Underneath the slatted floors there is a system installed with manure slides.


to the fermenter, although 10-11 t/day are being created. He has been looking into solutions to optimise that level or to use additives, but so far those efforts have been unsuccessful. Still, Vanackere is positive, saying: “Technically, it’s all working. The tipping point was at an energy production of 17 kWh, so I will earn back that money.”


Treatment of vegetable waste The manure fermenter is not only generating energy, but will also be used for yet a third innovation on the farm: the treat- ment of vegetable waste into a product that can be fed to pigs through liquid feeding equipment. In this area of Bel- gium, there are many vegetable growers, with tonnes of waste available every day. In three boilers, Vanackere would like to heat the mixture to 80ºC, then cool it to 40ºC and then ferment it. He expects to be able to replace 30% on a dry matter level.


The pigs go through a weighing and selection gate to access their feed. This route is also used to select pigs that are ready for slaughter.


16 ▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 1, 2020


Whether or not it will work this way will have to be figured out, as the machine will have to be connected and installed. Vanackere expects the equipment to be fully operational ear- ly in 2020. He expects that the raw materials will be delivered to him at little or no cost. To ensure a stable ration, he is aim- ing for a uniform supply of identical products. The vegetable produce will eventually form one part of the animals’ diet, alongside five moist by-products, corn-cob-mix and ground wheat, which are already being fed. That again was quite a change for him, as Vanackere did not have any prior experience with the feeding of by-products. The process has pleased him, from purchasing the raw materials to sup- plying the feed into the troughs using sensors. Vanackere says, “Technically, the machine is working flawlessly. And I’m trying to keep the rations as stable as possible.”


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