At 5:00 a.m., Hudson, a farmer in Texas, USA, turns on his monitor screen to see 2,000 sows quietly enjoying clean drinking water while the ground is dry and free of overflow - a scene he couldn't have imagined six months ago.
"It's AMAZING,"Hudson says, "If we hadn't gotten the help from Muhe, everything would still be a mess around here right now."
Cost surge
"The sows kept arching the troughs as if they had an appointment, causing about 30% of the water to overflow and wasting over 100 tons of water in the first week." Hudson begins to recall the scene six months ago. "This forced me to hire more workers for the early morning trough checks. Things have eased up a bit, but the workers' wages are a big expense."
Health hazard
Hudson discovered a more serious problem. The overflowing stagnant water was harboring a lot of bacteria, causing the incidence of hoof disease to skyrocket. Hoof disease not only affected the sow's mobility, but also led to decreased productivity, increased treatment costs and mortality.Hudson says, "The high number of sows with hoof disease meant I had to spend more money on treatments and prevention."
Competition for resources
"I noticed that the vulnerable sows were always pushed to one side and could not get anywhere near the watering points." This was affecting their health and also making them produce less milk. I tried moving the water troughs, but this didn't work. If left unchecked, the health of the whole herd would get worse."
Hudson knew that something had to be done. By chance, he got in touch with Muhe Farming, a company that had lots of experience in equipment and technology for farming and looking after animals. MH gave Hudson a complete solution, including an intelligent watering system and a barn design that was just right for the animals.
The Smart Drinking System uses sensors and automated control technology to control the water flow at each drinking point, making sure that each sow gets enough water. It also has an auto-cleaning function that effectively reduces the possibility of bacterial growth and lowers the incidence of hoof disease.
"After installing the Smart Drinking System, it's clear to me that the health of my herd has improved dramatically." Hudson says, "Not only has the incidence of hoof disease decreased, but the overall productivity of the herd has improved."
Another important thing they did was to improve the design of the barn. They moved the water troughs around, put more troughs in, and used non-slip flooring to stop the water from standing.
"The new design of the barn has made the farm drier and cleaner." Hudson says, "Workers' effort has also been reduced."
He says that he didn't plan to spend that much money, but he was sure that he could make it back.
Looking ahead, Hudson is confident that the hog farm will grow. "I believe that by always improving technology and management, my pig farm will become more efficient and sustainable."
