The restocking of pedigree pig breeding  farm in Zalesie will start soon. The investment of the Gobarto Group worth almost PLN 100 million will be heated exclusively with the use of green energy.

Located near Namysłów in the northern Opole region, the pedigree pig breeding farm will begin operations in December 2020. Zalesie will restock over six thousand sows and will be the largest facility of its kind in Poland, heated exclusively by the heat it produces.

– The investment in this modern pedigree breeding farm is another step in the implementation of the Gobarto 500 programme. If we want to strengthen our economy, professionalise the agri-food sector and support Polish livestock farmers, we must be aware of the role played by this type of investment in the entire food production chain. At the same time we shall not forget about the environment and we shall implement solutions limiting the emission of greenhouse gases – says Andrzej Goździkowski, President of the Management Board of Cedrob SA and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Gobarto SA.

The livestock facilities have been paired with a biogas plant. This is where the slurry will be used to produce methane gas. This will be used to power cogeneration engines generating electricity and heat. The biogas plant will generate 2 megawatts of power so that no additional heating sources will be needed.

– The investment in Zalesie is an important aspect for the Gobarto Group. It will allow us to develop our own pig breeding and thus co-operation with farmers from the Gobarto 500 programme, to whom the animals will be delivered. It will also contribute to the development of the Polish pig market. For our breeding we will use modern technological solutions which distinguish Zalesie from other facilities of this type in Poland – says Marcin Śliwiński, President of the Management Board of Gobarto SA.

While implementing the investment, the company put great emphasis on bio-assurance. The livestock buildings are connected by a special technological tunnel. Entering the social building, employees can reach each facility without going outside, which increases the safety of animals and eliminates the risk of transmitting dangerous diseases for pigs, including ASF. To get into (as well as out of) the animal breeding area, employees will have to pass through a shower area. A modern vehicle wash with a steaming function has also been installed in the facility.

High sanitary requirements are met by a water treatment plant with a capacity of more than 36m.  per hour. The water will be treated not only with quartz and catalytic filters, but also with ultraviolet lamps to remove undesirable psychrophilic bacteria (which live and grow at low temperatures).

Only water-based heating systems will be used in Zalesie. All livestock buildings have been equipped with a mechanical ventilation system based on temperature sensor-controlled air intakes and ventilation stacks with electronically controlled dampers. They enable smooth adjustment of the air flow through the stacks.

The biggest technological innovation is the individual sow feeding system - the so-called Easy Slider. Its use will be made possible by giving all sows special chips. In late pregnancy buildings, pens (so-called mono-blocks) have been installed into which feed is fed by automatic feeders managed by controllers and a central computer An identical system based on Canadian models was used in each of the 1400 birthing stations. It ensures that each sow receives the right amount of balanced feed, tailored to her individual needs.

The establishment of the facility is also a major step towards independence from piglet imports. In 2019 alone, around 7 million pigs were imported into Poland, mainly from Denmark. Over 2.1 billion PLN was spent on this purpose. According to UN Comtrade data, our country is the world's second importer of live piglets. Only Germany is ahead of us. In a 2017 analysis, specialists from EY consultancy company calculated that the Polish economy could gain around PLN 5 billion over five years if imports could be replaced by domestic production.

The facility will reach full breeding capacity in the fourth quarter of 2021. Around 180,000 piglets will be delivered to farmers annually under the Gobarto 500 programme.

The Zalesie breeding farm was established in the early 1970s and operated as the Production and Trading Company "Ferma-Pol”. At the end of 2016, the Gobarto Group became the new owner of Zalesie, which, through the Agro Duda company, bought 100 per cent of the shares in "Ferma-Pol" from the State Treasury for over PLN 22 million. The Group carried out a thorough modernisation of Zalesie.