The latest tech in pig farming

Digital technologies and artificial intelligence are transforming pig production across the world, rendering production more efficient, less labour intensive and friendlier to animals while improving traceability and food safety. Glenneis Kriel highlights some of the latest technologies.

- Glenneis Kriel

Imagine walking into a piggery in 2030. Hundreds of pigs move calmly around their pens, while overhead cameras track their weight and growth in real time. Thermal sensors pick up subtle changes in skin temperature, flagging early signs of illness.

Automated feeders dispense individually tailored rations, and climate-controlled ventilation systems quietly maintain optimal air quality and temperature. Data analytics predicts growth rates, flags potential issues, and even simulates environmental impacts before they occur, creating a farm that is efficient, humane, and sustainable.

In this high-tech piggery of the future, the role of humans has shifted. Instead of dozens of stockmen checking animals and managing feeding manually, just a handful of skilled operators – and with the arrival of robots, possibly only one – is needed to oversee the entire operation from a central control room.

They monitor dashboards, which can be accessed from anywhere in the world, and fix equipment that these automated systems cannot fix themselves.

ADOPTION IN SOUTH AFRICA

Most of the technologies powering this vision already exist, with many already used in South Africa.

Dr Peter Evans, lead veterinarian of the Red Meat Industry Services Operational Centre, has extensive experience in the pig industry. He told Farmer's Weekly that South Africa's commercial pig farmers are among the best in the world, with most large-scale operations already using RFID ear tags for identification, record-keeping, and traceability purposes.

Many are also using automated feeders to improve feeding efficiency and reduce wastage, as well as automated ventilation and climate control systems to create a favourable environment for optimal pig health and growth.