Pig husbandry of the future

Background and Objective

Today's pig farming is being increasingly criticised, especially with respect to the conditions under which they are kept and animal welfare. In addition, the sector is often criticised for the environmental impact of the excessive input of nutrients into soils and waters through the spreading of liquid manure as well as the exhaust air emitted from livestock farms. The challenge for pig farmers is to develop farming systems that are animal-friendly and environmentally-friendly at the same time, while maintaining profitability, and to reconcile potential conflicts of interests.

Against this background, the aim of the project is to compare current pig husbandry systems in Germany and to identify future husbandry systems.

Approach

The project compares and ranks different housing systems for piglet production and pig fattening in terms of their performance, production costs, and profitability, as well as environmental impacts, animal welfare, and biosafety, and identifies their strengths and weaknesses. For this purpose, data is collected on the basis of case studies and evaluated with experts in addition to conclusions from other studies. These results form the basis for discussion rounds in which the questions of a) how pigs should be kept in the future and b) how possible trade-offs between different objectives can be resolved are investigated. Furthermore, interviews will be carried out with pig farmers to assess their expectations and preferences for future housing systems.

Our Research Questions

• Which housing systems for piglet production and pig fattening exist in Germany and how are these to be assessed in terms of production costs? Where are the strong and weak points, e.g. in terms of animal welfare, environmental compatibility, and/or biosafety in these systems?
• How can housing systems for pigs be designed in the future and how can these be evaluated?
• What requirements do pig farmers place on future housing systems and what are their preferences? What are the challenges of implementation?

Results

The qualification position available in this project was mainly used for the area of ​​“qualification in policy analysis and advice”. The work made important contributions to the following outputs and publications. This included monitoring tasks (profiles of German livestock production), policy analyses (mainly in the area of ​​animal welfare) and analysis of international competitiveness.

Links and Downloads

Deblitz C, Verhaagh M, Rohlmann C (2021) Pig Report 2024  - a summary of main findings [online]. Braunschweig: agri benchmark ; Thünen-Institut, 16 p, zu finden in [zitiert am 06.12..2024] www.agribenchmark.org/pig/publications-and-projects.html

Deblitz C, Rohlmann C, Verhaagh M (2023) Bundesprogramm Nutztierhaltung in Deutschland: aktueller Stand, Kosten und Aussichten in der Schweinehaltung. In: Agrar- und Ernährungssysteme im Wandel: Chancen und Herausforderungen für Landwirtschaft und ländliche Räume : 33. Jahrestagung der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Agrarökonomie, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, 28.-29. September 2023 ; Tagungsband 2023. pp 37-38 

Deblitz C, Rohlmann C, Verhaagh M, Krause M, Hartmann W (2024) Berechnung der einzelbetrieblichen Kosten einer Teilnahme am Bundesprogramm zur Förderung des Umbaus der Tierhaltung in der Schweinehaltung. Braunschweig: Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, 36 p, Thünen Working Paper 233, DOI:10.3220/WP1708069947000

Rohlmann C, Verhaagh M, Efken J (2022) Steckbriefe zur Tierhaltung in Deutschland: Ferkelerzeugung und Schweinemast [online]. Braunschweig: Thünen-Institut für Betriebswirtschaft, 17 p, zu finden in [zitiert am 06.12.2022] 

Deblitz C, Efken J, Banse M, Isermeyer F, Rohlmann C, Tergast HT, Thobe P, Verhaagh M (2021) Politikfolgenabschätzung zu den Empfehlungen des Kompetenznetzwerks Nutztierhaltung. Braunschweig: Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, 191 p, Thünen Working Paper 173, DOI:10.3220/WP1619424590000