FARM VISIT ▶▶▶
Bringing circular pig production a step closer
The cooperative Zonvarken (“Sun Pig”), located in the east of the Netherlands, aims to bring circular pig production one step closer. Animal welfare, climate and job satisfaction are the spearheads in this new concept, which aims to grow to 13 closed farms with 50 sows each.
BY ANNE-MARIE VAN DER LINDE, SENIOR REPORTER, BOERDERIJ “A Profile
Name: Jeroen Koks and Rob Nieuwenhuis Function: Initiators of the Zonvarken cooperative Farm: Jeroen Koks and Rob Nieuwenhuis are building the first barn of the Zonvarken cooperative in the Dutch town of De Heurne. In total the cooperative will consist of 13 participat- ing farms, each having 50 sows per farm, which will have two litters/year. Per pig there will be 1.3 m2
available.
n idea with which the pig sector can move forward and a qualitatively distinctive con- cept for humans as well as animals.” That is how Zonvarken was described by the jury
of the Dutch contest “The Pig Land’s Best Idea” during the judging in early December 2020. Both the professional and public juries appointed the new cooperative as the winner.
Fast forward to early 2021, and there is a lot of activity on the farm in the Dutch village of De Heurne, 50 km east of Arn- hem. The first pigs have arrived, even though construction of the pig house is still in full swing. The first of two barns with a remarkable architectural style, constructed largely out of wood, arises on the site of a former poultry farm. Because of the high side wall on the left, which has 50% light plates installed, there is a lot of natural light in the barn.
Many cubic metres of air As there are no sections or other partitions, the barn contains many cubic metres of air. Inside, the first pigs lie buried deep inside a thick layer of straw. The finishers are in the front of the barn, the breeding gilts in the middle and the breeding sows in the rear pens. The most striking thing about the structure is its roof: not the corrugated sheets seen on traditional barns, but a sedum roof, that is, a mat of small succulents. This roof covering col- lects rainwater and provides insulation at the same time. The front part of the rafters is still uncovered. The solar panels that will supply the farm’s energy will be placed here. Rob Nieuwenhuis is the project’s initiator. Together with three partners, he has been developing the idea of a total circular pig concept. He explains, “The barn is set up in such a way that the pigs are able to exhibit their natural behaviour. By putting feed in the straw, they will have to range, and they do not drop manure where they eat. Partly because of the se- dum roof and the contents of the barn, ventilation is not re- quired. Sedum insulates in such a way that it will never get too hot in the barn.”
Separate manure directly The free range at the front of the barn is already finished. A pig searches its drinking trough or plops down in the sun. The free range is equipped with slats and a solid floor. This is not remarkable compared to, for example, the free range of an organic farm. The big difference is the slats. It’s not a pit, but a space in which one rail has been mounted allow- ing plastic tiles to be moved around. The tiles are equipped with holes to drain urine to a gutter underneath. From there, the urine flows to a storage tank. Manure is pushed off the plates. Nieuwenhuis and his technical aide Theo Tangelder explain, “By directly separating manure and urine, emissions are
18 ▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 37, No. 5/6, 2021
PHOTOS: HENK RISWICK
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