NETHERLANDS

Vion introduces the project Stal Elektra Alert

Animal welfare

Vion, suppliers association StarFarmers, Connecting Agri & Food and PinCAgro introduce the project �Stal Elektra Alert� (Barn Electricity Alert). Smart sensors in the meter cupboard that warn the pig farmer early in case the temperature is too high. The objective of the project is careful and responsible husbandry where the risk of barn fires is reduced to a minimum. The project will be started with a pilot among 20 pig farmers as part of Vion�s Good Farming Star concept.

Posted on Nov 13 ,08:29

Barn Electricity Alert
Animal welfare, animal health and sustainability are important themes within Good Farming Star, Vion’s demand-driven chain concept that complies with the one-star Beter Leven label of the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals. This concept is characterised by the continuing development on these themes. With the new project Barn Electricity Alert, we are jointly adding a new and distinctive element to the Good Farming Star chain. For a period of one year, the smart technology will be tested by means of a sensor application for fire prevention in the switchgear and distribution boxes. The pilot has already started.

To measure is to know
In 2018, cooperation partners Vion, StarFarmers and Connecting Agri & Food started the "To measure is to know" (Meten is Weten) project within Good Farming Star for monitoring the barn climate. As part of this project, smart barn sensors provide information on temperature, relative humidity and CO₂ content in the pigsty. The new project Barn Electricity Alert is a follow-up to this, using the existing data infrastructure. The new project is financially supported by the "PPS Klimaat", under the chairmanship of POV, the producers’ organisation for pig farming.

Implementation phase
The pilot Barn Electricity Alert is now in the implementation phase with the participants. Paul Horevoorts, participating pig farmer and board member of the StarFarmers suppliers association: "Barn Electricity Alert will soon give me insight into what a deviating temperature is for my company and when the temperature reaches an alarm phase. That is very valuable information that will help us to increase fire safety on pig farms". It is too early to draw conclusions from the initial data collected. The objective of the sensors is to develop preventive alerts based on data science. The clever application of modern technology can contribute to fire safety and strengthen the Good Farming Star chain.