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An independent expert jury appointed by the DLG (German Agricultural Society) has selected the winners of the Innovation Award EuroTier. Among the four gold and 14 silver awards are the following swine product innovations.
EuroTier Innovation Gold Award
SoundTalks® - Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH
SoundTalks is a system that continuously analyses the respiratory health status of pigs during rearing and fattening.
The monitors installed in the sty, each of which is equipped with six microphones, register all noises in the sty and are able to distinguish coughing noises from other noises with the aid of an algorithm. Since the system records 24 hours a day, it is also able to register the intensity of coughing during the resting phase, unlike the farmer, and can therefore detect coughing up to five days earlier.
EuroTier Innovation Silver Award winners:
Thermochromatic piglet nest heating Thermo W/E - MIK INTERNATIONAL GmbH & Co. KG
MIK INTERNATIONAL GmbH has developed a new, innovative approach for immediately identifying an optimized piglet nest temperature quickly and visually. To achieve this, the visible upper sides of the floor heating system elements are coated with reversible thermochromatic pigments that change colour at pre-specified minimum or maximum temperatures. This new method of easily and visually monitoring the surface temperature of a floor heating system enables the operator to determine very quickly whether a possible fault is present.
OlliGES bedding robot - Big Dutchman International GmbH
Due to changed societal and political framework conditions, straw bedding will be a significant element of modified sty and husbandry systems in pig production in the future.
With the OlliGES bedding robot, Big Dutchman GmbH has developed innovative technology that offers an approach to reducing bedding quantities. The intelligent robot independently decides where and how much bedding has to be introduced. At the same time, the OlliGES robot also undertakes completely automated bedding application in the desired locations.
optiMARKER - Hölscher + Leuschner GmbH & Co. KG
The optiMARKER is a marking station with an optical scale for fattening pigs. A new, innovative 3D camera is used to precisely determine the animals’ weight, and the animals are automatically marked with spray paint on reaching certain threshold values. Above all, the system’s mobility is innovative. The optical and marking units are small and portable, and can be inserted into simple brackets in different pens as required. This use in multiple pens also enables the compilation of groups from various pens. The measurements can additionally be stored in a central database during fattening to enable information concerning the fattening performance of individual animals (with an optional RFID antenna) or the group to be provided.
Lifty - Meier-Brakenberg GmbH & Co. KG
Pulling slurry scrapers or removing slurry plugs is often physically gruelling work that additionally poses the risk of injuries and absences due to the staff lifting weights incorrectly or twisting their back.
In the form of the Lifty, Meier-Brakenberg GmbH & Co. KG has now come up with a technical solution. The Lifty consists of a tripod frame with conically arranged legs that are screwed into the technology box located above. The box contains an electric winch that can raise a load up to one metre and which is operated using commercially available rechargeable batteries. The Lifty is positioned above the slurry plug to be removed or the scraper to be pulled or is supported, in the case of wall-mounted slurry stoppers, by its own weight after one leg has been unscrewed.
The official award ceremony will take place during the EuroTier trade fair.
September 20, 2022 - DLG
