How to Raise Pigs? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Pig Farming Techniques and Practical Tips
South Korea's Largest Feed Group - CJ Pig Farming University Tutorial (9 PPTs)
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Traditional Pig Farming Methods Need to Change Course
If they are "happy pigs," then how do other pigs live? I believe many people have experienced this - whenever passing by a pigsty, they have to hold their breath and hurry through; neighbors who can't escape have no choice but to knock on doors and protest every day, or secretly report to the Environmental Protection Administration.
The reason pigsties reek to high heaven has a lot to do with human pig farming methods. In those confined spaces, pigs eat when hungry, defecate after eating, and sleep after defecating - not only sleeping in piles of manure but also drinking their own urine. Farmers have no choice but to flush and wash every day, yet still cannot cover up the stench. The flushed feces and urine have nowhere to go, so they are discharged into rivers under cover of darkness, only to accidentally receive a fine from the Environmental Protection Administration.
To clean up the mess, in 1993 the Council of Agriculture's Livestock Research Institute began promoting the three-stage wastewater treatment method, and provided guidance and subsidies for pig farmers to install biogas generators. The three stages refer to pig manure and urine wastewater going through "solid-liquid separation," "anaerobic fermentation," and "aerobic fermentation" - three processes - and only after meeting legal standards can it be discharged. After microbial fermentation and decomposition, pig manure and urine become biogas, biogas residue, and biogas slurry - that is, gas, solid, and liquid - three states.
Biogas contains methane, which is natural gas, and can be directly burned for use or used to drive turbines for power generation. Biogas residue and biogas slurry are rich in organic matter and can be used as composting materials or soil amendments.
But more than 20 years later, most of the biogas generators that were originally subsidized have stopped operating. This is because biogas contains hydrogen sulfide, which corrodes generator engines, and early desulfurization technology was not mature, and farmers did not have the expertise for maintenance and repair. After the machines broke down, almost no one was willing to spend money on repairs, and many farmers even developed a bad impression of biogas power generation.
On the other hand, pig farmers routinely pump free groundwater to flush the environment, greatly diluting the organic matter in pig manure and urine. In addition, if the anaerobic fermentation containers are not properly sealed, allowing biogas to leak, it not only wastes effort but also increases greenhouse gases.
Mixing in Biomass Waste - Pig Manure Upgraded to Gold
Actually, not to mention Taiwan, biomass energy powerhouses like Germany, Sweden, and Denmark have also faced the problem of insufficient organic matter in livestock and poultry manure, leading to poor biogas production rates. But they all blend various biomass wastes for co-digestion, increasing biogas production rates and improving the quality of biogas residue and biogas slurry.
For example, about 80% of Germany's biogas plants are located on farms, co-digesting livestock manure with agricultural waste; half of Sweden's biogas plants use biomass waste and sewage sludge as co-feedstock; Denmark mixes agricultural waste, food waste, raw and cooked kitchen waste, sewage sludge, and more. Today, Germany with a population of 82 million has 10,020 biogas plants; Sweden with a population of 9.6 million has 264; Denmark with a population of 5.6 million has 154; and Taiwan has only 23.
Although disheartening, Taiwan still has potential. The Circular Taiwan Foundation statistics on Taiwan's biomass waste show that in 2015, pig, cattle, and chicken manure amounted to about 15.43 million metric tons, agricultural waste 6.25 million metric tons, and household kitchen waste treated by environmental agencies 1.92 million metric tons, totaling about 23.6 million metric tons. If unofficial statistics on restaurant kitchen waste, food processing waste, human sewage, sewage sludge, etc. are included, the number would far exceed this.
However, at this stage, most of Taiwan's biomass waste is disposed of through "elimination," which is quite a pity; the only exception is kitchen waste used to feed pigs. But think about it - people collect a whole day's kitchen waste, take it out when the garbage truck comes, then the cleaning crew sends it to a transfer station, and vendors transport it to the farm. If it's summer, it has to endure nearly 40°C temperatures, and it may contain toothpicks, plastic bags, cling wrap, etc., inevitably mixed with pork, and finally all gets devoured by fellow pigs.
To eliminate future problems, the government mandated that kitchen waste must be sterilized at high temperatures, and spent hundreds of millions in budget adding antibiotics and administering foot-and-mouth disease vaccines. In contrast, Europe and the United States strictly prohibit feeding livestock kitchen waste that has come into contact with meat. Taiwan also banned it over 10 years ago, but due to pig farmers protesting rising costs, the policy had to return to square one.
The Circular Taiwan Foundation believes that if instead of elimination treatment and feeding kitchen waste to pigs, the above-mentioned livestock manure, agricultural waste, kitchen waste, and other biomass wastes were simply 50% recycled for anaerobic digestion, it could support the establishment of 160 centralized biomass energy centers, bring NT$64 billion in plant investment opportunities, create 5,000 local job opportunities, and generate subsequent income from selling electricity and fertilizer. On the environmental side, it could reduce wastewater discharge into rivers and prevent odor generation.
Several Methods to Achieve Circular Economy in the Pig Farming Industry
At this critical moment of transformation, Taiwan must redesign its pig farming methods - on one hand improving pork quality and increasing pig survival rates, and on the other hand digesting troublesome waste and increasing environmental and economic benefits. The owner of the happy pigs, after a visit to Denmark where pigs outnumber people, decided to carry out a complete overhaul.
He first converted to an elevated slatted floor system, letting pigs move on iron frames with manure falling to the floor below, so that normally only the lower level needs cleaning. This not only reduces groundwater extraction but also avoids diluting the organic matter in pig manure and urine. Next, he installed nipples on the drinking water supply, so water only flows when the mouth touches it, preventing pigs from playing with the bowls and wasting water. This way, each pig's daily water consumption dropped from 20 liters to 6 liters.
(Using the elevated slatted floor pig farming method allows manure to fall to the floor below, eliminating the need to flush pigs daily with large amounts of groundwater. Source: Circular Taiwan Foundation)
The wastewater after cleaning flows to a storage tank, then undergoes anaerobic fermentation. A red cloth bag is placed on top to collect the biogas that evaporates, which is then sent through pipes to a boiler for combustion, used for heating bath water, drying clothes, and keeping pig barns warm. The remaining biogas residue after fermentation is provided to farmers for composting. This way, the biogas, biogas slurry, and biogas residue produced from pig manure and urine wastewater are all fully utilized, achieving the goal of circular economy.
This renovation cost about NT$1 million, but on average each sow can produce 26 weaned piglets per year, compared to the Taiwan-wide average of 11 to 14, about 2 times more.
Next, they installed a biogas generator. It is estimated that one large pig can produce 0.25 cubic meters of biogas per day, and every 0.7 cubic meters can be converted into 1 kWh of electricity. If calculated at 15,000 pigs, 5,357 kWh can be produced per day. The current feed-in tariff for biogas is NT$3.9211 per kWh. Assuming all is sold to Taipower, about NT$480,000 can be earned per month.
But renovating pig barns costs so much money - can ordinary farmers afford it? Don't worry, innovation was never a one-person job.
Pig Farming Cooperatives - A New Force in Rural Economy
Taiwan's pig farming industry is generally small in scale. Only 20% of pig barns raise more than 1,000 pigs, while those with fewer than 199 pigs account for 46% - nearly half. If every household set up its own biogas generator, the cost would be too high and not worthwhile.
However, everyone can organize cooperatives together - that is, jointly invest, select a location in the countryside to build facilities, and have unified slaughtering, fermentation, power generation, composting, inspection, and distribution. In addition, purchasing feed, managing drugs, and borrowing for renovations can all be done as a group.
The Circular Taiwan Foundation estimates that building a biogas power plant for 10,000 pigs requires about NT$55 million in construction costs, with subsequent income from electricity sales and fertilizer. Furthermore, if biomass waste from the entire rural area is further collected, the material characteristics of different wastes can first be analyzed, and products with higher value or meeting market demand can be prioritized for extraction and production, bringing diversified income to rural areas. According to the concept of the "Biomass Value Pyramid," the value of these output products from high to low is: pharmaceuticals, food, feed, fertilizer, chemicals, fuels, etc.
As described above, after redesigning the entire industry chain, not only is the pig farming environment improved, but the multiple benefits of circular economy can be further demonstrated. For example, on the environmental side, in order to increase the organic concentration of pig manure and urine for biogas power generation, the amount of water used to flush pig barns must be reduced, thereby avoiding excessive groundwater extraction. Also, to increase the commercial value of biogas residue and biogas slurry for selling quality fertilizer, copper and zinc cannot be added to feed, thereby reducing heavy metal pollution.
On the economic side, linking upstream and downstream industries not only makes it easier to control pork quality, but profits also return to farmers and diverse employment opportunities can be created. All of this demonstrates how utilizing the circular economy of pig farms can build an entire high-quality, highly competitive local economic industry.
To take the first step now, initially large pig farmers can lead in recruiting members, or rural residents can unite to seek government and corporate investment. As for the government's role, besides appropriate subsidies, it can also focus on disclosing information, researching and developing technology, and improving inspection methods to build a support system for transformation. For example, the Council of Agriculture recently planned to provide low-interest loans to help pig farmers improve equipment and environment, and promote biogas power generation. When the government has supporting measures, it can further attract upstream and downstream enterprises to invest, driving the overall transformation of the pig farming industry.
History provides lessons - the Vikings, who started as pirates, still maintain the awareness of "sharing treasure" to this day. 150 years ago, Denmark developed cooperatives for pig farming, agriculture, consumption, and wind power generation, and residents have long been accustomed to the model of collective investment and profit sharing. It seems that the future of Taiwan's pig farming industry may rest in these small rural villages.
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Can't see it, has it not passed review yet?
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Thanks for your hard work, OP!
From a scientific pig farm in Yunlin, where every pig is raised listening to Mozart, and none of them eat kitchen waste - they all eat yogurt and feed. Before the election, Tsai Ing-wen even hand-fed these adorable little pigs.
As a result, they are all healthy and strong, completely free of antibiotics. Not only that, but the pigs only take a bath once in their entire lives - the only time being right before slaughter. Even more amazing, after walking through the pig barn, you only smell pig, not stench. The separated feces and urine are used for biogas power generation to supply the farm's own needs.
This way, the farm owner no longer worries about being fined by the Environmental Protection Administration, and the sows, after being treated gently, have greatly increased productivity, making the owner very happy and allowing food lovers to eat with more peace of mind.
Traditional Pig Farming Methods Need to Change Course
If they are "happy pigs," then how do other pigs live? I believe many people have experienced this - whenever passing by a pigsty, they have to hold their breath and hurry through; neighbors who can't escape have no choice but to knock on doors and protest every day, or secretly report to the Environmental Protection Administration.
The reason pigsties reek to high heaven has a lot to do with human pig farming methods. In those confined spaces, pigs eat when hungry, defecate after eating, and sleep after defecating - not only sleeping in piles of manure but also drinking their own urine. Farmers have no choice but to flush and wash every day, yet still cannot cover up the stench. The flushed feces and urine have nowhere to go, so they are discharged into rivers under cover of darkness, only to accidentally receive a fine from the Environmental Protection Administration.
To clean up the mess, in 1993 the Council of Agriculture's Livestock Research Institute began promoting the three-stage wastewater treatment method, and provided guidance and subsidies for pig farmers to install biogas generators. The three stages refer to pig manure and urine wastewater going through "solid-liquid separation," "anaerobic fermentation," and "aerobic fermentation" - three processes - and only after meeting legal standards can it be discharged. After microbial fermentation and decomposition, pig manure and urine become biogas, biogas residue, and biogas slurry - that is, gas, solid, and liquid - three states.
Biogas contains methane, which is natural gas, and can be directly burned for use or used to drive turbines for power generation. Biogas residue and biogas slurry are rich in organic matter and can be used as composting materials or soil amendments.
But more than 20 years later, most of the biogas generators that were originally subsidized have stopped operating. This is because biogas contains hydrogen sulfide, which corrodes generator engines, and early desulfurization technology was not mature, and farmers did not have the expertise for maintenance and repair. After the machines broke down, almost no one was willing to spend money on repairs, and many farmers even developed a bad impression of biogas power generation.
On the other hand, pig farmers routinely pump free groundwater to flush the environment, greatly diluting the organic matter in pig manure and urine. In addition, if the anaerobic fermentation containers are not properly sealed, allowing biogas to leak, it not only wastes effort but also increases greenhouse gases.
Mixing in Biomass Waste - Pig Manure Upgraded to Gold
Actually, not to mention Taiwan, biomass energy powerhouses like Germany, Sweden, and Denmark have also faced the problem of insufficient organic matter in livestock and poultry manure, leading to poor biogas production rates. But they all blend various biomass wastes for co-digestion, increasing biogas production rates and improving the quality of biogas residue and biogas slurry.
For example, about 80% of Germany's biogas plants are located on farms, co-digesting livestock manure with agricultural waste; half of Sweden's biogas plants use biomass waste and sewage sludge as co-feedstock; Denmark mixes agricultural waste, food waste, raw and cooked kitchen waste, sewage sludge, and more. Today, Germany with a population of 82 million has 10,020 biogas plants; Sweden with a population of 9.6 million has 264; Denmark with a population of 5.6 million has 154; and Taiwan has only 23.
Although disheartening, Taiwan still has potential. The Circular Taiwan Foundation statistics on Taiwan's biomass waste show that in 2015, pig, cattle, and chicken manure amounted to about 15.43 million metric tons, agricultural waste 6.25 million metric tons, and household kitchen waste treated by environmental agencies 1.92 million metric tons, totaling about 23.6 million metric tons. If unofficial statistics on restaurant kitchen waste, food processing waste, human sewage, sewage sludge, etc. are included, the number would far exceed this.
However, at this stage, most of Taiwan's biomass waste is disposed of through "elimination," which is quite a pity; the only exception is kitchen waste used to feed pigs. But think about it - people collect a whole day's kitchen waste, take it out when the garbage truck comes, then the cleaning crew sends it to a transfer station, and vendors transport it to the farm. If it's summer, it has to endure nearly 40°C temperatures, and it may contain toothpicks, plastic bags, cling wrap, etc., inevitably mixed with pork, and finally all gets devoured by fellow pigs.
To eliminate future problems, the government mandated that kitchen waste must be sterilized at high temperatures, and spent hundreds of millions in budget adding antibiotics and administering foot-and-mouth disease vaccines. In contrast, Europe and the United States strictly prohibit feeding livestock kitchen waste that has come into contact with meat. Taiwan also banned it over 10 years ago, but due to pig farmers protesting rising costs, the policy had to return to square one.
The Circular Taiwan Foundation believes that if instead of elimination treatment and feeding kitchen waste to pigs, the above-mentioned livestock manure, agricultural waste, kitchen waste, and other biomass wastes were simply 50% recycled for anaerobic digestion, it could support the establishment of 160 centralized biomass energy centers, bring NT$64 billion in plant investment opportunities, create 5,000 local job opportunities, and generate subsequent income from selling electricity and fertilizer. On the environmental side, it could reduce wastewater discharge into rivers and prevent odor generation.
Several Methods to Achieve Circular Economy in the Pig Farming Industry
At this critical moment of transformation, Taiwan must redesign its pig farming methods - on one hand improving pork quality and increasing pig survival rates, and on the other hand digesting troublesome waste and increasing environmental and economic benefits. The owner of the happy pigs, after a visit to Denmark where pigs outnumber people, decided to carry out a complete overhaul.
He first converted to an elevated slatted floor system, letting pigs move on iron frames with manure falling to the floor below, so that normally only the lower level needs cleaning. This not only reduces groundwater extraction but also avoids diluting the organic matter in pig manure and urine. Next, he installed nipples on the drinking water supply, so water only flows when the mouth touches it, preventing pigs from playing with the bowls and wasting water. This way, each pig's daily water consumption dropped from 20 liters to 6 liters.
(Using the elevated slatted floor pig farming method allows manure to fall to the floor below, eliminating the need to flush pigs daily with large amounts of groundwater. Source: Circular Taiwan Foundation)
The wastewater after cleaning flows to a storage tank, then undergoes anaerobic fermentation. A red cloth bag is placed on top to collect the biogas that evaporates, which is then sent through pipes to a boiler for combustion, used for heating bath water, drying clothes, and keeping pig barns warm. The remaining biogas residue after fermentation is provided to farmers for composting. This way, the biogas, biogas slurry, and biogas residue produced from pig manure and urine wastewater are all fully utilized, achieving the goal of circular economy.
This renovation cost about NT$1 million, but on average each sow can produce 26 weaned piglets per year, compared to the Taiwan-wide average of 11 to 14, about 2 times more.
Next, they installed a biogas generator. It is estimated that one large pig can produce 0.25 cubic meters of biogas per day, and every 0.7 cubic meters can be converted into 1 kWh of electricity. If calculated at 15,000 pigs, 5,357 kWh can be produced per day. The current feed-in tariff for biogas is NT$3.9211 per kWh. Assuming all is sold to Taipower, about NT$480,000 can be earned per month.
But renovating pig barns costs so much money - can ordinary farmers afford it? Don't worry, innovation was never a one-person job.
Pig Farming Cooperatives - A New Force in Rural Economy
Taiwan's pig farming industry is generally small in scale. Only 20% of pig barns raise more than 1,000 pigs, while those with fewer than 199 pigs account for 46% - nearly half. If every household set up its own biogas generator, the cost would be too high and not worthwhile.
However, everyone can organize cooperatives together - that is, jointly invest, select a location in the countryside to build facilities, and have unified slaughtering, fermentation, power generation, composting, inspection, and distribution. In addition, purchasing feed, managing drugs, and borrowing for renovations can all be done as a group.
The Circular Taiwan Foundation estimates that building a biogas power plant for 10,000 pigs requires about NT$55 million in construction costs, with subsequent income from electricity sales and fertilizer. Furthermore, if biomass waste from the entire rural area is further collected, the material characteristics of different wastes can first be analyzed, and products with higher value or meeting market demand can be prioritized for extraction and production, bringing diversified income to rural areas. According to the concept of the "Biomass Value Pyramid," the value of these output products from high to low is: pharmaceuticals, food, feed, fertilizer, chemicals, fuels, etc.
As described above, after redesigning the entire industry chain, not only is the pig farming environment improved, but the multiple benefits of circular economy can be further demonstrated. For example, on the environmental side, in order to increase the organic concentration of pig manure and urine for biogas power generation, the amount of water used to flush pig barns must be reduced, thereby avoiding excessive groundwater extraction. Also, to increase the commercial value of biogas residue and biogas slurry for selling quality fertilizer, copper and zinc cannot be added to feed, thereby reducing heavy metal pollution.
On the economic side, linking upstream and downstream industries not only makes it easier to control pork quality, but profits also return to farmers and diverse employment opportunities can be created. All of this demonstrates how utilizing the circular economy of pig farms can build an entire high-quality, highly competitive local economic industry.
To take the first step now, initially large pig farmers can lead in recruiting members, or rural residents can unite to seek government and corporate investment. As for the government's role, besides appropriate subsidies, it can also focus on disclosing information, researching and developing technology, and improving inspection methods to build a support system for transformation. For example, the Council of Agriculture recently planned to provide low-interest loans to help pig farmers improve equipment and environment, and promote biogas power generation. When the government has supporting measures, it can further attract upstream and downstream enterprises to invest, driving the overall transformation of the pig farming industry.
History provides lessons - the Vikings, who started as pirates, still maintain the awareness of "sharing treasure" to this day. 150 years ago, Denmark developed cooperatives for pig farming, agriculture, consumption, and wind power generation, and residents have long been accustomed to the model of collective investment and profit sharing. It seems that the future of Taiwan's pig farming industry may rest in these small rural villages.