On-farm development work has resulted in greater accuracy of information retrieval provided by the growth sensor system. This significant development for pig farmers enables producers to record growth rates and feed conversions of their pigs as they grow on a daily — even hourly — basis.
It was launched at the British Pig and Poultry Fair in May by a consortium of companies — Farmex Ltd, Berkshire; ARM Buildings Ltd, Staffordshire and Dicam Technology Ltd, Suffolk, with a grant from Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board).
Platform and bridge-type weighing devices were tested by project associates, a large-scale production company in Yorkshire, and it was found that the bridge-type system offered particular advantages. So this has replaced the platform type which proved to be prone to flexing inaccuracies.
“It was found that the platform-type was easily deformed by muck build-up, giving less accurate readings whereas the bridge-type is not affected in this way,” commented Farmex managing director, Hugh Crabtree, who has led the development.
In addition, much work has been done on data filtration giving further improvements in accuracy. “The system now recognises if a pig is lying on the scale for an extended period and is better at rejecting part-weighings. This means the number of recorded observations has fallen but the values are more reliable and accurate,” he added.
Farmers using this system are already reporting significant benefits from having accurate growth data in real time. “One producer has said it will help with breeding selection, while another just wants the growth sensor to text him when the first 110 kg pig is recorded,” said Mr Crabtree.
