Welcome to 2013 Nedap
2013 WILL BE HERE SOONER THAN YOU THINK

Welcome to 2013

The European Commission Council Directive 91/630/EC states that from 1 January 2013 sow farmers in the EU will have to house pregnant sows in a group. If you are still not sure what to do, or you haven’t yet started thinking about refurbishing your piggery, you might feel you’re running out of time. But that’s not surprising, because this kind of decision takes time, thought and money. And what are the options anyway? Which group housing system is the best one for your needs? One thing is clear: if you want it to, 2013 can begin tomorrow.

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SAVE TIME AND ENERGY

What is a feeding station?

In a group housing system with feeding stations, you don’t take the feed to the pigs, the pigs go to the feed by themselves. In the feeding station they can eat exactly the right amount at exactly the right time, easily and safely. This saves you time and energy – and you’ll use the feed more effectively too. And that benefits your bottom line.

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2013 bulletin

In practice: group housing with feeding stations

Who?       Hennie and Yvonne Smeenk
Where?    Haarle, Overijssel (NL)
What?     In 2008 Hennie and Yvonne expanded their pig farm from 250 to 1000 sows. They opted for group housing with 17 Nedap feeding stations. Besides Hennie and Yvonne Smeenk, there are two more full-time and two part-time staff on the farm. Smeenk and his wife took the conscious decision not to take on a farm manager. Each of the staff has their own area of responsibility.

Group housing with feeding stations – how does this work in practice? What is a typical week in a shed with feeding stations? What work has to be done in and around the shed, and how long does it all take? Pig farmer Hennie Smeenk takes us round his farm and shows us their main weekly jobs.

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Advantage

More efficient and more effective farm management

Efficient pig management in 2013. Keeping sows in group housing systems means making many changes. But maybe you’re wondering whether you’ll be able to manage these groups in practice as easily as you do now. You won’t see each individual … read more

Case
Roger Cuijpers (NL)

“The results speak for themselves”

One of the first things Roger Cuijpers of Maria-Hoop (Limburg) did when he took over his parents’ sow farm in 2006 was to build a new sow shed. That meant expanding from 180 to 350 sows, but also switching to … read more

Expert
Anita Hoofs

“Animals are becoming more people-friendly”

Sow farmers who switch enthusiastically from individual housing to group housing generally get more pleasure from their work. That aspect is often neglected, says researcher Anita Hoofs of Wageningen UR Livestock Research. Anita has many years of experience in group … read more