The pig industry is not standing still. Far from it. This is evident from the host of innovations that are in the race for the title “The Best Idea of Pig Country 2024. This innovation award will be presented on Nov. 19. Pig Business puts some of the finalists in the spotlight.
Dutch pig farming is among the best in the world in terms of working methods and efficiency. Nevertheless, there are still gains to be made in quite a few areas. This is evident from the innovations that are in the race for “The Best Idea of Pig Country 2024. On the one hand, these excel in variety and relate to many aspects of pig farming. For example, a device is under development that will soon help entrepreneurs accurately track the weight development of their animals. A great example of how Artificial Intelligence is gaining a foothold in pig farming.
Of a completely different order is a bioactivator that addresses ammonia emissions at the source. Or the FlexiPigFloor; a way to repair concrete slatted floors quickly, easily and economically, so that the gap width once again meets the legal requirements. This last innovation shows that innovation also comes from practice itself: entrepreneurs experience a problem on their farm and actively seek a solution themselves. With success. All this shows that pig farming is proactive and brimming with innovation. That fact alone is something to be proud of!
A handheld device with a camera, which – based on a photograph – can determine the exact weight of a pig. That is the idea behind the idea “Weighing without Scales,” which is in the race for “The Best Idea of Pig Country 2024. The innovation will eventually allow pig farmers to accurately monitor an animal’s weight development. This will help them better manage feed rations and animal health and, according to developer Pieter Hoenderken, contribute to better operating results.
Making a substantial contribution to the development of the pig sector, by offering pig farmers – through data generation – new insights. That is the goal of Pieter Hoenderken, owner of Impact Smart Solutions in Doetinchem. This company focuses on developing IT solutions for pig farming, among other things. ,,Among other things, we offer a monitoring system that gives entrepreneurs accurate insight into the water intake of their animals,” says Hoenderken. “About a hundred pig farmers work with this system, which we developed in cooperation with a pig farmer, a feed supplier and a veterinarian.”
Meanwhile, a second solution or service for the pig industry is in the pipeline. The working title is “Weighing without scales. ,,The weight of piglets and fattening pigs is now often determined with the naked eye. So wet-finger work,” says the IT entrepreneur. ,,Sometimes a tape measure is put around the belly, to make an estimate. But the fact is that weight is not determined based on hard data. Partly because entrepreneurs find buying a scale too expensive. That’s a shame; pig farmers are missing out on optimization opportunities because of this.”
To change this, Hoenderken is working on a program that can automatically determine – based on a photograph – the weight of a pig. Here the company is pulling together with research center Schothorst Feed Research in Lelystad. ,,We are training an Artificial Intelligence system at their location to recognize individual animals based on their ear tag and also to determine the weight of an animal. Cameras hanging above the pens take pictures of the animals. The AI system gets thousands of photos in front of it plus the weight associated with the animals in the photos. The weights are generated by a scale placed under the floor of the pens during the learning period. By entering a lot of data, the system learns and will soon be able to determine for itself – based on a photo – how heavy an animal is.”
Eventually, the AI system should be housed in a small handheld device containing a special camera. ,,The pig farmer can then take a picture of an animal in his stall and the AI system will determine how heavy a pig is based on this. Because there is a specific camera, things like abnormal lighting are automatically filtered out. The device also has an RFID receiver, to read the animal’s ear tag. Thus, the weight is directly linked to a specific animal.”
The development of this concrete tool is not a distant future, Hoenderken points out. “Our aim is to introduce the device in the second quarter of next year.”
The IT entrepreneur is convinced that the “weighing without scales” can bring pig farmers a lot of profit. ,,With the app, entrepreneurs will soon be able to accurately and frequently determine and monitor the weight development of their animals. Among other things, they can adjust the feed ration to this; they can steer in a more targeted and efficient way in this respect. This will save them feed costs. The tool also helps in monitoring animal health: after all, if the weight gain of an animal lags behind, there is a good chance that something is wrong. In doing so, you don’t deliver your animals too heavy and you avoid unnecessary costs. In short: costs are better contained and animals become healthier. In this way, closely monitoring weight development helps pig farmers improve their business results.”
The challenge, according to Hoenderken, is to market the tool at a reasonable price. That is a must; otherwise entrepreneurs will not use it. Nevertheless, there is already plenty of interest in our innovation. Especially from young entrepreneurs, who are more focused on data-driven work.”
The IT professional is pleased with the nomination for “The Best Idea of Pig Country” and hopes that this will raise the innovation’s profile with the target audience. But above all, we want to deliver a good product. Something that really benefits the sector.”
Repair concrete slatted floors quickly, easily and economically so that the gap width again meets legal requirements. That’s the FlexiPigFloor – one of the finalists of “The Best Idea of Pig Country 2024” – in a nutshell. In addition, the innovation allows entrepreneurs to switch to a closed floor relatively easily. “Contrary to what many entrepreneurs think, replacing grates is not the only option,” he said.
The FlexiPigFloor comes from the quiver of Asbo Floor Systems. Roland van Asten of the Van Asten Group and developer Wietse van Bokhoven are the driving forces behind this venture. ,,The idea for the FlexiPigFloor originated several years ago, on our own farm,” says Van Asten, who runs a pig farm with his family with locations in the Netherlands and Germany. ,,We noticed that the gaps in the concrete slatted floors were widening over time, due to wear and tear. As a result, they were wider than the legally permitted gap width, which is 18 millimeters for finishing pigs. Replacing grates is an enormously labor-intensive job. You often have to tear down the entire pen to replace the slatted floor. And sometimes it still doesn’t work. There are pig farmers who almost have to tear down their entire barn to get this done.”
There had to be another way, Van Asten thought. Therefore, some four years ago he developed – together with Van Bokhoven – the FlexiPigFloor. This consists of two variants: a Basic and a Dura variant. ,,The Basic variant consists of aluminum strips, containing slits that have the legally permitted width per animal category,” explains the entrepreneur. ,,We first apply a special coating to the floor. This coating has optimum adhesion and good resistance to chemicals. Then we press the strip into the coating. In order to fix the strip properly and to ensure an even floor, another coating layer is then applied. The floor is then coated with a special granulate and we apply a top coat. In this way, a floor meets the legal gap width again relatively easily.”
However, the strips are not a good solution for heavily worn concrete slatted floors. ,,The strips do not adhere well then. That’s why we developed the Dura variant about a year ago. Here we place profiles next to the cracks in the slatted floor, so that the crack is once again exactly the legally permissible width. Then we apply cement coating between the profiles; the floor is actually recast. This also makes it nice and level again.”
Both variants are now being used at Van Asten’s company. He says the two solutions can additionally be used to make the switch to a closed floor. ,,We have special profiles and strips for this, which can be put over the existing gaps and where the maximum of five percent of openings is not exceeded. Manure and urine drain well through round holes. The application is otherwise the same. So with the FlexiPigFloor you can easily repair your concrete slatted floor on the one hand and also make the transition to a closed floor.”
According to the entrepreneur, the solution is often cheaper than replacing a concrete slatted floor. ,,If you have to demolish pens or part of the barn, replacing slatted floors quickly costs 150 to 200 euros per square meter. The Basic variant of our FlexiPigFloor costs – depending on the number of square meters – 95 to 110 euros per square meter. The Dura variant works out at 115 to 135 euros per square meter – again, the surface area determines the price. In addition to the cost advantage, both variants involve a fully coated floor, into which moisture does not absorb as quickly. This therefore requires less energy to heat up the floor. Also, the floor is easy to spray clean and dries quickly. This benefits hygiene.”
According to Van Asten, the solutions hardly have any disadvantages. The strips don’t really have any negative points. With the Dura variant, removing the gratings is a bit more difficult.”
Meanwhile, other pig farmers have also shown interest in the FlexiPigFloor. It has even already been installed on some farms. ,,The fact that we will receive a silver medal for this innovation during the upcoming edition of EuroTier will help to raise awareness. And we hope that our nomination for ‘The Best Idea of Pig Country’ will also contribute to this. Many pig farmers now do not know that there is a simple alternative to replacing concrete slatted floors; this has to change.”
A better operating result thanks to a lower amount of ammonia in the barn, healthier animals and manure with a higher nitrogen concentration. Therein, according to Peter Reijnoudt, lies the main added value of MicroAktiv-BS. This product, which is in the race for ‘The Best Idea of Pig Country 2024, ensures that bacteria in pig manure become more active and absorb more ammonium. Despite this, Dutch pig farmers are not yet particularly enthusiastic about the application of this so-called bioactivator.
The MicroAktiv-BS product comes from QM Environmental International. This company develops, produces and imports microbial products for use in agriculture. “Our goal is to eliminate chemistry as much as possible and motivate entrepreneurs to work organically and naturally,” says Peter Reijnoudt. He is responsible for the company’s marketing and communications.
The MicroAktiv-BS product was developed as early as 2002. Yet it lay “on the shelf” for many years. “Only when the discussion about ammonia emissions in animal husbandry was stirred up a few years ago did we put it on the market. With this product you tackle ammonia emissions at the source; after all, we start with the environment of the animals. It is – unlike an air scrubber, for example – not an ‘end-of-pipe solution’.”
The so-called bioactivator is a liquid consisting mainly of plant and seaweed extracts. These extracts cause the bacteria in the pig manure to work harder, Reijnoudt points out. “As a result, they absorb more ammonium, reducing emissions. By how much depends very much on the barn and the exact conditions. In some cases, the reduction can be as much as 80 percent.”
The product is spread weekly on the barn floor; either manually or through the misting system present in the barn. “So it does require extra work, but this is manageable. Especially when you spread the product via the misting installation. And the application is simple. In addition, we are currently investigating whether MicroAktiv-BS can also be added to the feed and whether this has the same effect.”
According to Reijnoudt, deployment of the product can yield many gains. The biggest gain lies in better animal health, he points out. “Less ammonia in the barn results in less respiratory disease, less stress and better feed conversion. Practical experiences also show that mortality rates go down. Because of all this, the use of MicroAktiv-BS contributes to better operating results; the yield per animal place goes up. This was also shown in practical research conducted by VKON. Currently WUR and Aeres Hogeschool Barneveld, among others, are conducting trials with the product.”
He also cites the advantage that more ammonium is sequestered in the manure, raising its value. “This has added value in marketing. And when a pig farmer applies the manure to his own land, he has to use less fertilizer. This, too, saves him costs. Because of these advantages, the investment required by MicroAktiv-BS – it’s 1.96 euros per animal place per year – can be recouped in a short time. You can actually compare it to the payback time of the feed, water and medicine that pigs consume. Once MicroAktiv-BS is deployed, the animals benefit.”
Although the bioactivator is already widely used in countries such as Romania, Dutch pig farmers are still reluctant, Reijnoudt points out. “In Dutch pig farming, MicroAktiv-BS is hardly applied yet. There are several reasons for this. Most entrepreneurs have already invested a lot in reducing ammonia emissions, for example in the form of air scrubbers. Because of this, they are sort of beaten to death and don’t have much desire to try anything new.”
In addition, there is still the necessary skepticism surrounding products such as MicroAktiv-BS. “Compare it to the resistance to homeopathy, for example. We hope that our participation in ‘The Best Idea of Pig Country’ will make pig farmers take this solution more seriously. And that they will start to see the added value of natural products. Because with MicoAktiv-BS we can make a serious contribution to solving the nitrogen problems the pig farming industry is facing.”
Communicating the true story of pig farming to consumers and citizens, preferably told by pig farmers themselves. That is what ‘The Pig Story’ is all about. Because the organization has noticed that pig farmers find it difficult to determine which way of sector promotion suits them best, a decision-support tool is now being developed. This should lower the threshold for entrepreneurs to get started with promotion. The tool, the first version of which will be delivered shortly, is in the race for “The Best Idea of Pig Country 2024.
‘The Pig Story’ saw the light of day about five years ago. ,,Sector promotion is of great importance for the future of pig farming in our country,” says Pleun Leeijen, daily manager at the POV and from that role involved in The Pig Story. ,,After all, by telling your own story, you create social support. As POV we think it is important to shape this sector promotion as much as possible from the entrepreneurs themselves. After all, they are best placed to communicate the story. The Pig Story organization does support them in this. By offering videos they can share, giving special courses, et cetera. There is also a general Pig Story website, we as an organization are active on social media, place advertisements and are present during events.”
Leeijen emphasizes that there are a lot of opportunities for pig farmers to contribute to sector promotion. For example, building their own website, being active on social media, offering farm education, realizing a display barn, being present during events, and so on. ,,Everyone does it in their own way; that is also the strength of ‘The Pig Story’. In practice, however, we notice that entrepreneurs often find it difficult to determine what they can best do, what form of promotion suits them. They often think too big, while certainly not everyone needs to open a show-stall right away. You can also tell the story of the sector in a ‘small’ way. Every pig farmer can contribute, there is always an option that suits you.”
To lower the threshold for pig farmers and motivate more operators to get started with promotion, the organization is working on a decision-support tool. ,,That means, among other things, that we will develop and distribute an online chatbot. The first version will be launched this fall. This computer program will ask entrepreneurs several questions, giving them insight into what form of promotion suits them and their business. There will also be a more concise, paper version with a few questions, which will guide pig farmers to certain options. Currently, 60 pig farmers are actively involved in The Pig Story. We hope this will increase substantially with the development of the tool.”
Leeijen also hopes that the final spot at ‘The Best Idea of Pig Country 2024’ will ensure that the importance of sector promotion is brought to the extra attention of pig farmers. ,,So that more entrepreneurs will think about what they can do. Ultimately, we have to do it together. WUR research recently showed that society’s appreciation of pig farming is higher now than it was six to ten years ago. The Pig Story has undoubtedly contributed to that.”
About ‘The Best Idea of Pig Country 20224’
On Nov. 19, “The Best Idea of Pig Country 2024” will be announced. Six finalists will compete for the title. The winner will be supported with knowledge and experience to further develop the idea into an implementable concept that takes the sector to the next level.
Besides the nominees featured in this article, Rainier van Gelderen with the idea ‘AI assist helps’ and students from Aeres MBO Barneveld with the innovation ‘Tail coating’ are also in the race for the prize. You will soon read more about these two nominations on the Pig Business website.
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