Modern NatureLine AMA TW 100 animal husbandry!

The Loidl family's state-of-the-art NatureLine animal welfare barn produces top-quality Vulkanland Duroc meat

The Loidl family's low-emission NatureLine animal welfare barn in southern Styria fulfils all of today's wishes and what society expects from a livestock farmer. The barn is operated under the AMA 100 programme with 100% more space and no tail docking. However, it has also been implemented in line with the latest findings and developments in terms of reducing emissions. For example, the animal welfare barn has a supply air cooling system, Strohmatic light bedding system with dust extraction and the new Schauer AirCleaner oil spray system for dust control in the lying area. The stable building was partially constructed from laminated wooden walls, rounding off the very friendly overall concept.

The Loidl family's farm is a traditional pig farm with 160 breeding pigs in the centre of St. Margarethen an der Raab in south-eastern Styria. This barn was built in 2002 and since then Richard has been working on the farm after completing his agricultural training. In 2007, a piglet barn for 960 pigs was relocated. The Loidl family considered building a fattening barn back in 2017. Despite initial doubts, intensive planning work together with Schauer Agrotronic led to the decision to build a NatureLine animal welfare fattening barn with the AMA TW 100 programme for 400 fattening pigs. This requires an area of 1.4 m2 / pig. The genetics used are noble pigs with Duroc boars, with a focus on intramuscular fattening, which results in highly succulent and flavourful meat. This is marketed to SPAR under the Vulkanland Duroc brand. The NatureLine animal welfare fattening barn was built as a 2-row barn with an indoor run. As the ridge sides are open and a large light ridge is installed, good ventilation is guaranteed. The supply air is cooled in summer with CoolPads and fed in via a lower-lying supply air duct in the corridor in the cubicle. This ensures wind-independent, draught-free ventilation. The lying areas are automatically bedded twice a day with the Strohmatic light bedding system. The majority of the dust is separated and stored in an intermediate container.

The barn also has a Schauer AirCleaner high-pressure oil spraying system, which is mounted on the outer walls of the cubicle and binds the dust produced by the further shredding of the straw and by the pigs themselves just above the floor. This provides both animals and people in the barn with optimal and healthy conditions. The lying areas are used as such by the animals all year round and are therefore kept clean. This in turn contributes to a good indoor climate and minimises the amount of work involved in pen maintenance.

LongTail automatic feeder makes it easier to avoid docking the pigs
In the covered outdoor area, the majority of the surface is also paved. To minimise soiling in this area, the pigs are fed dry with the Spotmix multiphase feeder. The new "LongTail" feeders from Schauer were developed precisely for the purpose of providing as many feeding places as possible and therefore "a long feeding trough". The dry feed keeps the pigs busy eating for longer and the space behind the feeding places is also seen as a "feeding place" and not a "manure place". The innovative feeding concept not only creates clean pens, but also makes it much easier to "do without docking" and thus to produce long-tailed pigs. 

Ammonia emission reduction through manure-urine separation included
What is good for the environment is first and foremost good for people and animals in the barn. The manure area is a narrow strip in the exit area at the end of the pens and was equipped with MIK plastic slats with an integrated manure slot. The drinkers were also positioned here to ensure that the animals muck out and urinate here. The channel below is equipped as a sliding level with a central slurry channel. This allows the manure to flow out permanently and immediately and is separated from the faeces. This measure is largely responsible for the enormous reduction in ammonia of more than 80% with the stall system (see also current results from the SALUT project). The manure is pushed into the cross channel at 2-hour intervals.

A special feature of the design of the barn is that the two-row barn does not have the outlets on the outside, but as an "inner courtyard". However, in order to ensure the outside climate stimuli and good ventilation, both ridge sides are open. However, they can be protected from draughts in strong winds by flexible windbreak nets. A large light ridge also ensures good ventilation of the run-out area due to the thermal effect.

Vulkanland Duroc - for quality right to the plate and worth every cent
The added value of the low-emission animal welfare barn should also bring added value for the Loidl family, and it does. The additional costs are covered by the Vulkanland Duroc premium quality programme and the AMA 100 animal welfare programme. The combination of particularly animal-friendly pig production, which enables the pigs to live a healthy and stress-free life, and the breeder's special genetics brings a unique pork flavour experience to the plate. The SPAR retail chain is available as a marketing partner and our conclusion: Vulkanland Duroc meat is not cheap but worth every cent.