Interview with Sergio Visini-
CEO and founder of PIGGLY – BIRLA SOCIETÀ AGRICOLA
Close to Mantova in Northern Italy, in Pegognaga, there is an innovative pig farm that focuses very much on animal welfare, the environment, and social and economic sustainability, and it is 100% antibiotic-free. Its name is Birla Società Agricola, better known as Piggly.
Piggly represents a valid and exemplary farm where it is possible to raise pigs with the utmost respect for animals, humans, and the environment. “The growing awareness towards the quality of products and animal wel
fare, led us to design the first antibiotic-free pig farm in Italy and a new type of system based on the principle of ‘functional simplicity’ “, says Sergio Visini, CEO and founder. “The Piggly farm started to be operational in 2017 achieving excellent results, either on the zero impact side and on that of antibiotic-free, so much so that today Piggly represents a model for many other farms, as well as a place of interest for the young generation engaging in the agricultural and veterinary sector.
What do you do on your farm t
o improve housing conditions and how does this affect animals’ welfare?
On our farm we largely focus on housing infrastructures: stables provide animals with high standards of comfort in the various stages of the breeding cycle.
Natural ventilation combined with straw bedding is the successful strategy in the most delicate phase of weaning (from 6 kg to 35 kg in weight). In the fattening phase, we allow animals to rest on a solid floor at 75% with thermal insulation material.
Do you use any tools for the early detection of health problems of farm animals?
We have installed sensors for the continuous detection of the concentration of ammonia (NH3) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
The data we collect helps us
a lot in accommodating the natural ventilation.
Our farming model entails a ‘man-animal relationship’ factor which is highly considered crucial for the achievement of our farm objectives.
We have designed and invested in a farming process based on ‘functional simplicity’, also avoiding the installation of redundant technologies which, in our opinion, are an obstacle to the natural animals’ behaviour.
Our employees gr
eatly appreciate the simplicity in their daily tasks and can better observe the animals, the environment, and more generally the production process.
After 5 years of farming, we have found a very low level of stress for both the animals and our employees.
Do you use alternative medicines to treat sick animals or to prevent diseases?
We do not use alternative medicines to treat sick animals. Sick animals are about 2-3% of the total and are treated with conventional medicines based on the instructions given by the farm veterinarian.
To further improve the air quality inside the stables, we spray the areas spoiled by faecal material with a mixture of bacteria from the Bacillus spp. In this way, we also avoid the use of insecticides and pesticides.
Do you work with health plans together with your farm veterinarian?
Given our Antibiotic-Free status, we adopt targeted vaccination plans and along with the use of vaccines and of autogenous-stabulogenic (obtained from animals from the same herd) ones we can avoid the spread of Streptococcus spp. and Salmonella spp.
Read more HERE PIGGLY per Carni&Consumi