New applied sciences, large knowledge and top-of-the-range genetics are turning into an increasing number of vital sides of winning pig farming. Alternatively, those developments don’t come reasonable, putting them out of succeed in of many small-scale manufacturers. Pig farmer CP Kriek spoke to Lindi Botha about tech answers suited for Africa.
Picture: Lindi Botha
Having {qualifications} in business engineering has proved to be a definite merit to CP Kriek and his spouse Gerda, house owners of Taaibosch Piggery in Fochville, Gauteng. Given the important thing function of era in agriculture nowadays, theirs are among the abilities that may take a farming operation to new heights.
Whilst the Krieks each come from farming backgrounds, they approached Taaibosch Piggery as a brand new project, and this has undoubtedly been efficient; they’ve been in a position to have a look at the trade with recent eyes, somewhat than just accepting the best way issues have all the time been accomplished.
When the Krieks bought the farm in 2012, manufacturing proved a problem, so it was important to regulate enter prices and give a boost to traceability.
Additionally they set about bettering the genetics in their animals by means of introducing the genes of top-performing stud pigs from world wide. This enabled them to briefly build up their herd’s productiveness.
Nowadays, the farm markets no less than 1 000 baconers each and every week from its 2 300-sow breeding and nursery unit, weaning devices, and rising and completing unit. It additionally operates its personal genetics unit of 300 purebred sows.
Kriek is satisfied that none of this is able to were conceivable with out using cutting-edge era, which on this case is on the market to all his employees.
“To run an operation of this measurement effectively calls for built-in programs, and Cloudfarms performs a vital function in that regard,” he explains.
Knowledge assortment and tracking
The Cloudfarms pig-production-management instrument program supplies real-time reporting via large knowledge captured by way of employees’ smartphones as they transfer during the pig stalls. The knowledge no longer handiest lend a hand to give a boost to the daily operating of the piggery, but additionally supply robust forecasting fashions.
The whole lot from vaccinations to therapies is recorded at the app, and the information are obtainable via each and every animal’s distinctive ID code.
“An animal’s entire historical past, from vaccinations and inseminations to accidents, weight achieve or loss and temperament, can be captured,” says Kriek.
Knowledge on semen gathered from Taaibosch’s boars also are recorded. Each and every batch is analysed, classed, and marked with a QR code indicating the boar’s ID quantity and breed, the farm, date of manufacturing and batch quantity.
A corresponding pattern of the semen may be saved to be able to check its longevity. That is specifically vital; if the semen doesn’t have longevity, it has a decrease likelihood of sooner or later resulting in a a hit being pregnant.
Kriek notes that this frame of data is useful for working out and fixing problems that get up at the farm.
“If we get a deficient muddle, we will hint whether or not it used to be as a result of one thing came about to the sow.
“An damage, an infection, the insemination procedure – such a lot of issues can in the end impact how a muddle seems, and we don’t wish to cull the sow if the reason for the dangerous muddle used to be one thing out of her keep an eye on.
“The knowledge additionally lend a hand us to forestall the problem from taking place once more,” he explains.
The method begins with the number of a sow for synthetic insemination (AI). This tournament is then created on Cloudfarms, and the QR code of the semen bag is scanned and logged to a selected sow.
The knowledge captured at this level come with the time of the AI and which employee performed it.
“Ultimately, the entire variables will also be in comparison to decide the best state of affairs for the most productive conception and weaning charges, thereby contributing to stepped forward manufacturing,” says Kriek.
One truth has turn out to be abundantly transparent via analysing the information: when employees are calm and targeted, and function in a relaxed and targeted surroundings, the consequences are the next conception charge and fitter litters.
“Sows select up on cues from their surroundings. We subsequently attempt to do the inseminations later within the morning when it’s nonetheless cool, however after the employees have finished their maximum urgent duties, as a result of then they aren’t rushed and aggravated.”
Each element of the cycle is captured on Cloudfarms. Being pregnant checks are carried out at 28 to 35 days and if a sow has did not conceive, the information on her insemination will also be traced to discover a conceivable purpose, and the method began once more.
After insemination, knowledge assortment continues all through gestation. This comprises feeding, frame situation scoring, vaccinations, and every other observations.
Correct traceability
In keeping with Kriek, one of the crucial largest advantages of the Cloudfarm era is the correct traceability it supplies, particularly on the subject of using drugs.
“If any drugs has a withdrawal length, the animals who have been medicated received’t be despatched to slaughter sooner than this era has ended. And, in line with the animals’ current drugs information, the lively components in drugs can be various to forestall the improvement of resistance.
“Cloudfarms additionally assists with maintaining a list of medications, as each and every injection is logged in opposition to a person animal’s information, thereby decreasing the stock by means of that exact dose,” he says.
Because of this when a pig is slaughtered, all data at the animal is to be had, together with the time and dose of all injections, crew feed consumption, weight achieve, time from wean to slaughter, and the main points of the father or mother boar and sow.
This can be a main lend a hand with well timed decision-making on the piggery, and Kriek is similarly interested by its long run modelling chances. Those may come with a state of affairs the place the best boar is matched with the best sow, within the preferrred local weather and on the preferrred time of day, to supply the optimum muddle and thus the optimum pig at the most productive conceivable worth.
Tailored for Africa
A problem of the era is that it comes at a steep worth. Any other is that since knowledge are captured in genuine time, a competent Web connection is very important. The Krieks, as an example, needed to spend money on wi-fi connectivity.
Lately, theirs is the one farm in South Africa the usage of Cloudfarms era, however Kriek thinks this would alternate by means of the tip of the yr; he and Gerda are participating with this system’s builders in Japanese Europe to make the gadget extra obtainable to the African marketplace.
“Few small-scale farmers in South Africa have the approach to speculate on this era, however having it as a smartphone app will make it way more inexpensive and user-friendly.
“As a result of Cloudfarms used to be advanced as a mobile-friendly program from the beginning, the usage of it on a smartphone is simple and environment friendly. On this manner, we will get started offering answers that have compatibility African prerequisites and budgets so that each one farmers can take pleasure in the era, regardless of how small their operations.”
Whilst his farm is determined by genetics from Genesus in Canada to extend productiveness, Kriek believes that since African prerequisites vary so broadly from the ones in different places on the earth, localised genetics are required.
In partnership with Genesus, Taaibosch has a breeding unit consisting of Huge White, Landrace and Duroc pigs, and this stud supplies animals for their very own farm and others. In 2017, the Krieks determined to reproduce their very own genetics, which might give them higher keep an eye on over their worth chain and enter prices, and permit them to reproduce pigs higher suited for native prerequisites.
“The climates wherein Europeans and Canadians farm are very other to these in Africa, as are the leadership programs. So whilst they may be able to arrange a muddle of 18 piglets, no longer all farmers right here can. Purchasing genetics that offer such large litters is counter-productive if the entire piglets aren’t going to make it.
“What’s extra vital is that the genetics supply robust, powerful piglets that may make it past weaning,” explains Kriek.
With red meat stuck up in a perpetual pageant with rooster for shoppers’ meals budgets, he believes that the one manner out is to extend the worth proposition of red meat.
“I wish to construct on genetics that produce no longer handiest just right carcasses, however just right consuming high quality.This implies extra marbling that may be sure that extra mushy meat with a greater flavour.
“We will handiest participate within the price competition up to some degree. After that, we wish to differentiate ourselves in the marketplace and get shoppers to some degree the place they like to shop for red meat somewhat than rooster. Red meat must be a sought-after product, no longer a substitute for red meat and rooster.”
Regulate over inputs
Taaibosch additionally runs its personal feed mill to verify optimum diet for the entire manufacturing levels around the other devices. Having keep an eye on over this enter additionally is helping to carry down prices and aids high quality keep an eye on and manufacturing.
Kriek has carried out Nedap era for his feeding gadget, which collects knowledge on feeding and weight achieve 1000’s of instances each day.
Each and every pig is fitted with a radio-frequency identity tag that logs its feed consumption and weight achieve on every occasion feed is disbursed. The gadget recognises a person sow getting into the Nedap gadget and dispenses a particular ration for her. After feeding, the sow is weighed, and this knowledge is uploaded to the Nedap and Cloudfarms programs. Information of each and every sow are saved, and their preferrred weights are maintained with rations adjusted week by means of week.
Kriek says a significant advantage of this era is that particular feeding and weight achieve will also be managed in a gaggle environment. It additionally offers him get admission to to the huge world dataset for feeding practices, this means that he can examine his herd to world averages and tendencies.
“Our feed curves vary vastly from the ones in Europe, which is why we’d like African knowledge and answers.”
Discovering personalized answers for Taaibosch is an ongoing adventure for the couple. Requested how they handle their steady innovation, Kriek says: “We’re all the time enthusiastic about give a boost to the trade as a complete, and no longer only one side at a time.
“Due to our engineering backgrounds, we all the time have our pondering caps on! We attempt for excellence, and all the time wish to be higher than we have been the day before today.”
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