Pig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    • June 2025
    • 2025 Innovation supplement
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Buildings supplement
    • February 2025
    • 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Pig Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • 2024 Buildings Supplement
    • March 2024
    • 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • Health Supplement
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
Podcast
Pig WorldPig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    1. June 2025
    2. 2025 Innovation supplement
    3. May 2025
    4. April 2025
    5. March 2025
    6. 2025 Buildings supplement
    7. February 2025
    8. 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    9. January 2025
    10. December 2024
    11. November 2024
    12. 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    13. October 2024
    14. September 2024
    15. August 2024
    16. 2024 Pig Health supplement
    17. July 2024
    18. June 2024
    19. 2024 Innovation supplement
    20. 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    21. May 2024
    22. April 2024
    23. 2024 Buildings Supplement
    24. March 2024
    25. 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    26. February 2024
    27. January 2024
    28. December 2023
    29. November 2023
    30. 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    31. October 2023
    32. September 2023
    33. Health Supplement
    Featured

    June 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    June 4, 2025
    Recent

    June 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    June 4, 2025

    2025 Innovation supplement now available

    June 4, 2025

    May 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    May 1, 2025
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
LinkedIn X (Twitter)
Pig World
Comment

Pig production – the Danish way

PW ReportersBy PW ReportersJuly 6, 20193 Mins Read
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email

Christian Fink Hansen has been the director of SEGES, the Danish Pig Research Centre, since 2017. Previously he was head of animal science studies and a Professor in pig production systems at the University of Copenhagen

SEGES director Christian Fink Hansen
SEGES director Christian Fink Hansen

Danish pig production is in the world’s elite if you look at our quality, animal welfare and sustainability. And according to InterPig, we are also among the most cost- effective European countries at producing pigs.

There’s a lot to be proud of, but it requires a substantial investment: every year Danish pig producers devote more than €50 million to research and development to secure our position as one of the leading pig producing countries and to maintain our reputation and competitiveness nationally and globally.

Our activities are split into three major areas:

DanBred
Last year the DanBred Breeding programme delivered a record genetic gain worth €2.17/pig/year, not least because the programme includes a full genomic test of all breeding animals. To be as economic and sustainable as possible, one of our major breeding goals is to improve feed efficiency as much as possible.

Breeding for improved litter size has been successful, with surprisingly fast advances. In the future we will look more into maternal qualities of the sows and social behaviour of the pigs.

Innovation – R&D
Our research and development activities are focused on all the important areas of pig production: health, nutrition, reproduction, production systems, etc.

This is the only way to survive. Since Denmark is a high cost country, we must be in front when we talk about efficiency and productivity, but it is also important to develop pig production with added value.

One example could be production without antibiotics.

This means new procedures on farms and right now we are working with the farms that have started to produce this way and have ongoing research activities to support this way of producing pork.

Another area we must develop is animal welfare. Our strategy for the forthcoming years is focused on the following:

  • Local anesthesia before castration, which has been a requirement since January 1 2019.
  • Long tails without tail docking. and without decreasing animal welfare.
  • Loose sows in the whole cycle – Many of the new farrowing pens are now built for loose sows.
  • Increased piglet survival, even though it is already high in Denmark compared to pig production in many other countries.

Veterinary activities and audit schemes
Danish Product Standard is a quality insurance scheme we run with audits on all pig farms to ensure all Danish farmers live up to legislation, animal welfare standards and rules for special brands.

To be realistic, there will not be well-regarded pig production in Denmark if we don’t keep out diseases such as African swine fever. That’s why we have the DANISH Transport Standard, which adds an extra security layer to our disease protection with washing and disinfection of 25,000 trucks exporting piglets every year. As a precaution we have added resources in the form of more supervision and follow-up at the washing depots.

For many years we have run a monitoring program for Salmonella on the farms and abattoirs to keep levels at an absolute minimum.

Our Laboratory for Pig Diseases works closely with our health database. Buyers of piglets are able to check the health status on all pig farms. Most of our sow farms are part of the SPF (Specific Pathogen Free) system and can declare themselves free from important diseases like PRRS, AP and mycoplasma.

Share. LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Previous ArticleRetailers stocking less British bacon, Porkwatch survey shows
Next Article Why we need to educate the public about ASF
PW Reporters

Read Similar Stories

Comment: Encouraging signs as big pig issues discussed in parliament

July 4, 2025

Vet View: Importance of iron and vitamin D for pigs and for me

June 9, 2025

Vet View: Step back and look at your unit with external eyes

May 7, 2025
Latest News

AHDB unveils new biosecurity tool available to support pig producers and vets

July 4, 2025

Will weight of numbers prevail, as ministers reconsider MOP labelling?

July 4, 2025

Comment: Encouraging signs as big pig issues discussed in parliament

July 4, 2025
Sponsored Content

THE GATEKEEPER OF RESPIRATORY HEALTH – MYCOPLASMA HYOPNEUMONIAE (M.HYO)

April 30, 2024

Tackle the root cause of PWD with free diagnostic tests

March 1, 2024
Current Pig Industry jobs
  • Experienced Pig Stockperson – Ref 1757 South East England

    • South East England
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Pig Stockperson Farm Worker – Ref 1756 UK

    • United Kingdom
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Assistant Outdoor Pig Manager – Ref 1755 Oxfordshire

    • Oxfordshire
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
GETTING IN TOUCH
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Meet The Editors
  • About Us
  • Email Newsletters
  • Subscribe
  • Reuse permissions
OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
PARTNER EVENTS
RELATED SITES
  • Farmers Weekly
  • Agronomist & Arable Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • National Pig Awards
  • Pigs Tomorrow
  • Poultry News
  • Weekly Tribune
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.