Big Dutchman with four EuroTier stands

Good chances of winning the title “DLG-Agrifuture Concept Winner 2022”
calendar icon 14 November 2022
clock icon 3 minute read

Practical solutions for increased animal welfare, smart pig houses and the future of Germany’s agriculture are once more available by the dozen in Vechta, Germany. Big Dutchman presented interesting innovations that combine animal welfare and profitability even before the start of EuroTier in Hanover, convincing the trade press and livestock experts alike with its products. One example: the vision-guided OlliGES straw robot for pig houses with bedding, which won an Innovation Award in silver from the German Agricultural Society (DLG). And the Havito birth-to-finish concept, which is being implemented by Bröring Pig Partner and Big Dutchman in a research barn in Dinklage, has good chances of becoming the DLG-Agrifuture Concept Winner 2022.

Straw bedding in pig houses is gaining in importance, not least for animal welfare reasons. With OlliGES, Big Dutchman has developed a straw robot for the time-consuming and labour-intensive job of dispersing bedding in a barn. The pig farmer can concentrate on other tasks. The new system determines on its own where and how much bedding is needed and distributes the material automatically. Moreover, the robot can spread bedding automatically at pre-defined locations.

Intelligent robot

The innovative OlliGES system is characterised by its intelligence and a high degree of automation. During the night, the straw robot moves through the barn, using a 2D camera and infrared light to scan and evaluate the status of the bedding. After this evaluating trip, the footage is analysed to define which areas require additional bedding in the next 24 hours. Bedding can be topped up very accurately, down to 600 x 600 mm small areas of each room.

Stroh
Details | OlliGES

Fallendes Stroh
Video | OlliGES

Another focus topic of the Big Dutchman booth in hall 17 is the animal-friendly AGILO concept for group housing of lactating sows, for which the world market leader presents the first farrowing frame with free-access function.

With the new free-access mechanism, the rear doors of the farrowing frame close as soon as a sow enters the stall. The sow can then eat or relax without being disturbed – and leave the retreat on her own whenever she wants to return to the activity area where she can exhibit natural behaviours. In this manner, positive experience with free-access stalls used when keeping pregnant sows in groups has been passed on to the farrowing frame in group housing systems for lactating sows.

Free-access mechanism for the AGILO group farrowing system
Details | AGILO concept for group housing of lactating sows

Havito-Birth-to-finish

The Havito birth-to-finish concept has been shortlisted for the DLG’s new innovation award “Agrifuture Concept Winner”. For the first time, Big Dutchman and Bröring Pig Partner present a structured pen in which the piglets are born and in which they remain for the entire rearing and finishing period without being moved.

The system’s starting point is the PigT pig toilet, which was introduced in 2018 for rearing and finishing and which has now been extended to include sow management. Since the entire surface of the pen is closed and urine and faeces are separated continuously, the whole pen can be covered with organic bedding material. The pigs structure the pen, creating a lying area, an activity area and an area for defecating. This structure is supported by a microclimate solution and options for floor heating and cooling.

Stallzeichnung
Details | Havito - the welfare barn with solid flooring

Additional attractive innovations by the German pig equipment supplier:

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Big Dutchman shows its products on a total of four stands in Hanover.

  • Pig production: Hall 17, B22
  • Insect farming: Hall 21, F21
  • Photovoltaics and battery storage: Hall 25, M28
  • Human Resources and jobs: Hall 26, D28

Laurence Williams

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