moment when a farm falls silent. There’s no daily noise of animals, no workers in the barns, no movement. Only silence. A silence that weighs heavy — a silence in which you finally understand what loss truly means in an industry that lives from life itself, and from the sacrifice of those who sustain it.

Since 2017, African Swine Fever has fundamentally changed the face of Romania’s pig sector. Over 1.8 million pigs have been culled, and the country now imports more than 70% of the pork it consumes. Out of roughly 3.5 million pigs raised annually in commercial farms, only 360 farms comply with European biosecurity standards. The rest — millions of animals raised in household backyards — remain outside any controlled system. This is the major vulnerability of a sector still struggling to survive.

For Adrian Balaban, the cost of biosecurity cannot be measured only in money. Every day, entering a modern farm means showers, full clothing changes, disinfection, and veterinary control. Each legally raised pig adds at least 10 euros in extra protection costs. But the real price comes on the day when everything stops. When the barns are empty, you lose not only animals — you lose the meaning of your work.

The Meat.Milk. episode featuring Adrian Balaban is not just about loss, but also about clarity and rebuilding. Balaban warns that Romania continues to confuse the terms that define the identity of local products:

• Manufactured means safe, controlled, verified.
• Artisanal means craftsmanship, but also variability.
• Traditional means officially recognized authenticity — not improvisation.

This clarity is not a semantic detail; it is a prerequisite for the real development of the sector, for consumer trust, and for the protection of those who work honestly.

It’s not just a market issue or a matter of public policy. It’s about people who refused to give up, about the silence of an empty farm — and the courage it takes to fill it again. It’s about respect for work, for animals, and for a profession that demands, above all, soul.

Every farm that endures is a form of dignity. Every legally raised pig is a promise for the future. And the silence that Adrian Balaban speaks of is also the beginning of a reconstruction that depends on everyone — farmers, authorities, and consumers alike.