Improving your Return On Investment in large-scale farms

The pig industry in China is known for its large-scale pig farms. But a big farm does not mean that there can’t be healthy piglets. After all, a healthy piglet also increases revenue. This makes it valuable to invest in the farrowing period. At the Shi Zhu He Swine Farm in Lay Yang City, China, they couldn't agree more. But how do they improve the return on investment on a farm that has 1200 sows and 15 employees? 

A vision for a large-scale farm

Lay Yang City is located on a Chinese peninsula. In order to expand, the pig farm’s equipment team is looking for reliable equipment for feeding and for the farrowing pen. “The farrowing period is important, because a healthy piglet is key for the piglets’ survival rate and their growth rate at a later stage,” says Li Qiang, Production Technology Director. “By investing in healthy piglets, we’re increasing our revenues.” .

Investing in lift flooring to increase revenues

The Shi Zhu He Swine Farm has invested in the farrowing pen of its 1200 sows with Vereijken’s Vari Plus lift flooring. This proven concept has effectively reduced piglet mortality for over 15 years. With lift flooring, a spring activates the floor when the sow stands up and deactivates it when she lies down. This has reduced the number of at risk piglets by 80%.

“The lift flooring provides a comfortable environment for the newborn piglets and provides a safe space for them.” says Li. “It effectively prevents the sow from crushing piglets, because the floor automatically lifts when the sow stands and lowers when she sits down, so that piglets can reach the udders again. This has made it easier for my staff to care for the piglets, so they can use their energy for other important aspects in the daily management at the farm.” 

Cooperl: over 10 years of experience in large-scale farms

For the installation of the lift flooring, the Shi Zhu He Swine Farm worked with our French partner company, Cooperl, that has over 10 years of experience in large-scale farming projects in China. With a '360°-expertise' that covers the pig’s life from birth to slaughterhouse, it supports farmers in preparing their barns for the future. We’ve been working with Cooperl for years. Each time that we work together, the cooperation between both parties is great, so we’re happy to continue our collaboration,” says Li. 

Behind the scenes at Cooperl

The project was managed by Kyrie HU at Cooperl. “I’ve been working on large-scale farm projects in China for over 3.5 years,” Kyrie says. “We’re seeing that large-scale farms in China struggle to find suitable farm equipment. They are looking for products that lower their business risk while making operation and maintenance activities more convenient. At Cooperl we support these pig farmers in the best way we can by producing, distributing and installing high-quality equipment all over the world at an attractive price.”

Cooperl has installed 320 farrowing crates at the Shi Zhu He Swine Farm with a Vereijken Vari Plus lift floor, of which components had to come from across the world. “I always aim for a smooth installation process by knowing the installation sequence of the different parts in advance, by confirming stocking and arrival times of the various materials from around the world and by organizing installation workers in advance,'' says Kyrie. “To achieve this, we collaborate closely with our equipment team in France and Vereijken in the Netherlands.”

Use mechanization and data intelligence in daily operations

“Seeing the growth of your piglets and being able to give them a healthy life gives me a sense of accomplishment,” says Li. “If there is one golden tip for other farmers, I’d say that you should use mechanizations and data intelligence to improve production operations. By reducing manual input and liberating human labor through equipment, you can become more cost-effective. The lift flooring and the ability to keep track of the results with data, help us improve our ROI and our business every day.”

Shi Zhu He Swine Farm is now using Vereijken’s Vari Plus lift flooring, which was installed by Cooperl, a cooperative that has over 10 years of experience in large-scale projects in China. Do you want to know what lift flooring can do for your large-scale farm and what this process would look like? 

Contact Bart Hooijer at bart@vereijkengroup.com or Jacques Cai at jcai@cooperlchina.com.