How building automation improves pig health

Modern pig farming is increasingly leaning on automation to drive efficiencies. In the pig sector, effectively managing housing environments is critical to ensuring animal health and improving productivity.

Galebreaker’s innovations in building automation have shown how precision farming can provide not only better health outcomes for pigs but also improved financial results for farmers. In this blog, we share insights from Galebreaker’s technical director, Andrew Gardner on how the latest innovations are shaping the sector.  

Getting more from your pigs from less

Farmers are being challenged to produce more with a key focus on sustainability, while at the same time struggling to find a skilled and willing workforce. Andrew believes on-farm automation or ‘smart farm building controllers’ such as Galebreaker’s VentLogic iSeries system can help address these concerns by:

• Reducing the reliance on people – Automation removes a range of manual tasks, and with so much information being digitally recorded, you don’t always need to be on site to keep an eye on things. Having digital data readily accessible means information can be shared with vets or nutritionists, making daily jobs more efficient and freeing up time to focus on other priorities.
• Increasing efficiencies across operations – Optimised environments inside pig housing have been shown to deliver better growth rates, reduced stress, and healthier animals.
• Better cost control – The integration of adaptive systems can help reduce energy consumption, optimise resource use (e.g., water, feed), and minimise waste.
• Improving sustainability – Automation is also shown to reduce the carbon footprint of producing a kilogram of meat because there’s less waste in the whole system.
• Greater operational insights – Smart farm building controllers deliver comprehensive real-time data and reports that can be analysed to make precise, informed decisions. Having comprehensive date records allows farmers to see trends over time and identify the changes needed to improve the building to help enhance performance.

“New systems such as our VentLogic iSeries typify the shift towards farmer-friendly, technology-driven solutions,” says Andrew.

“This product is designed with ease of use and remote monitoring and control in mind, with data being accessible through a mobile app. “What’s exciting, is the marginal gains that can be achieved by continuously measuring and assessing certain parameters, allowing producers to take steps to improve overall pig welfare which leads to better performance.”  

What are the measurements that matter inside your pig sheds?

Environmental factors inside pig sheds can be better managed by introducing monitoring technologies. Adaptive controls that respond directly to both internal and external weather conditions are totally non-invasive and have a direct impact on animal health and farm efficiency:

• Ventilation – Galebreaker’s Variable Ventilation System (VVS) is configured to optimise air flow, enhancing the overall performance of the building and consequently the pigs.
• Temperature and humidity – Ensuring the right temperature is maintained across the housing, particularly for smaller pigs. Installing Bluetooth temperature sensors can quickly identify the need to change the pigs’ position based on microclimate variations inside the shed. Small adjustments in temperature or humidity can significantly improve food conversion ratios (FCR) and growth rates.
• Air quality – High ammonia and CO2 levels in buildings are harmful to both the farm workers and the animals. Integrated management tools can seamless control everything from fans, heaters, vents and side curtains.
• Feed and water intake – Effectively managing pig nutrition and monitoring intake data can help with the early identification of potential disease. Every day a pig should grow, and its consumption increase. An early sign of an underlying health issue is when daily water usage plateaus or reduces. Automated monitoring of a pig’s intakes allows farmers to quickly notice potential problems and make changes to ensure a more efficient production system.

“Being able to guarantee consistent environmental conditions is invaluable. It reduces stress on animals, leading to better overall health and fewer disease outbreaks,” adds Andrew.

Integration is key to the future of pig farming

The integration of different technologies within pig farming buildings can help create a holistic management system.

“There’s a lot to be said for a coordinated approach with many technology developers’ recognising the importance of giving pig producers the capability to fully integrate management tools,” explains Andrew.

“It makes sense to consider flexible, modular systems that have the functionality to be adapted over time. Customising your set up to monitor and control various aspects of a building, gives you the most complete overview of your operation.”

 What innovations can pig producers expect in the future?

Andrew believes that future of pig farming will be shaped by artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced camera technologies that enable farmers to monitor and manage pigs more effectively.

• AI integration – AI could allow for better monitoring of pig growth and feeding patterns, offering more precise adjustments to environmental factors.
• Stress detection – New technologies are being developed that can detect stress-related behaviours, which may be triggered by poor air quality, and automatically adjust ventilation systems.
• Holistic monitoring – As more systems integrate, farmers will be able to manage not only the physical environment but also the behavioural and biological needs of the pigs, leading to improved overall farm productivity.

Case study – Test farm insights

Galebreaker’s work with a 2,000-place finishing unit has provided valuable insights. The farm, which uses two identical buildings, has been testing environmental parameters such as air quality and temperature side by side. This allows for direct comparisons and real-time adjustments to the Variable Ventilation System (VVS) side curtains, which control airflow. The research has led to a reduction in ammonia levels, improved pig health, and better growth rates, all while enhancing worker safety.

“From a financial perspective, the farmer told me his shed costs him £400 a day to run so any changes he makes which result in finishing times being reduced, go straight onto his bottom line,” says Andrew.

“Ultimately, tech provides scope for less waste in the system, improved welfare, and greater control of pig buildings.”

Contact us