PHOTO REPORT: Agromek 2014

Denmark in November means relatively short daylight. It’s gets dark before you know it. Let’s quickly go inside!

The timing only two weeks after EuroTier, is related to Denmark’s strong machinery industry as they do not wish to be scheduled right after AgriTechnica, held in alternating years in Hanover, Germany.

Let’s dive into the livestock halls. First question – did livestock equipment companies ACO Funki and Egebjerg International present themselves as two separate entities after the takeover by ACO Funki? The answer was ‘no’. They both shared a booth this time.

Innovations could receive one to three stars, in the range from ‘new for the company’ to ‘entirely new on the market’. For two of the pig innovations, there was a special jury award. One of these went to Danish pig equipment company Skiold for its PigSaver.

The PigSaver is the transparent tube in the middle of the picture which allows small amounts of creep feed to be dispensed right into the piglet nest in the farrowing pen. Apart from removing the need to feed by hand as well as easing the weaning transition, the novelty is that the feed can be dispensed just prior to the sow getting her feed. This way all piglets are distracted from the sow and run to their creep feed – thus avoiding crushing.

The other special jury award went to Vissing Agro for their Vissing Hybrid – which is essentially a free access stall to be used in a group housing pen for gestating sows and distribution on the basis of an Electronic Sow Feeding (ESF) system. Fewer stalls would be needed in a group and the concept can be retrofitted – e.g. in the US and Canada.

This stall comes with a steel bar in the centre to avoid the sows from lying down in front of a trough. On the sides there are covers to avoid being bothered by other hungry pen mates.

The registering and distribution is taken care of by a Gestal computer system of Jyga Technologies, a Canadian company known for its automated and monitored feeding concept in lactating sows.

Speaking of which – Nedap Livestock Management, from the Netherlands, also upgraded their portfolio. Their Farrowing Feeding system is a logical addition to their automated ESF approach. The black device, to be placed underneath a feeding dispenser, automatically monitors and dispenses the right amount of feed to be given to each individual lactating sow. All rations for each sow can be individually read and changed using e.g. a smartphone – colour codes indicate where attention is needed.

More automation in the pig house – this robot by Danish agricultural machinery company JH Agro introduced an existing application, the JHminiStrø into the swine range. This robot, which moves along ceiling of a farm house, distributes straw into sow houses for better welfare purposes.

And what about the EvoCleaner by Swedish company Envirologic? This company is well-known of its CleverCleaner, a flexible and pre-programmable robot arm, taking care of the hard work in cleaning & disinfecting: the cleaning of filth and dirt in pig rooms using high-pressure. The company has now upgraded the product, with e.g. a waterproof touchscreen panel and a more modern look.

Prominently present is Skov – the Danish ventilation experts. Their biological air cleaning solutions usually takes most air out through the roof.

Time to build a larger award cupboard – Dutch agricultural company MS Schippers received a EuroTier gold medal two weeks ago and also received three stars for its HyCare concept.

Last but not least – in fact the pig events had kicked off one day prior to Agromek with its International Pig Seminar, organised in close cooperation with the Danish Research Centre, and with various speakers informing us about the Danish pig industry. This included e.g. Asger Kjaer Nielsen, who reported on behalf of the Danish Pig Research Centre on the welfare regulations in Denmark.

The regulations and progress in the environmental field were summarised by Anders Leegaard Riis. He explained about various ways on how to clean the air in and around pig farms.

Bent Nielsen zoomed into the Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) system existing in Denmark, making the Danish genetics popular all over the world. What does it take to get there and to keep it that way.

All in all, judging on the number of visitors, one wouldn’t know that EuroTier was only two weeks ago.

And well, even if you’re tired of all impressions, there’s always a seat to take a rest.