Danish pig finishers are being encouraged to invest in larger units to cash in on the “brighter times that lie ahead”.
The director of the Danish Pig Research Centre, Claus Fertin, says it is now crucial that pig producers embark on building programmes to safeguard the future of pig production in Denmark.
Quoting research results from the Danish Agriculture and Food Council, he told producers at the recent Herning Congress that scaling up from a 1000-place unit to 8000 places would add the equivalent of £5.30 per finisher to production returns.
He also said, however, that the average size of finisher units in Denmark was currently below 1000 places and that the industry’s housing development had been at a “virtual standstill” for the last seven years.
“There is a good future for pig production in Denmark, but we need to replace the old housing units with new ones,” he said. “We need larger and more modern facilities, which will ensure the economies of scale that many producers don’t currently enjoy because their units are too small. The initiative will also benefit the environment.”
The call attracted a positive comment from the Danish mortgage bank, DLR, whose CEO, Bent Andersen, said that while there was still a certain amount of caution about making major investments, he was “sure that the commercial opportunities for pig producers going forward are good”.