Articles - Facilities and equipment

Many farm design parameters have changed. Animal welfare has become even more important and genetic evolution has resulted in productive variation between breeds.

The application of BATs to optimize the management of slurry inside the barns means increasing the frequency of emptying the pits to the outside storage.

Today's swine industry depends on a supply of properly balanced feed, the quality and safety of which are critical to pig health, welfare, and maximum productive performance.

Eight years ago, Granja Capdevila Torrent Ramaders started up its biogas production plant using co-digestion and is now an example of economic viability and sustainability.

Spain is the first EU country to legislate the installation of video surveillance systems in slaughterhouses, following the example of England, Scotland, and Israel.

This article describes different techniques that can be applied, in order of priority, to prevent NH₃ and CH₄ emissions.

This award recognizes farms that excel in the areas of quality, biosecurity, health, animal welfare, and reducing environmental impact.

This article provides an example of the cost per ton of CO₂ saved by reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions through daily slurry removal and anaerobic digestion.

Quality is essential for the sustainability, reliability, and profitability of any company. In pig production, we can also apply the integral concept of quality starting with the purchase of raw materials and feed.

A very simple and functional panel for moving pigs in finishing barns.

This innovative ramp designed by Hylife improves piglet welfare and reduces physical strain on farm workers during the weaning process.

We went to visit Piggly, a sustainable farm from an environmental, production, animal welfare, and economic perspective.

Using solar energy to evaporate part of the water from the slurry can be of interest, avoiding volatization of ammonia. Solar drying can be combined with other strategies.

Slaughterhouses and cutting companies plan to automate their production lines but face numerous constraints that complicate implementation...

Removing nitrogen from slurry by transforming it into N₂ can be done biologically or by physical-chemical methods, the latter of which are in the experimental phase for slurry.

Continuous monitoring of sow weight has significantly improved feed use efficiency and sow longevity.

Although these strategies do not include anaerobic digestion in the combination of processes and therefore do not take advantage of its benefits, they do provide a higher organic matter content in the recovered effluents.

A simple piece of hardware could protect your piglet feeders from damage and save you time when cleaning.

This corridor allows sows to be moved with minimal intervention from the staff.

Among other things, anaerobic digestion improves the fertilizer quality of slurry and reduces odors and GHG emissions. The choice to use this or not will also depend on the justification of the cost, i.e. whether it allows for energy savings on the farm or whether it provides an income from the sale of the energy generated.

In addition to the environmental benefits, the increased cost of energy and inorganic fertilizers make on-farm biogas production an interesting cost-effective option.

Solid/liquid slurry separation systems improve the subsequent management of the slurry, such as its transport or further treatment of each fraction.

Acidification of slurry prevents the formation of ammonia and its loss by volatilization, reducing the loss of fertilizer value of the slurry.

Allowing piglets to interact with the neighboring litter via an opening could reduce aggression at weaning.