EuroTier, the worlds largest exhibition in the field of pig farming, opens its doors after the pandemic and starts with an impressive presence, showing off the latest trends in pig farming and feeding technology
In sow husbandry, health, such as intact respiratory tract, good feed intake and feed conversion for the later lactation period is now the top priority as opposed to breeding performance with regard to piglet numbers which was previously considered the top priority.
To date, most of the livestock buildings have been divided into production sections. However, with the passing of the long-awaited Animal Welfare Livestock Ordinance in February 2021, this system can no longer be fully complied with. For new buildings or major conversions, but also for certain financing, the new Animal Welfare Livestock Ordinance must be complied with. Also, keeping a sow individually is now only allowed in the farrowing area or in a recovery bay provided the sow is able to turn around unhindered within a certain predefined area. Also, the herd size should always be below ten sows.
The call-out stations will also increase due to the new regulation in the arena breeding and holding pen. When straw is fully used in the animal areas, these are cleaned of manure using large-scale technology. When it comes to farrowing pens, they have been given long transitional periods in the Animal Welfare and Livestock Farming Ordinance. Older models of farrowing bays no longer meet the desired standard. If construction takes place, new farrowing pens will be aimed for in order to use the freed-up space for further production processes and to maintain the space for the stock animals without increasing the animal population.
The exercise farrowing bays are tested again and again and there will certainly be many different makes on exhibit at EuroTier. The farrowing bays required by law must have an area of at least 6.5 sq m. The daily feed quantities are divided into even smaller feed portions, for which, there are solutions such as labour-intensive hand feeding, volumetric feeders, computer-assisted liquid feeding and computer-assisted portion feeding systems.
The new Animal Welfare Livestock Ordinance also includes a stricter limit on the number of animals at feedlots and the feed presentation time. Long automatic dryers with integrated water intake can be found at EuroTier, but they must always be tried out in terms of functional reliability. Moreover, energy costs are rising rapidly, which is why even more attention is being paid to microclimate zones in the lying area. The animal welfare discussion has gained the most importance with fattening pigs. The fattening farms want to implement the animal welfare concept and build appropriate housing or at least convert to this husbandry level.
In terms of construction, a great deal will be shown at EuroTier for these husbandry levels. One company has developed a three-legged block and tackle called "Lifty" to make this physically demanding work easier. Other innovations include the ‘optiMARKER’, a marking station with optical scales for fattening pigs, which can be seen at EuroTier.
When it comes to pig health, many factors can affect the health status of pigs. An early warning system called ‘SoundTalks’ will be exhibited at EuroTier. This monitoring system consists of individual monitors that are suspended in the pen compartments at a height of approximately 2 m which enables one monitor to monitor an area in the barn with a diameter of 20 m. The ‘SoundTalks’ early warning system also supports reduced use of antibiotics through early warning.
The new Animal Welfare and Livestock Husbandry Ordinance and the associated implementation instructions will also regulate the size of the piglet nest. One company will show a "Thermo W/E thermochrome piglet nest heater" at the trade fair. Another company will show a bedding technology under the name ‘OLLIGES Bedding Robot’ at EuroTier which travels electrically on a steel frame over the pens.
