Sustainability on the Pig Farm

[OctaformSystemsInc]

Really great. We work in biogas, aquaculture, agriculture and even algae. It is inspiring to see these come together in one operation.

[Incendarious]

Love the recycling and efficiency..,

now if they could just eliminate those gestation crates...

[shussey100]

What a wonderful system, look at that farm it is sparkling. Brazil is a land blessed.

[Roar1910]

Its great what they are doing about the waste- but y do they need to keep them in thoughs cages? they can barly move -- poor things I know about gestation cages but I don't think there is really any use for them <

[metropool]

carbon credits-hahaha

gimme a break

[nogerdsurg]

This is bullshit, all of that land and the pigs are locked away. I hate this chit with a passion. You are all inhumane.

[haymarketmassacre]

kudos to the system. Missouri USA and Virginia USA both had problems with waste runoff of large production meat farms (chicken, pig, cow). What as neat and practical solution. I am glad that people are no longer looking at rivers as waste recepticles to be dumped in and become someone else's problem. Bravo.

[HiWay69s]

americans raise the best pigs

[davidnsaunders]

@SustainableSolution1 Agreed. George Chan says pigs are very clean by nature, and can be taught to urinate and defecate in a 'loo' at the corner of the pen, so there's no need to lie in wet swill. They can even have raised, wooden beds -- anything is possible with care and thought and intelligent design -- and happier pigs means better meat. Free range would be even better, and many people prefer not to eat pigs at all. But this video is about how to make existing farms work far better...

[SustainableSolution1]

@davidnsaunders have a look at my vids, my pigs dont smell , and very happy.

[gripdoggy]

Do you use gestation crates?

[davidnsaunders]

@gripdoggy Sorry -- I don't know -- I'm living in England and the farms' in Brazil! The main point is the use of anaerobic digestion and algal ponds to eliminate waste and create fish-food, increasing the farms capacity and diversity...

[mskitana2001]

what he is throwing in the fish pond on 03:25

fish food or pig weast

[davidnsaunders]

From 4:36 the narrator explains that maize and a new crop, soya are grown form the fertiliser made from the pig waste in the biodigester. From 5:20 he explains that the fish are fed algae, fertilised by the liquid manure from the pigs.

[SustainableSolution1]

If the pigs were free range there would not be such a pollution problem, or disease threat. And the pork would taste much better.

[davidnsaunders]

Agreed -- and vegetarians say we shouldn't be rearing animals for food anyway!  But as I understand it, 50% of the grain we grow goes to feed animals who aren't free-range pasture-fed. For these, zero emission farming with biodigesters makes sense, doesn't it? Turning waste to fertiliser and nutrients, algae, fish and animal food -- eliminating pollution and chemical fertilisers. Gotta be an improvement?

[dreamteam1991]

good farm

[thisisjonnyh]

@dreamteam1991 i bet my farm are better than yours.... i farm horse

[G2thefarmer]

Very nice farm. Pigs seem calm can tell their treated well. Almost seems to easy. I am going to talk my dad into that system, seems to be the cheapest and best way to handle the manure we got the lagoon. how big are those digester tanks and how many sows is it for. We need it bigger we got 2500 sows

[davidnsaunders]

There were initially 160-250 sows. The two 50 cubic metre biodigesters (anaerobic digesters) treat slurry and produce biogas. This allowed conversion of slurry lagoons to growing algae and fish. Elimination of waste allowed expansion of pig population to 400.

[tagaPINAOD]

well it would be a big investment but will surely pay off.... If you have 2500 sow level farm I think that would be great.... I wish all pig farms could be like this....

[davidnsaunders]

@tagaPINAOD As the film explains, the digester paid for itself in under two years, and the farms' output has doubled. There's no reason not to run all pig farms this way -- cattle too. I've seen a farm with an anaerobic digester where the cattle are out grazing in the summer and only in sheds during winter, so the farm only collects slurry then. They make enough biogas to keep the farm warm all winter!

[mskitana2001]

can you tell me about this system

can anyone use this system in cow frms

[davidnsaunders]

Using biodigesters and algal ponds (Integrated Farming and Waste Management Systems) works as well with cows as pigs. You need to be able to collect the slurry, so they need to be fed indoors. Not all farms do this, but if animals are not kept free range, this system makes sense. Cows have a more efficient stomach than pigs, so their slurry has less energy content -- about half that of pigs.

[rainforestmedia]

Excellent example of a sustainable farming and waste management system.

[mandykal]

sounds like a "Happy Pig Farm"

[mandykal]

swine flu there?

[davidnsaunders]

Good topical question -- no swine flu here -- the whole point is that when animal wastes are treated properly -- as in this process, there is no breeding ground for bacteria. And the slurry is transformed from smelly toxic waste into fertiliser, algae (food), and energy.

[TrustKovacss]

this is great...it should be implemented in all farms