ASF was detected at the Ekseko breeding farm in Viljandi County late last August, prompting the emergency culling of 8,000 sows and 21,000 piglets.

Maag Agro board member Priit Dreimann told ERR that the farm has now been restocked with 2,700 sows, with the first piglets due in late November or early December. The downtime was also used to renovate and update the facility, including its animal housing and manure-handling systems.

"We started bringing in sows in June, and that process is now complete," Dreimann said. "Normal operations will hopefully be fully back up and running by early next year."

The outbreak also prompted major changes to the farm's everyday operations in terms of biosecurity measures, including redesigned entry procedures, additional disinfection points and facilities to reduce contact between people and vehicles.

The surrounding woodland was also cleared and converted into parkland to discourage wildlife from sheltering there.

Ekseko previously housed nearly 8,000 sows but will now keep just 2,700 to reduce the risk of another outbreak. The cutback also resulted in staff layoffs.

Helen Prommik, an expert at the Agriculture and Food Board (PTA), said ASF did not reach any pig farms this year, although the disease was detected in 122 wild boars, or 1.2 percent of those tested.

Rapla County had the most confirmed cases with 33, followed by Harju County with 19 and Lääne County with 14 cases. No domestic pigs tested positive for ASF this year.

'Hopefully the subsidies will help'

Of the 19 farms affected by previous ASF outbreaks, two have closed, while another farm that operated in rented premises has resumed operations under a new tenant.

Estonia's overall domestic pig population, however, remains well below pre-outbreak levels. As of this September, the country had around 215,000 domestic pigs in all, compared with approximately 280,000 pigs in early summer 2025, Prommik said.

Pig prices are also currently low across Europe, she noted.

"Hopefully, the investment subsidies aimed at pork producers will help," the PTA official said. "Perhaps the measure will even lead to the establishment of an entirely new pig farm in Estonia."

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