Smart pig farms boost pork quality, production

He said the facility is equipped with self-developed intelligent environmental control, feeding and inspection systems, making pig farming much simpler and easier while greatly improving production efficiency.

The hog houses' intelligent air filtration system, with up to four layers of filtering devices at the air inlets, makes the air quality inside close to that of an intensive care unit, effectively preventing highly contagious African swine fever and other pig diseases, Yuan said.

"Our philosophy is to use advanced equipment and persistent innovation to provide pigs with a comfortable and disease-resistant environment, to ensure the high quality of pork," he added.

Zhang Longfei, general manager of the facility, said pig waste is fermented into organic fertilizer and then piped free of charge to 6,000 hectares of nearby farmland.

"This sustainable approach not only addresses environmental pollution issues but also helps farmers reduce the cost of fertilizers," he said. "The use of organic fertilizer boosts crop yield on the farmland and allows us to conveniently purchase high quality feed ingredients, which is a mutually beneficial arrangement."

The facility buys around 600,000 tons of grain annually from Neixiang and the surrounding areas, Zhang said.

He Jian, director of Neixiang's agriculture and rural affairs bureau, said the county's 74 large-scale pig farms produced 3.5 million pigs in 2024.

The county is leveraging Muyuan's support to foster the development of its livestock industry chain, aiming to become the country's top pig producer and an agricultural and livestock equipment hub, he said.