Recently, the technical innovation for a digital management system for liquid feeding on pig farms, led by the Chongqing Animal Husbandry Technology Extension Station (Chongqing Pig Industry System Innovation Team) and jointly developed by more than 10 organizations, including the Chongqing Academy of Animal Husbandry Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, and New Hope Liuhe, was selected as one of Chongqing’s Top Ten Agricultural New Technology Achievements for 2026.
This system addresses longstanding challenges in liquid feeding at pig farms: incompatibility between equipment from different brands, disconnected data, and insufficient collection accuracy. Starting with communications, hardware, software, and commissioning and maintenance, the innovative team developed the agricultural industry standard “Technical Requirements for Digital Management Systems for Liquid Feeding at Pig Farms.” The standard unifies equipment interfaces, communication protocols, and functional specifications, establishing a full-chain digital management and control system covering “mixing—feeding—monitoring—management.”
Pilot trials at 20 large-scale pig farms in 50 provinces nationwide showed that the deviation coefficient for single-valve feeding was no more than 5%, static tank weighing error was no more than ±3‰, and the service life of pneumatic diaphragm valves was at least 5000 cycles. The system can automatically mix feed, deliver it precisely, and automatically clean and disinfect tanks and pipelines. By relying on feeding curves to supply feed precisely in stages, it increases feed utilization by 5%~10% and reduces labor by 30%, helping reduce and replace antibiotic use. Based on a reduction in the feed-to-meat ratio of 0.2, one pig can save 20 kilograms of grain per year; if adopted for the 7 billion pigs marketed nationwide, it would save more than 1400 tonnes of grain annually.
“In the past, feeding pigs relied on experience; now it relies on data.” According to experts on the drafting team, the system can also automatically adjust the feed amount based on the number of pigs, record feeding data for each meal, generate report charts, issue graded alarms for abnormalities, and be remotely viewed and controlled by phone.
The standard has now passed an expert review organized by the Information Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, with all 9 experts unanimously approving it. Next, the team will develop demonstration models at large-scale pig farms and family farms to promote this “Made in Chongqing” technology at pig farms across the country.