Many innovations and a large attendance at EuroTier 2014

Sunday, June 7, 2015

This massive trade show drew international representation and 156,000 attendees, dwarfing the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa. Here, the president and CEO of the Prairie Swine Centre in Saskatoon offers a summary of the highlights

by LEE WHITTINGTON

EuroTier, held every two years in Hannover, Germany, with 2,360 exhibitors and 156,000 visitors, is the largest livestock production tradeshow in Europe. By comparison, many Canadian pork producers have attended World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa, which has 441 exhibitors and 20,000 attendees. (Next show, June 3-5, 2015.)

EuroTier claims 1,100 visitors from North America and 1,300 from South & Central America. There were 20 of the 26 large buildings on the show grounds in use for the show last year. Pig equipment and genetics made up about two and a half of these; feed and feed additives comprised three more buildings. The quality of exhibit was very high-end with some companies estimating they were approaching US$1 million in the show. For example, Big Dutchman had a multi-site booth with the equipment set up to simulate actual barn use and representing all areas of the barn.

The local German pig industry is currently under some price pressure. The loss of the Russian market has caused a drop in pork prices and it appears that overall net income is negative, but this situation is only quite recent. The Genesus Report indicates losses of $5-$28 per pig for European producers.

The trend of piglets moving from Netherlands and Denmark to be finished in Germany continues. The previous year, producers had marginally good financial results as feed prices normalized. Although building construction seemed limited, some finisher spaces were being constructed in Germany, but new sow barn construction in Germany is rare. Instead, this industry is relying on other countries to maintain the European Union's sow population and German producers are focusing on finishing pigs for what appears to be a large, efficient packing and processing industry.

The main reason given for lack of sow herd growth in Germany is the increasing regulatory requirements for sow housing. Looking at the tradeshow booths, you got the impression the sow farm was going through a building boom as suppliers jockeyed for position to show "freedom style" farrowing pens (but more on that later).

International representation was diverse in the case of both exhibitors and attendees. Many manufacturers from China had penning, flooring and equipment on display. Most had a relationship with local suppliers as a manufacturer for European equipment companies, but had started producing their own line of product at substantially less cost.

Chinese pork dynamics are difficult to understand, due to disease and prices well below the cost of production. For the past 18 months, five million sows have been liquidated (the Canadian herd totals 1.3 million sows) and these losses are occurring across the country, primarily in small holdings and associated with the massive migration of people from rural China to cities.

On the other hand, the larger corporate farms have been reporting growth or plans to grow, and were quick to remind you that they had experienced very good profitability for much of the past five years. The high pork prices they had experienced, often boosted by losses to disease, caused temporary and localized pork prices to triple. There was some Russian participation (EuroTier's website claims 900 Russian attendees) with the exhibitors reporting current Russian pork profits of US$90-$100 per market hog, fuelling expansion in that country. This, combined with a government initiative to increase agricultural production so as to meet domestic food needs, means there is growth in the large corporate-style farm sector in Russia.

Genetics
The genetics suppliers had impressive tradeshow booths, which included beverage bars, food and food service staff in addition to technical and sales staff. According to Genesus, a Canadian supplier, the dominant European Union (EU) company is Danbred and the reason is prolific female lines. The theme in that booth was 35 pigs per sow per year!

However, I didn't see the emphasis on sow lifetime productivity I expected. The EU market seems to be experiencing the same rush for greater number of piglets weaned as North America and sow herd turnover of 50 per cent is considered acceptable to support the genetic improvement being made. Topigs-Norsvin, which has undergone a recent merger (summer 2014), is a major player, and PIC (based on the size of the booth) is demonstrating significant market share.

The trend to heavier hogs in the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands, in particular, is a major shift. I saw this in 2011 in the U.K. and the trend continues with liveweight, traditionally around 90 kilograms, now pushing over 110 kilograms. Although we might consider this light by North American standards of 125-135 kilograms liveweight, it is a major shift in the EU where uncastrated animals, as in the U.K., are raised in mixed sex groups. The Prairie Swine Centre averaged 99.3 kilograms carcass weight (125.7 kilograms liveweight) on the last Hams Report, but lower feed prices should encourage us to revisit our optimum weight.

The predominance of the Pietrain breed for more than a decade has produced a very lean carcass, and there has been consumer pushback on product eating quality. Perhaps that is why synthetic lines now have a significant Duroc component. It wasn't clear how the producer would get paid for producing pork with different eating qualities, such as more intramuscular fat. Also the dominance of processed product in this market (cured hams and processed meats) is very different from the fresh pork market in North America. The EU approach to processed meats, where fat is added to meet specific product specifications, seems to be the preferred method of getting the desired end product quality.

Welfare
As a theme, welfare dominated the equipment portion of the show. There were numerous manufacturers of electronic sow feeders and free-access stalls. The dominant innovation was the free-farrowing pen and virtually every manufacturer had something to offer for this market. I saw 12 different manufacturers with equipment on display.

However, only a few provided any research. The approach seemed to be to implement a mechanical update on an existing farrowing crate product such as moveable crate sides and launch the product as quickly as possible. The lowest cost "fix" I saw was the Uden standard farrowing crate, where the sides of the crate rotated vertically out of the way.

The advice provided on when to give more room to the sow varied by sales representative and the original thought behind the crate – protection of the piglet – received minimal attention. Other aspects of welfare included numerous toys for use in the pen and the straw/wooden post holders, first seen in the Agromek trade show in Denmark in 2008, were pretty standard offerings here.

The definition of "welfare" seemed to incorporate the "five freedoms" approach. This U.K.-based approach, which for the past several years has been narrowly focused on a gestating sow's ability to have freedom to turn around, has been repackaged to meet individual agendas. I reproduce these "five freedoms" here as a refresher because, both in Europe and Canada, this is used as a benchmark for how the welfare movement will continue to challenge intensive livestock production and how production systems should be prepared to respond with new equipment and husbandry techniques.

The five freedoms, as currently expressed by the U.K.'s Farm Animal Welfare Committee, are:

• Freedom from hunger or thirst by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour;
• Freedom from discomfort by providing an appropriate environment, including shelter and a comfortable resting area;
• Freedom from pain, injury or disease by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment;
• Freedom to express (most) normal behaviour by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind;
• Freedom from fear and distress by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.

Innovations
The innovations in equipment and facilities I saw ranged from the very simple to the very expensive and complex. The following is a list of the "Top 10 Innovations" that caught my attention. The Prairie Swine Centre is following up on many of these to assess their potential for the Canadian pork industry.

Health of the piglet. The Hycare system from Schippers in the Netherlands was the EuroTier Gold Medal Innovation Award winner this year. I showed the YouTube video clip at the Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium in November last year www.YouTube.com/watch?v=0RzAOOotHv0.

Even if you never use YouTube, you should go and look at this. The Schippers research farm has taken it as a mission to eliminate the negative impact of "freedom from disease" and make it simpler for the stockperson to manage the sow and litter. They point to early results of 1,000 grams a day of growth at 25 kilograms bodyweight as proof that the pig can achieve much better performance when sanitation is enhanced.

Piglet treatment device. Also a Schippers product, the concept is that the stockperson holds the pig with both hands and allows the one-stop mechanical station to inject iron and/or vaccine, and apply an ear tag. The device had a C$15,720 price tag and is now commercially available.

Toys for sows in stalls. These are small equipment rubber tires (six inches in diameter) and poly-fibreglass donuts half the size of a submarine sandwich that can clamp onto the front or side bar of a gestation crate to serve as a sow anti-boredom device.

Visual scanning of pigs to estimate bodyweight. I have seen early designs of this concept in several countries, including Canada, for over 10 years, but this equipment (optiSCAN) looks to be on the verge of being produced for commercial sale by spring 2015 with a price tag of about C$14,400. The device is lightweight (possibly 2.5 kilograms), mobile as it can be strapped to the operator, and claims around a two per cent margin of error.

PigWatch from Romain (Quebec). This is an automated AI management system, a bar with an infrared sensor determining the amount of movement of the weaned sow. The system analyzes the movement and sends a message to the stockperson saying when to breed the sow. When it flashes green don't think or hesitate – just inseminate the sow.

Whole plant corn silage for pigs. This Gold Medal winner was developed by Big Dutchman and uses a macerator to chop silage, then pump the mixture into a PEF (Pulsed Electric Field) that disrupts the plant cell wall. (It may also be suitable for potatoes or other food processing waste products.) The focus is to allow high-fibre diets that promote gut health and also to provide easily digested nutrients. It is available commercially for about C$52,400 for a unit capable of feeding a 2,000-head finisher barn. The manufacturer claims a better net income of about C$2 per pig marketed.

Transparent creep lids. These were very popular at the show, yet we have not seen them in North America. The concept is simple, and makes it easy to view piglets and observe the level of sanitation in the creep area without physically opening each creep lid.

ACO Funki showed an eHeating system built into the creep lid and radiating down on piglets, which claimed a 50 per cent reduction in energy use. An unrelated company was also building an "intelligent canopy" that would sense the surface temperature under the canopy and adjust power to deliver the creep set point temperature, providing an ideal environment for piglets and reducing energy costs 60 per cent compared to a standard covered creep.

Playfeeder. This has been developed by Biofibre Damino to deliver oral powdered iron and creep feed as early as day 3. Its shape and size are said to promote exploration by piglets.

Farrowing Pens. Many companies have introduced farrowing pens intended to provide greater freedom for the sow. But few had research to back up the impact on sow mobility or piglet mortality under their system.

Milk substitute products. Weaning large litters at four weeks has caused a demand for these products. The innovation, called the Culina cup system, delivers not just milk but a 20 per cent dry matter pre-starter, and uses a mobile mixer to deliver "instant, homogenous, fresh, warm feed." The machine can be rented for about C$196 a month.

LifeSaver 2. The Prairie Swine Centre has been working with the manufacturer on version one, and a prototype of version two was showcased. This is a system for training and monitoring farrowing room staff on very large farms, and is especially useful for farms with 24-hour supervision. The handheld device allows birth data (live, still-born, dead, etc.) to be entered on the device at the time of farrowing. It is then downloaded directly to the computer. In the farrowing room, a series of three lights alerts the stockperson to check the sow at preset intervals to improve born-alive performance.
The next EuroTier show is November 2016 and I would encourage Canadian pork producers to make plans to attend this educational event. BP

Lee Whittington is president and CEO of the Prairie Swine Centre in Saskatoon.