DanBred Case: Lundegaard

This is very hard for me to answer, although, it’s been a clear ambition for me from the start to be able to compete with the big farms – but only in terms my great results, I don’t have any ambitions for us to be big.

I guess one of the reasons is management. We have a systematic approach to the work tasks, and we’re able to take care of any problems that may arise very quickly. I’m always keeping an eye on everything and adapting wherever need be, so we can continue to see those great results.

And then there’s just those undefinable things. I have a way with animals, you could say. I’m good at taking care of them, understanding their needs, and I try to look for the same in my employees.

Finally, it is, of course, the genetics and the continuous breeding progress, which ensures great results and uniform animals.

Well, my profit depends on this. We used to feed gilts and castrates differently – the castrates were moderated a bit more. But, as I said, I’m always keeping an eye on any developments and I’m flexible to adapt, so I noticed that the meat percentage for the castrates increased tremendously because of the breeding progress. And we adapted right away. 

Now, we feed castrates and gilts the same. It’s easier to simply use the same feeding curve, especially, when there’s no need for special measurements to ensure the good lean meat percentage for the castrates anymore.

Graph 1: Meat percentage for castrates and gilts at Lundegaard

Source: The results have been provided by Lundegaard.

The meat percentage is crucial for our profit. In Denmark, the minimum specification required by Danish Crown for lean meat percentage is 61 %, so we’re doing very well on that. We can actually see DanBred’s breeding progress for lean meat percentage directly on our bottom line. And that’s something I like to see!

Graph 2: Yearly profit from meat percentage (EUR)

Source: The results have been provided by Lundegaard.

We get the pigs at 13 kg from a local DanBred sow production on Bornholm. The lower weight, of course, requires something on management, but the other farmer has limited space, so we have to help each other out. I’ve had sows and weaners before, which means I have some experience. 

Now, he’s going to switch to Top Duroc-semen, which should increase the efficiency of my animals even more. I’m really excited to see this difference!

Graph 3: Feed Conversion Ratio (kg feed/kg gain)

Source: The results have been provided by Lundegaard.

Another thing is that our pigs have long tails, and because of the animals’ calm temper, we don’t experience big issues with this. Of course, you have to be alert, see the opportunities and be ready to adapt. For example, ventilation is one of the things I’m very aware of to avoid tail biting.

A final thing, I want to mention is that we weigh all pigs before sending them to the slaughterhouse – there’s no guessing here. That means we have an average of 98 % of our animals accepted for delivery to the slaughterhouse based off Danish Crown’s requirements. That’s good for my profit as well.

Generally, I get a lot of ideas, and some turn out to be good ones. I’m observant and I reflect and react to the things I notice. We’re a small production, but we can offer some things that the big ones can’t.