Articles - Facilities and equipment

The payment this grow out receives for its pigs is about 1.5 cents/kg live weight higher compared to the rest of the finishing farms of the same origin.

HoCoTec is a production system that takes on the challenge of serving as an open center for learning and experimentation.

Twelve years ago, the French cooperative Cooperl implemented the TRAC system, a novel way of removing slurry from the pits several times a day, significantly reducing ammonia emissions inside the barns.

We can place the weakest piglets from each litter to dry out and warm up in this incubator while we tend to the next sows.

Here's how to make a modular gate that is adjustable in length and can easily be installed in all the aisles of the sow farm.

The complexity of our situation and the objectives to achieve will depend on the results of the nutrient balance. Where do I stand? We'll help you answer this question.

Preventing the entry and spread of diseases should be an objective on any swine farm, so adequately designing biosecurity aspects is key. In this article, we continue to discuss biosecurity measures with two experts: Lara Ruiz and José Casanovas.

We went to visit an Italian farm where the sows are free housed in the farrowing room. We asked some questions to better understand the system.

In this article, we look at which elements of biosecurity should be considered in the design of a sow farm, although they are applicable to any farm.

Fertilization is the most direct and simplest way to give value to our slurry. Here we explain several points to take into account for proper fertilization of your soils and crops.

Reducing slurry at the source means modifying production guidelines to reduce environmental effects and improve the subsequent management of slurry.

The slurry that my farm produces is becoming a problem. How can I get the most value from it? How do I make the most of this resource? This step-by-step guide will help you decide which way is best suited to your situation and will allow you to transform what is perceived as a problem into an opportunity.

Pros and cons of rendering carcass disposal systems, alkaline hydrolysis, anaerobic digestion, gasification, and homogenization.

Pros and cons of the most used carcass disposal systems: burial, composting, incineration, and rendering. Impacts on environment and biosecurity.

The innovative digital biosecurity control system and its application to the objective monitoring of internal biosecurity and on-farm movements.

We explain the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of these two ventilation systems for pig farms.

The movement of live animals out of the farm can compromise farm biosecurity. A meticulously designed transfer facility and safe load out protocols are key to prevent the risk of cross contamination.

The design of this DIY chute allows sows' claws to be trimmed quickly and comfortably.

This second article on the assessment of truck cleaning and disinfection describes how to carry out and evaluate the results of microbiological validation and adenosine triphosphate detection.

What are the most important points to include when auditing the cleaning and disinfection of a truck that has transported pigs? In this article we focus on visual inspection.

In this third article we will review the key aspects and critical points that need to be considered when designing a swine transport hygiene protocol for your system.

Confinement is strongly criticised by public opinion and the industry is moving towards innovative housing of lactating sows.

This article describes what the "ideal" wash station for cleaning animal transport vehicles would look like, with the highest standards.

Prefabricated rooms or renovated shipping containers can be the first line of defense for external biosecurity, increasing the protection of our farms from the entry of diseases.