Intensive breeding has never been something Danish agriculture pursues
Danish pig production has been met with allegations of “intensive breeding.” As recently as the party leadership debate, Mette Frederiksen said that extreme breeding should be stopped and focus on reducing the number of dead piglets.
However, that focus already exists in the industry, where the focus is on ensuring higher survival among piglets and more robust animals.
That has actually been the most important thing in the breeding work since 2021, says Director of the Pig Sector at Agriculture & Food, Christian Fink Hansen.
The work has resulted in the highest piglet survival rate expected in 2025 since the turn of the millennium.
Through our focus, we have improved the survival of the piglets. This means that for the figures in 2025 we are potentially looking at having the lowest piglet mortality since the turn of the millennium. This does not mean that we are on target, but it means that we are in the process of delivering on what several politicians are calling for, says Christian Fink Hansen.
The Agriculture & Food Sector for Pigs revised the breeding targets back in 2021. This has resulted in higher survival among piglets and a focus on the sow's ability to care for the little pigs.
The focus is on giving the piglets the best start in life. This is done by improving the piglet's viability. At the same time, we have changed the breeding target for the sows so that they are better able to care for the number of foster piglets that are born, says Christian Fink Hansen.
Facts: Lowest mortality in 25 years
In 2021 and 2022, the breeding target was changed to improve the characteristics of the piglets and the sows. This means that the curve for piglet mortality has long since been broken. The latest figures for piglet mortality in the L&F Pig Sector's breeding system now stand at 21.4 percent in 2024 compared to 23 percent in 2022.
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