Netherland

Pigs control their living environment through their own behaviour

Animal welfare

In partnership with Connecting Agri & Food and StarFarmers, Vion Farming has launched a pilot project using cameras in pig farming in 2022. This smart camera technology, which works with vision technology, provides new insights and opportunities to improve animal welfare and health. Two Good Farming Star pig farmers from the Netherlands are participating in the pilot: the Ter Haar family from Geesteren and the Van Schijndel family from Aalten.

Posted on Oct 04 ,04:20

The cameras were recently installed in the barns at the Ter Haar and Van Schijndel pig farms. The initial focus is on the automated monitoring of animal behaviour using the smart software in the cameras and the opportunities this provides to further improve the barn climate and living environment of the pigs. The technology is used to see where the animals are in the barn and how active they are. The animal behaviour recorded by the cameras is linked to the climate sensors already present in the barns at both farms to monitor CO₂ and ammonia levels, humidity and temperature. The next step is to determine whether there is a relationship between the recorded animal behaviour and the barn climate and make adjustments where necessary.

In this project, Vion Farming is working with Connecting Agri & Food and StarFarmers to investigate whether this technology provides added value for the animal and the supply chain. The pilot is co-sponsored by the province of Gelderland and the European Agricultural Fund.

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