Case: Scandinavian Farms Pig Industries
Reducing heat stress and increasing production

Heat stress caused a decrease in production during summertime

Scandinavian Farms Pig Industries in China has a capacity of 15,000 sows and 420,000 produced finishers spread over multiple farms. Like many other pig producers worldwide, Scandinavian Farms Pig Industries is fighting heat stress to keep pigs at a comfortable temperature and production optimal.
In one of the producer’s locations, they were challenged by heat stress during the summertime due to the high temperature and humidity in the area.
The farm had been in operation for years and was built at a time when pigs were smaller, had fewer piglets, and the outside climate was less extreme. Over the past 30 years, the average sow has grown by 50 kg, and the number of born piglets has increased from 10 to 18 pcs.
The main challenge was in the farrowing sections, five days before farrowing and up until the sows gave birth. Although cooling pads were already in use on the farm, they were insufficient to lower the temperature to an optimal level.

Combining pad cooling and air velocity to reach the optimal temperature

To address this issue, SKOV was contacted to find a solution to reduce the heat stress during the summertime. The solution eventually involved the installation of new cooling pads and using air velocity (3.5 m/sec) to cool the sows’ bodies. The location and angle of the air inlets were given special attention to ensure that the airflow could reach the bodies of the pigs.

Jørgen Lindberg, Scandinavian Farms Pig Industries in China, is very satisfied with the solution that has been in effect for a few years: "Compared with the solution on the old farms, we can see a significant difference with much less heat stress after several years’ experience with this solution."