STEP flooring system, Portugal
March 2017
In 2016, for the first time, Portugal held an event to award the best farms in the country. This event is called “Porco d’Ouro”. The awards are distributed depending on – among other factors – productivity and farm size. One of the categories is farms with more than 601 sows.
The winner in this category in 2016 was the farm called “Exploração Nuno Correia – Ota”. This farm has been awarded with the number of piglets produced per sow and has got the highest award “The Diamond Pig”. This is a farm with more than 30 years of experience. They could not reach maximum productivity they are capable of and decided to renovate the farm.
The productivity they had in 2015 was 33,60 piglets per sow per year, and in 2016 the average they had was 36,80 piglets per sow per year from January to August. They have achieved positive results after rebuilding their farrowing unit and after mounting ACO FUNKI’s cast iron slats with STEP.
The STEP-system is especially designed to elevate the sow’s lying area to reduce the risk of crushing the small piglets by the sow; thus, reducing piglets’ mortality. Furthermore, customers’ experience proves that piglets have better conditions for nursing.