Ekologiska suggor hålls i individuella boxar inför, under och en tid efter grisningen. De flesta svenska ekogrisproducenter väljer sedan, när smågrisarna är cirka 10–14 dagar gamla, att flytta suggor och smågrisar till grupper där de hålls tillsammans antingen på djupströbädd inne, s.k. familjeboxar, med tillgång till utevistelse, eller utomhus på bete med tillgång till hyddor. Det finns en efterfrågan hos producenter med grupphållna digivande suggor att möjliggöra individuell utfodring. Detta för att minska risken för foderspill och att bättre kunna möta enskilda suggors näringsbehov och därmed undvika att suggorna är för magra eller för feta och därmed minska risken för hälsoproblem, smygbrunster och för att generera bra tillväxt hos smågrisarna.

Projektets syfte var att utveckla en mobil utfodringsanläggning för individuell utfodring av digivande suggor i grupp och utvärdera den utifrån olika produktions- och hälsoparametrar. Målet var att utfodringsanläggningen skulle kunna användas både inomhus, samt utomhus på betet d.v.s. den ska vara lätt att flytta, och ha individuell reglering av foder samt kunna installeras i befintliga grisstallar till en rimlig kostnad.

Det finns potential att utfodringsanläggning med individuella foderplatser kan underlätta och förbättra utfodringen av digivande suggor i grupphållning. Antalet foderplatser påverkade inte hur mycket suggorna vistades i foderanläggningen vilket gör att vi bedömer att två foderbås fungerar till en grupp med sex suggor. Till följd av att fodertilldelningen kunde styras var det mindre variation i vikt och hull hos suggor i som hade tillgång till individuella foderplatser jämfört med suggor som fick fri tillgång till foder. Detta bör minska risk för smygbrunster och störningar och kan spara onödiga utgifter för rekrytering av nya djur samt höga kostnader för foderspill.

Tillgången till individuella foderplatser visade sig minska förekomsten av negativa sociala interaktioner jämfört med om foder gavs i tråg eller vid en enskild automat och andelen negativa sociala interaktioner var lägre utomhus än inomhus. Denna erfarenhet gör att det finns potential för systemet att kunna användas för att möjliggöra en trygg plats för suggor att äta utan risk att bli bortjagad av individer av till exempel högre rang.

Systemet fungerar till digivande suggor för användning både utomhus på bete och inomhus i familjeboxar. I förlängningen kan detta ha en positiv inverkan på användning av åkermark som ligger längre ifrån gården och bidra till lägre parasitförekomst, högre djurvälfärd och ökad hållbarhet för svenska suggor samt minskat växtnäringsläckage, minskad punktbelastning på mark och därmed minskad övergödning.

Smart monitoring of cattle on pasture According to the Swedish Board of Agriculture, meadows and pastures have decreased by hundreds of thousands of hectares in Sweden over the past hundred years. Valuable pastures can be located far from the farm, which means that the farmer chooses not to use it as it means long transport distances for daily supervision and monitoring of the animals. The problem has become more common with the structural change towards fewer and larger farms that has taken place in agriculture in recent decades. Farmers can, when the pasture is far from the farm, hire people who live closer to the pasture for the day-to-day care of the animals. However, counting the animals can be a task that is difficult to maintain, as it can be difficult even for an experienced zookeeper, especially if it is a larger group of animals and hilly terrain. If this step is handled automatically, it will be easier for the farmer to hire another person for the daily care of the animals and thus the possibility of using hard-to-reach pasture is increased. The project focused on finding low-cost and smart technical solutions to facilitate the tracking of animals, with the aim of developing a monitoring system for cattle on pasture to ensure that the animals are counted as part of a farmer’s daily supervision. The monitoring system that has been developed uses satellite communication to send the position of the animals up to four times a day to a mobile app, which gives the farmers an indication that all the animals have moved. In addition, the farmer receives alarms via email if the animals have too little activity or have moved outside of their designated pasture. Based on the experience from the field trials that were carried out, and from feedback from the farmers who participated in the project, it is concluded that the monitoring system can facilitate the monitoring of animals on pasture and at the same time be economically viable for a farmer. However, there is an opportunity to further develop the monitoring system to add functions such as water and electrical fence monitoring, which would make it possible to handle even more of the daily supervision digitally and only have manual supervision a few times a week.

Strategic collaborations between farmers and technology companies to extend the benefits of technical solutions for improved animal production Over the past 50 years, we have seen an increased use of technological solutions in agriculture to monitor animal health, welfare and productivity. The increase in milk production and herd size place great demands on animal health and regular monitoring of all individual animals, to ensure that production is optimal while maintaining good animal welfare. This is very time-consuming, so farmers' interest in digital technology solutions is increasing. This development should facilitate and streamline agriculture. However, many farmers feel that the companies that develop technology do not always have knowledge of the needs and requirements they have for a technical or digital tool. In addition, companies need to collaborate more on sharing data, to avoid, for example, parallel work in several technical solutions. Within the project, we have identified several areas where there is consensus, but also areas where the opinions between farmers and technology companies differ. There was a consensus between farmers and technology companies that personal relationships are a key factor in the industry, and affect, for example, investment decision-making. Furthermore, there was also a consensus that there is a need for actors to be able to meet in some forum to discuss issues such as technology development and data sharing on a regular basis. The parties were considered to have different views on what makes a technology successful and how user dialogue should be handled. One issue where the farmers' opinions differed was the availability outside of working hours, where some felt that it provided increased control and thus a sense of calm, while others considered it as a direct stress factor and a feeling of never leaving the workplace. Several of the technology suppliers expressed that they were interested in developing their collaboration with other technology companies, while others considered it a strength to only work with their own products to ensure the quality of their offering. The project has generated knowledge exchange between actors in the industry. Farmers and technology companies have been given the opportunity to give their views on how to create a dialogue about needs and opportunities for the development of new technical solutions. The results show that all participants see a benefit in increased collaboration, but that the path to get there is not clearly marked out and there is a need for an independent party that initiates collaboration and leads the dialogue.

Wool pellets from unutilized wool on Gotland – a development project with focus on the pelleting process

A large proportion of the wool produced in Sweden is discarded as it cannot be used by the textile industry. Before the wool can be used it must be collected and washed. However, a large quantity of low-quality wool is mixed in with the high-quality wool and thus enter the processing industry when the wool is collected. As it is not usable by the industry, this low-quality wool simply takes up space and lowers the processing speed as it must be separated from the high-quality wool and be discarded, lowering the economic output of the wool processing industry. However, unutilized wool has the potential to be used as a slow-acting fertilizer, soil amendment, or mulch for cultivation purposes. Pelleting is an attractive method of processing biomass into a product that is efficient and easy to handle, transport and use. Pellet presses are commercially available from small farm-scale to large-scale facilities. The aim of the project was to develop and adapt the pelleting technology to work with Swedish wool that cannot be used to produce yarns or other textiles. The goal was to develop methods and technology for pre-treating or disintegrate the wool, adapt the input and pelleting part of the pelleting process to work with low-quality wool and try to optimize the quality of the pellets. Furthermore, the goal was to analyze the plant nutrient value and strength of the pellets produced and create a packaging prototype. During the project, additional goals were added: to automate the process from pre-treatment to packaging as much as possible, and to use literature to determine if the pelletizing process is likely to be sufficient enough to hygenize the wool from weed seeds. An automated production line from wool to finished pellets has been built at Ullkontoret (Sweden’s only full-scale wool washing facility). Coarse and fine shredding, feeding and regulation of feed capacity function well, while the pelleting pressing does not work sufficiently well. Wool pelleting of only low-quality wool proved technologically challenging and neither the modified pellet presses nor the imported wool pellet press worked, despite modifications. In other European countries, this problem is solved by mixing in higher quality wool. Further technological development of wool pelleting is needed to obtain a system that can handle all types of low-quality Swedish wool. Literature studies and nutritional analyses confirm that wool pellets work well as a slow-acting fertilizer (often in mixture due to a very low phosphorus content), but the potential of wool as a soil amendment, mulch and snail repellent requires more studies. Pelleting is probably not enough to hygenize the wool from weed seeds. It is a challenge to produce a packaging that both meets the quality requirements of the product (e.g., maintain the right humidity, preventing odors) and at the same time meets the demands of the type of environmentally conscious consumer who is the main target group for a nature-based product.

Pig production on Bornholm – a travelogue about pig production on Bornholm carried out in the project “Growing pig businesses on Gotland” Both Bornholm (Denmark) and Gotland (Sweden) are islands located in the Baltic Sea. Gotland is about five times as large in comparison with Bornholm, but the number of pig producers is twice as many on Bornholm. For both Bornholm and Gotland, pig production is important. Without pig production, a local abattoir would not be operating on the islands. A closure of the local abattoir would result in the loss of 150– 200 jobs. Such closure would affect the whole society. In addition, animal transports to slaughter would be significantly longer. In 2014 there was an imminent threat that the local abattoir on Bornholm would be closed due to profitability issues. With joint efforts the abattoir was rescued, and the production volumes are now expected to be 545,000 slaughtered pigs in 2021/2022. The density of pig herds on Bornholm is a raising concern among veterinarians and pig producers due to the spreading of diseases among the herds. For instance, there is a concern about the spreading of Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), which is not found in Sweden. PRRS was discovered in Sweden in 2007, but the affected pig herds were eliminated and the disease was eradicated. For both Denmark and Sweden there is another imminent threat in African swine fever (ASF), which is found in several countries in Europe. Denmark took measures to hinder the propagation of wild boars in the country, diminishing the risk of the spread of ASF. In Sweden, the wild boar population was established in the 80´s and has grown since then, increasing the risk of bringing ASF into the country. Thus, Gotland has an advantage with no wild boar population established on the island. In general, the surrounding water barrier on an island may be a natural barrier to hinder the introduction and spreading of diseases. In both Danish and Swedish pig production, there are difficulties finding staff. Between 50–70% of the staff in Danish pig production are foreigners. This proportion is significantly lower on Bornholm. So far, there is a market for agricultural properties on Bornholm, but as many pig producers approach retirement, the future situation is uncertain. It is becoming more common for employees to purchase farms in Bornholm when no relatives are interested to take over the business. For both Bornholm and Gotland, it is challenging for younger people to purchase farms due to the large investments. The process also takes many years. Developments towards more automation and digitalization in pig production became clear during the study trip to Bornholm. Danish Crown A/S has developed a mobile application in which the pig producers can report animals for slaughter. On the study tour the project group visited a pig farm with 600 sows and 20 000 fatteners. The pig farmer had invested in several automaton techniques to reduce operating costs for labor. The pig producers on Bornholm use production follow-up programs (corresponding to WinPig in Sweden) to a large extent. In addition, advisers are hired frequently. At Danish Crown A/S, there is an "owner service" that pig producers can join. In the owner service, the abattoir's consultants offer advices of interests for the pig producer. There is also a farm advisory service on Bornholm, namely Bornholms Landbrug och Fødevarer (BLF). BLF administrates several experience groups and on Bornholm there are as many as 17–18 (!) for pig producers and their staff. The intention of the groups is to exchange knowledge between pig producers. Many of the groups are aimed for the staff and are held in the pig barns. In addition, pig producers on Bornholm have a long and appreciated experience of benchmarking. The purpose of benchmarking is to compare the own business results to other pig producer’s. In Denmark, the pig veterinarian visits pig farms continuously, approximately every month. Visits by the pig veterinarian provide additional advices and follow-ups for the pig producer.

Lightweight gates of high-strength steel for improved worker safety and cattle handling This report presents the work with developing a lightweight gate of high-strength steel for the handling of cattle. The project was conducted as a European Innovation Partnership (EIP) project. The project group consisted of co-workers from the unit of Agriculture and Horticulture and the unit of Process and Environmental Engineering at Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE Jordbruk och trädgård och RISE Kretsloppsteknik), Parsteel AB (former Nilssons Plåtindustri AB), SSAB EMEA AB, Sophie Atkinson at Smart Animal Handling, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Skara and the cattle farmer Lars Olsson. The main objectives of the project were to develop a lightweight gate weighing at least 50% less and being three times as strong as a traditional gate for cattle handling. The main motive was to improve the ergonomic conditions and working environment for the animal handlers. Additionally, for the safety of both animals and handlers, the gate must withstand the loads from cattle. Other objectives were to design and construct a gate that does not exceed the price of a high-quality gate and not contribute to increased negative environmental impact. A lightweight gate can be made of various materials such as plastic, fiberglass or steel. Regarding the project group's participants and their competencies, in addition to the numerous requirements placed on a lightweight gate, the choice fell on high-strength steel. High-strength steel is characterized by having high yield strengths, up to 1300 MPa, in comparison with traditional construction steel with yield strength of 355 MPa. For the specific lightweight gate, steel pipes with a yield strength of approximately 750 MPa were chosen. These pipes are mainly used in the automotive and engine industry, where high demands are placed on strength while at the same time a light construction is desired. The gate itself was designed during the project and several details were examined and developed in regard to functionality and safety for both cattle and handlers. The work environment legislation states that gates must be dimensioned and anchored so that the animals cannot break out (AFS 2008:17). The gates must also not pose a risk of injury to the cattle. In order to work safely with cattle, knowledge of cattle behavior is essential and consequently the report contains a chapter describing cattle senses and behavior. Both the lightweight gates and the handling system, built up by the gates, must be adapted to the cattle. In the project, the bud box handling system was tested. The handling system was originally developed to make use of the behavioral characteristics of cattle to encourage forward movement in the desired direction. In the project the handling system's functionality and safety, by using lightweight gates and additional equipment and components, were further designed. The handling system was tested in two groups of heifers at the SLU Götala Beef and Lamb Research Centre. The lightweight gates were also tested in a dairy herd and a beef herd, while hoof trimming, and at a small-scale abattoir. Generally, the light weight of the gates was considered an advantage as the handling of the gates is simplified also resulting in more frequent use of the gates, increasing safety for both animals and humans. During the project, several strength tests were performed by building unique test rigs. In one test rig, the weld of the pipes of the lightweight gate was tested. In another test rig, the strength of lightweight gates, compared with traditional gates on the market, were tested. The outcome of the tests confirmed the original aim of the project, a lightweight gate made of high-strength steel, about 50% lighter and at least three times as strong as traditional gates, had been developed and designed during the project period.

Can eyetracking as a tool be used to educate new staff at a farm?

This pilot project evaluates the potential of eyetracking as a tool for training new staff on a farm in practical knowledge about animal welfare.

A basic prerequisite for economically profitable animal production is healthy animals with good growth. Detecting animals in need of extra care during rounds is a challenge when there are many animals that need to be checked in a short time. The experience of the staff is an important component, but access to qualified staff is a scarce commodity. The experience of the skilled staff is rarely written down but constitutes a tacit knowledge that is very sensitive to whether staff quit or fall ill. Hiring foreign labor is becoming more common, in which case the potential to take part in the workforce's overall competence will determine how well the new workers will succeed in their tasks.

By using technical tools such as eyetracking, you can record what a person is looking at in a certain environment. With this technology one could easily show and educate, e.g. staff, new employees, and students, what it is an experienced caretaker looks at when minding the animals. The technology makes it possible to visualize what an experienced caretaker is observing. In that way eyetracking has the potential to improve the working environment by streamlining the work of training new staff and getting everyone in the work team (experienced or not) to perform the tasks at the same high level as the most experienced.

Automatisering av arbetsuppgifter har blivit vardag hos många primärproducenter inom animalieproduktionen, som idag använder t.ex. mjölkrobotar och automatiserad utfodring, utgödsling, vägning och ströhantering. Ökad automatisering och digitalisering kan vara avgörande för lantbrukets hållbara produktivitetsökning och konkurrens­kraften hos lantbruksföretag. Mycket av utvecklingen har skett inom växtodling och mjölkproduktion, men köttproduktionen har fortfarande generellt en låg digitaliserings­grad både inom lantbruksföretagen och i senare led i produktionskedjan. En digitali­sering av köttkedjan förutsätter elektronisk ID-märkning av djur (RFID-märkning) för att möjliggöra automatiserad datahantering och beslutsstöd.

Syftet var att utreda hur en digitalisering av köttkedjan skulle kunna utformas och praktiskt fungera i Sverige. Vidare var syftet att kartlägga olika aktörers behov och krav på informationsflöde genom köttkedjan, hur informationen kan delas, frågor kring nyttjande och rättigheter till data och de tekniska krav som ställs för att få ett sådant system att fungera optimalt. Vi vill också genom projektet visa på vilka mervärden en digitalisering av köttkedjan skulle kunna ge i form av effektivisering, säkrare spårbarhet och en mer transparent produktion hela vägen till konsument.

Studien har genomförts under perioden 2017 till 2019. Studiebesök i Danmark gjordes, eftersom Danmark har implementerat elektronisk öronmärkning som ett lagkrav och därmed har de erfarenheter från utvecklingen av digitala system i köttkedjan. Studiebesök gjordes även i Sverige, för att diskutera digitaliseringens möjligheter med olika aktörer i köttkedjan. Vidare gjordes en intervjustudie med lantbrukare, som idag använder elektroniska öronmärken, för att belysa vilka användningsområden och mervärden de svenska lantbrukarna idag ser. Studien avslutades med en workshop, där branschen tillsammans med teknikföretag samlades för att bland annat diskutera möjligheter, barriärer och behov av en digital köttkedja i Sverige.

Resultaten i denna studie visade att branschen generellt är positiv till att införa digitalisering av köttkedjan, men branschen är även medveten om att det innebär en kostnad när olika aktörer längs kedjan ska investera i digitala lösningar och tekniska system.

I Sverige är aktörerna inom branschen väl medvetna om möjliga fördelar, som t.ex. konkurrensfördelar, optimering av produktionen, säkrare livsmedel, ökad datasäkerhet och optimering av både rådgivnings- och veterinärtjänster, som en digitalisering av köttkedjan kan leda till. Aktörerna är överens om att denna utveckling är framtiden och att det finns ett behov av att digitalisera köttkedjan ur ett effektiviserings- och konkurrensperspektiv. En utmaning som identifierades var att man helst ser att implementeringen blir frivillig, samtidigt som man önskar att implementeringen ska ske fort. Myndigheter och branschorganisationer behöver ta initiativ för att visa på behov av en digitaliserad köttkedja, det krävs samverkan genom kedjan och en konkret dialog med samtliga berörda aktörer behövs. Det är viktigt att fokusera på investeringsvinster och inte enbart kostnader för en digitalisering av köttkedjan, eftersom digitalisering kan leda till effektivisering, bättre lönsamhet och ökad konkurrenskraft.

Automation of work tasks has become commonplace for many primary producers with livestock, e.g. the use of milking robots and selection gates as well as automated feeding, weighing of animals and manure and litter handling. Advances in automation and digitalisation may be crucial for a sustainable increase in agricultural productivity and the future competitiveness of agricultural businesses. So far, the technical development has mainly been within crop management and milk production, while meat production still has a limited technical development. In fact, the entire meat supply chain is characterized by a low degree of digitization and automation. A digitalisation of the meat chain requires electronic identification of animals (e.g. RFID tags) to enable automated data collection, data management and decision support systems.

The aim of this project activity was to investigate how a digitalisation of the meat chain could be designed and practically implemented in Sweden. Furthermore, the aim was to identify the drivers and barriers for increased digitalisation and automation of the meat supply chain as well as relevant actors’ needs and demands for information flow and data sharing. Finally, we aimed to identify what added values a digitalisation of the meat supply chain could provide in the form of increased efficiency, secure safer traceability and a more transparent production from farm to the consumer.

The study was conducted during the period 2017 to 2019. Study visits in Denmark were made, as Denmark has implemented electronic ear tagging as a legal requirement and thus have experience from the development of digital systems in the meat chain. Study visits were also made in Sweden, to discuss the possibilities of digitalisation with various actors in the meat chain. In addition, an interview study was conducted with farmers, who today use electronic ear tags, to elucidate the areas of use and value added to Swedish farmers today. The study was concluded with a workshop, where the industry together with technology companies gathered to discuss opportunities, barriers and the need for a digital meat chain in Sweden.

The results of this study showed that the Swedish meat industry generally is positive to an implementation of a digital meat supply chain. The advantages identified were that the digitalisation can be used to optimise production processes, increase food safety, increase data security and increase advisory and veterinary services. However, the industry is also aware of the initial cost a digitalisation will require due to investments in digital systems and various technical solutions, and this was considered a major barrier.

In Sweden, the industry is well aware of the benefits that a digitalisation of the meat supply chain would entail, it is agreed that it is the future and that there is a need to digitize the meat supply chain from an efficiency and competition perspective. One barrier, however, is that it is generally preferred that the implementation will be voluntary, while some actors emphasise a need for quick transformation as a prolonged process increases costs and makes the transition to digital systems more difficult. Authorities and industry organisations need to take the initiative to demonstrate the need for a digitized meat supply chain and clearly take a position on the issue.

It can be a challenge for beef and dairy farmers to predict when a cow is close to calving, to move her to a calving pen in time and to properly monitor and assist the calving. The objective was to evaluate how a calving alert system, attached to the tail, affects the cow. The system monitors the tail's movements, and the farmer is notified via a text message to the mobile phone approximately one hour before calving. A case-control and an interview study were carried out. In the case-control study, cow behaviour was observed during and after the procedure of attaching the sensor on the tail. Controls were equally prepared, but the sensor was attached and then immediately removed again. The ethogram protocol contained behaviours like, for example, back arching, tail lifting, fidgeting and kicking. The case-control study had to be discontinued due to the sensors causing damage to the cow's tail and therefore, there were too few cows included in the study to be able to determine if there were statistical differences between the test and control cows. In the interview study which included 15 interviewed farmers, 80% stated that the cows' behavioural reaction was negative when the sensor was attached. Almost all farmers had observed damage to the tails after using the sensor and 20% had observed such severe damage that amputation was necessary.