People love pork, and pork is the top three protein sources especially in Asia. In 2013, the top 5 pork meat producers were China, U.S., Brazil, Germany, Spain, and Vietnam. An increase in global demand for pork products has driven a trend of concentration and industrialization in pig production worldwide. More and more traditional farms transform to centralized businesses or disappear due to rising feed costs, diseases, environmental issues and government policies. For example, in Denmark, the number of sows per farm increased by 40 percent between 2002 and 2011. During the same period, the number of farms has dropped by almost 50 percent, while the number of pigs produced per sow per year was improved by about 20 percent. The adoption of new high-tech technology is the key to increase efficiency and production to meet the demand for pork.
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New-generation Pig Farm
In the recent years, farmers have developed the most technologically advanced farming technologies to increase their production, efficiency and profitability. There are some features in these pig farms. Some of them integrating big data to control feeding, breeding, temperature, climatic parameters and cost, and some others leverage computerized interconnection and use other resources to generate clean energies for efficient energy consumptions.
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Temperature Control and Clean Energy
There are many temperature sensors in the farms equipped with Intelligent Temperature Control System. The sensors collect information in the room and the fan will adjust the volume by computer accordingly.
There are two unique ways to generate clean energy in pig farms: installing the solar panels on the farm roof, and collecting the pig manure for biogas. Both can reduce air emissions and odors. Furthermore, the electricity produced by biogas can be used onsite or sold to the grid.
Information Management
Raising pigs is a complex and dynamic business. Large-scale pig farm consists of more than 10,000 pigs. It is difficult to manage feeding toward specific pig without computerized management system. The knack of improving the profitability and efficiency of a pig farm lies in controlling the sow and piglet feeds. Farmers need to record many data of the pig every day, such as the feeding conditions, temperature and humidity, disease treatments, birth and weaning weights, feed-to-yield rate, and water consumption.
Analyzing all these data enables insights for relative effective decisions.
Reproduction Technologies
What concerns farmers the most is how they can improve the efficacy in breeding. In fact, semen management plays the most. Precise quality control of semen can greatly enhance the efficiency of breeding. The iSperm analyzer (Aidmics Biotechnology) helps farmers deal with the task easier than ever before. iSperm tells semen quality (concentration and motility), reserve data in the cloud, and thus provides better strategies for breeding. Furthermore, iSperm can be integrated into existent farming management system. Smart farming is no longer a sci-fi scene in the films.
Reference:
- http://www.statista.com/statistics/263964/number-of-pigs-in-selected-countries/
- http://www.iatp.org/files/2014_03_26_PorkReport_f_web.pdf
- http://www.wattagnet.com/articles/18269-challenges-and-opportunities-in-the-pig-industry
- http://www.wattagnet.com/articles/13047-new-pig-farm-technology-improves-profitability-productivity
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogas