PigSelector – Forget the Difficulties!

Pig breeders face numerous challenges when selecting livestock for transport. Before pigs are sent to processing facilities, precise weight measurement is crucial. Underweight pigs must stay, while those meeting the target weight need to be moved. Are you still relying on visual assessment or excessive manual labor for selection? We have a solution. Imagine managing a herd of 1,000 pigs with just one worker. It’s possible!

Precise weight measurement is essential for economic efficiency, animal health, and overall farm management. Implementing reliable weighing methods ensures optimal results in modern swine production. Accurate weight data allows farmers to optimize feed allocation, marketing strategies, and herd management, enables better feed conversion, reducing costs while maximizing profits.

Correct weight measurements are crucial for administering proper medication dosages and monitoring overall animal health. Overestimating weight can lead to excessive medication costs and potential drug resistance, while underestimation may result in ineffective treatment. Regular monitoring also aids in early disease detection, allowing timely intervention.

Meeting specific market weight requirements is key to maximizing revenue. Processors often offer premium prices for pigs within a preferred weight range. By ensuring precise weight data, farmers can optimize their sales timing and avoid penalties for under- or overweight animals. Understanding pig weight at different growth stages enables precise diet formulation. This leads to improved feed conversion rates, better growth performance, and healthier livestock.

Challenges of Traditional Weighing and Selection Methods

Traditional methods, such as manual weighing and visual assessment, come with multiple drawbacks, affecting efficiency, animal welfare, and accuracy. It is labor-intensive and time-consuming.Herding each pig onto a scale is physically demanding, requiring significant manpower and increasing labor costs, while manual weighing can cause anxiety and agitation in pigs, negatively affecting their growth and health. Frequent handling can compromise immunity, making pigs more susceptible to disease. And above all, it is often inaccurate, as visual assessments and manual measurements are prone to human error, leading to unreliable data, and also disrupts farm workflows, causing bottlenecks and delaying operations.

The Solution: PigSelector

The PigSelector is an advanced real-time weight measurement and sorting system that optimizes the pig selection process before transport. Using machine vision and AI-driven technology, it accurately determines weight as pigs pass through designated corridors, ensuring only those within the target range are selected for transport.

Key Features of PigSelector

With the AI-driven precision you can eliminate human errors and can instantly gain real-time weight data without requiring physical scales. With PigSelector, you can be 100% sure, that only pigs within the desired weight range proceed, while others easily can be redirected by workers – of whom you will only need 2 – AI does the rest! Reducing manual labor requirements means cutting costs – while using AI means high level of accuracy.

How PigSelector Works

The system relies on machine-vision technology. At the beginning, you have to install a few cameras to your corridors. We recommend the utilization of IP cameras supporting Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) with internet connectivity (e.g., HAC-HFW1230S by Dahua Technology) . IP67 casing is also recommended for protection against environmental factors.

For the best result, on narrow corridors mount the camera in landscape position at a low height. On wide corridors use a portrait position if a low height placement is not feasible. Install the camera directly above the center of the corridor to capture the entire pig body as it passes.

And what to asddo, if not scaling?

While operating the system, ensure that no individuals obstruct the corridor, prevent overcrowding of pigs to avoid counting errors- and account for potential internet latency when using online testing to minimize data loss.

By following these guidelines, farmers can achieve precise weight measurements and efficient sorting, enhancing overall farm profitability.

As you can see, PigSelector reduces the need for manual labor radically. On a farm in Püspökladány, Hungary, the PigSelector Light version is used. A herd of 1000 pigs is managed by just one person, with a maximum of three workers required during loading. Farm workers can focus on higher-value tasks like animal health, feeding, and management rather than repetitive weighing and sorting. PigSelector spares time for you. The real-time AI-driven selection increases throughput, making operations faster and more efficient.

Beyond saving time and labor, PigSelector enhances overall pig farming quality. Eliminates the need for physical restraint, reducing stress in pigs, ensures only well-developed pigs are sent to slaughter and helps farmers optimize nutrition and health management, fostering sustainable and responsible farming practices.

The Future of Pig Farming Starts Now

The task of selecting pigs for transport is complex, but the solution is simple. With PigSelector, farmers can achieve accuracy, efficiency, and improved livestock management—all while reducing labor costs and enhancing animal welfare. Count on PigSelector for a smarter, stress-free selection process!

For further information on PigSelector, explore our website!