PPILOW Danish Workshop on “Free-range keeping of sows”!

– by Pia Vanggaard (Vanggaard)

As part of the PPILOW project, a mix of farmers, NGO/policy makers, researchers and private companies participated in the PPILOW workshop held in Denmark April 2024 (15 participants). The purpose of the workshop was to present and share knowledge from free-range production of pigs with the main focus on the sows and suckler pigs. Furthermore, the Workshop also aimed to exchange knowledge between test farmers of Vanggaard’s farrowing hut in different countries in order to inspire further improvement of hut design for farrowing sows and piglets. At the workshop, the design of farrowing huts for outdoor use to reduce piglet mortality, including the importance of differences between the countries, among other things, in climate conditions, was also discussed. Another issue that was debated was the hut’s mobility, which was seen as an advantage and therefore a continued important factor to try to improve, also in relation to the geographical conditions across regions/national borders. As can be seen from the video, as part of the workshop, a field visit was arranged to the Danish test farmer who runs his organic, outdoor piglet production exclusively in Vanggaard’s farrowing huts. The farm visit was highly praised by the workshop participants, among other things because it gave a broad practical insight into the Farmer’s care management and the good working environment in the hut, just as it also became clear to the participants during the farm visit to observe the hut design’s support for increased animal welfare. Based on the participants’ written evaluation, collected at the end of the workshop, the workshop was described as a very fruitful workshop with good interaction between different stakeholders. Very useful and good debate due to the small group size, where everyone got to know each other and was therefore open to sharing advantages and disadvantages and engaging in co-creation. By activating the video link, you can see a summary of the workshop and get an insight into what subject experts, researchers and test farmers have gained from participating in the workshop, which was part of the PPILOW project – work package 6.4 –  which, among other things, worked  with development of farrowing huts for outdoor pig production with a strong focus on increased animal welfare, good working environment, and reduction of piglet mortality.

© all Photos Vanggaard