Digitalization at the pig farm

Reducing the use of antibiotics and other medications significantly in pig farming benefits not only the animals and their breeders but also the consumers. The Swiss pig farmers’ associations have taken a number of measures to achieve this. These include software records precisely when and how much medication each animal has had. This is done to prevent the pigs from being given too many or too high a dosage of antibiotics.

Sounds good in theory, but there was a problem in practice: Few pig farmers have a laptop at hand while they are working in the barn, and certainly not a PC. A stable data connection also isn’t a given. „We desperately needed a solution that would make our system available out at the pig farm“, explains Jürg Moll, CEO at Qualitas AG.

We developed a solution together with Qualitas AG, which oversees the Swiss farmers’ associations: a smart mobile app that is optimized for use in farms. In the treatment journal, the pig farmers can note which animals were treated with which medication at what time and why. In the medications tab, the medications needed for treatment can be recorded, with a running overview of inventory. What makes it special: The app can also be used without a data connection. The entries are stored and sent automatically once the smartphone has a signal again.

What makes it special: The app can also be used without a data connection. The entries are stored and sent automatically once the smartphone has a signal again. In the future, for example, it can be supplemented by a barcode reader. The solution offers an array of benefits: There is less strain and stress on the animals and they only get as much medication as they really need. This saves the farmer costs by minimizing how much medication is used. It also benefits consumers: They get more natural food, as strict guidelines must be adhered to in pig farming.

The mobile app was developed jointly by Trivadis and Qualitas AG using the iterative and agile Scrum methodology. Trivadis took the lead at the beginning of the project and then handed over more and more tasks to the Qualitas team, thus ensuring a continuous transfer of know-how. The Qualitas employees were thus enabled to develop the mobile app independently at a later stage. The advantages of mobile data acquisition can also be applied to other industries, such as retail, logistics or healthcare.

Qualitas AG, based in Zug, operates IT (databases, websites and printing) for numerous Swiss farmers’ associations. Qualitas also manages the development and completion of breeding evaluation and genomic selection of all Swiss cattle breeding organizations, the Swiss milk sheep breeders’ association and the Swiss goat breeders’ association.