Big Dutchman presents pig farm of 2030

Undoubtedly one of the must-sees of this year’s EuroTier is the concept swine farm of the future, revealed by Big Dutchman.

The German livestock equipment producer, which has multi-alley booths in various halls, used one of its spaces to reconstruct an innovative-style booth which combines ideas, concepts with solutions developed or in development by Big Dutchman.

Main goals of the farm concept, called Concept Study Pig Production 2030, are to raise interest and debate; to show the industry what may be possible and to get ahead of likely future legislation.

Key drivers behind the new concept are the environment, animal welfare, and data gathering, sums up Daniel Holling, product manager for sow feeding systems at Big Dutchman.

Solutions

The farm, which is based on an existing 60 sow farrow-to-finish facility in Lower Saxony, showcases various solutions that are already marketed, like SonoCheck (ultrasound pregnancy scanning in sow feeding stations) as well as the SowCheck (heat reflex test in sow feeding stations). The concept also includes on-demand dry feeding for sows during lactation, Electronic Sow Feeding stations, an automatic manure removal system and free farrowing systems.

Holling said, “One of the thoughts in our plan was that animals should be able to move freely during the complete production cycle.”

The display is equipped with two elaborate viewing platforms. Big Dutchman had to ship in 40 artifical sows and 80 artificial piglets to fill the ‘farm’ building, as real pigs are nowhere to be found on the showgrounds. The company estimates that by the end of EuroTier, about 20,000 visitors will have seen its concept.

Related websites:

EuroTier

Big Dutchman