All Danish farmers are coming under increasing pressure by way of more and more restrictions and legislation – and, not least, financially. This is why even a slight helping hand from time to time could be really good news for the industry, and this could be the case if Active NS is approved as a means of reducing CO2 emissions, according to pig farmer Verner Nielsen.
Pig farmer Verner Nielsen, of Gølstrup near Løkken, began as an independent farmer in 1985. Since 2009, he has been operating wean-to-finish production – with great success. It’s no coincidence that he was voted Finishing Pig Farmer of the Year last year, and that LandboNord has named him as the top wean-to-finish farmer eight years in a row.
Verner Nielsen creates his own fodder mix and receives the pigs at 8 kg, then fattens them up to 110 kg before selling them to abattoirs. Annual production is 8,000 finishing pigs. With a strikingly low level of use of medication and mortality, he is doing nicely compared to other wean-to-finish farmers. Besides pig production, Verner also grows cereals and rapeseed on 300 ha.
Cleanliness and precision For Verner Nielsen, cleanliness and precision are two important parameters, not only of actual production but also in the physical environment, inside and outside. And, if situations arise that do not fit within these parameters, well, Verner doesn’t stop until they are resolved.
This was also why he began using Active NS in the slurry a few years ago. “Chopping straw and placing it on the slurry tank to establish a floating crust was awful, and it was difficult to maintain.”
Since starting to use Active NS in the slurry, he has constantly had a good, stable floating crust.
“I can vouch for the effectiveness of the product because we spend less time stirring the slurry, and last year we were able to completely empty one of our slurry tanks, which holds 2,000 m3, and then we saw there was no sediment in the tank of the slurry truck.”
Verner Nielsen began using the product in the slurry tank, but today he sprinkles the powder onto the slats and flushes it into the channels every time the pigs are mucked out. It doesn’t take much time and is easy to handle.
Less odor “As a side benefit, the smell in the stable has also improved significantly. When the consultants come and check my production, they say there’s no stench in my housing units,” Verner Nielsen points out.
A good, affordable problem-solver “Active NS works for me and is economical to use, so I can’t understand why the authorities refuse to include the product on their technology list, as it’s perfectly capable of satisfying Denmark’s goal of a 24% reduction in ammonia from agriculture.”
“I’m saying this because I’ve seen Active NS make it possible to reduce odor and ammonia emissions in pig housing units by an average of 35%. That’s why it’s not just my desire but also my hope that the authorities will open the door for Active NS to be included on the technology list as a problem-solver in housing units, because it’s also a far cheaper solution for farmers than the existing technical solutions on the market.
Use of the product doesn’t require energy either.
All Danish farmers are coming under increasing pressure by way of more and more restrictions and legislation – and, not least, financially. That’s why even a slight helping hand from time to time could be really good news for our industry.
And it surely can’t be very difficult to measure whether the product has any effect,” Verner Nielsen emphasises.