WCS Blog

Clean water leads to more pigs and more profit for Danish farmer

Written by Lars Overgaard | Mar 7, 2023

Thanks to clean water, a farmer has reduced pig mortality and increased turnover. 

Significant results - short payback  

Jørgen Jørgensen from Skovhave Landbrug (Forest Garden Agriculture) in Denmark has a breeding herd with 600 sows that produce close to 20,000 pigs per year. On his farm, mortality among piglets is very low and productivity per sow has increased by 20%. A DCW disinfection generator is part of the explanation.  

Jørgen Jørgensen, who considers the investment well worth  making, says:

"My philosophy is that management, feeding, climate  and water must all be 100% in order. To ensure clean  water, we have connected a disinfection unit to the water supply. This has made a significant difference to the mortality rate among our pre-weaning piglets, which  fell by 6.5% after we installed the unit."

Jørgensen has calculated the payback period of the DCW generator, including operating expenses, to be  about 6 months. 

The reduced mortality rate among piglets corresponds to an additional turnover of almost half a million DKK a year. In addition, there are fewer expenses for  medicine and feed,  as well as better growth and productivity. The pigs have a  good intestinal flora  and are more robust.  

Previously, the pigs typically weighed 5.5 kg at weaning - now they weigh 7.5 kg.

A safe and eco-friendly solution 

The DCW generator uses just salt, water and electricity to produce the non-toxic disinfectant NEUTHOX®.  Added to the water supply, it disinfects the water and  removes disease-causing bacteria such as e-coli and salmonella that have good growth conditions in water  pipes and drinking nozzles.  

NEUTHOX is primarily composed of the active sub stance hypochlorous acid (HOCl), the same substance the human immune system uses to fight infection. It is  approved for food production and drinking water

In addition to being added to the water supply,  NEUTHOX can also be used in wet feed and for stable  disinfection.  

Summary

Key achievements at Skovhave Landbrug include:
• Improved productivity per sow
• Reduced mortality among piglets
• Increased pig weight at weaning
• Additional turnover
• Fewer expenses for medicine and feed