Denmark: Only 450 breeding farms remaining

July 3, 2013 — 

After the number of pig producing farms in Denmark in 2011 had slipped below the threshold of 5,000, this trend has intensified once more, the German website ISN reports.

According to Statistics Denmark, the Danish counted 4,181 farms with piglets or finisher pigs in 2012. This equalled a further decline of 10%, while the number of farms from 2010 to 2011 had already fallen by over 8%.

In 2012, Denmark counted about 1,600 farms, having both breeding stock and finishing pigs - this is a decline of 11%.

Particularly clearly the number of specialised breeding farms went back after an increase in 2011. A total of only 450 relevant farms was counted, a reduction by 19%.

The number of farms with specialised in only finishing pigs also decreased noticeably. In 2012, only 1,800 were counted - a decrease of 13% over the previous year, the AMI said. In May, the Danish Business Association Landbrug & Fødevarer launched an image campaign, looking for young talent to go into pig production. "We see it may not take long and there is no next generation. So we must act now," said Lindhard B. Nielsen.

Total number of pigs in 2012 was 12.3 million - this number has stayed relatively stable recently.

Source: PigProgress.net, July 1, 2013