Tech heralds clean, productive future for pig farms

Piggeries integrate intelligent tools to track animal health, reduce labor costs

People have trouble actually believing that they have visited a pig farm in Tongxiang, Zhejiang province, if not for the fact that they're constantly reminded by the pig ornaments decorating the area surrounding the farms and the aroma of sausages sizzling on the grill in the farm's shop.

A pigsty is often associated with untidiness and an unpleasant smell. That's why the word is commonly used to describe messiness, such as the state of the bedrooms of teenagers. But the piggeries of Zhejiang Huateng Animal Husbandry Co Ltd are nothing like that. What's more, packed with technologies, they have set a good example of what future commercial pig farms will be like in China.

With the help of intelligent ear tags and 5G-enabled patrol robots, the farm only needs four people to take care of 10,000 hogs, which requires the efforts of about 12 people in traditional commercial pig farms. Soon, the vaccination robots will also be put to use after trials, said Yao Xuefei, who oversees the digitalization sector of the company.

The ear tag can record real-time data about each pig, including temperature and the steps it takes. "Normally, it needs three to four people to take the accurate temperature of the adult pigs. It's no longer an issue here. Also, the system can automatically inform us if a hog's temperature is too high," Yao said.

The application of technology has helped the company reduce labor costs by 80 percent. More importantly, it has significantly reduced the death rate, he added.

In the control center of the farm, Yao Kan, a member of the management team, closely monitors charts showing the real-time data of each hog as well as live images of the piggeries displayed on screens because they are each a valuable asset to the company.

"If the system sends out warnings such as a hog's temperature is too high or irregularity in its movement, we will then immediately send a staff member to check on it. Meanwhile, the 5G-enabled patrol robots have taken on the role of daily routine inspections of the piggeries," said Yao Kan, adding that the design of the piggeries will be more robot-friendly in the future.