At the second face-to-face meeting of the Animal Welfare Impulse Companies in 2023, 16 farm managers met in Bad Münder in the district of Hameln-Pyrmont together with representatives from the Animal Welfare Competence Centre for Pigs, the animal welfare multiplier from Lower Saxony and the network supervisor from FiBL.

The programme began with a presentation by Mr Albert Hortmann-Scholten from the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture. In his presentation, "Current developments in the piglet and pork markets – how will price and cost ratios change?", he outlined the current market situation, which was then discussed in plenary. It became clear that meat consumption in Germany is declining, with pork consumption falling particularly sharply. The impact of this on the entire pig market and the corresponding circumstances for farmers were discussed in detail within the group.

This was followed by an internal exchange between the impulse farms. The focus was on networking and getting to know each other. To this end, the farm managers presented their farms in the tried-and-tested manner and used photos to show completed and planned conversion measures in the area of animal welfare. Once again, the participants demonstrated their extensive knowledge and practical experience. Everyone contributed with interested questions and in-depth detailed discussions.

The day's programme was rounded off by Laura Schönberg (office of the Animal Welfare Competence Centre for Pigs) with an activity report from the office and Hannah Kanwischer, Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture, with an update on the work of animal welfare multipliers in Lower Saxony.

The evening was devoted to open exchange. This took place in small groups and was lively, with technical questions being asked. Getting to know each other, networking and discussing animal welfare in pig farming served to promote internal networking.

On the second day, after breakfast, the group visited the nearby farm of Dr Albrecht Brandes. The model farm keeps sows, rears piglets and fattens pigs in a closed system. Dressed in protective clothing, Mr Brandes gave an exciting and informative tour of the farm. Questions were asked and aspects of animal-friendly husbandry were discussed, and the group got to know the farm inside and out.

After the farm visit, Mr Bernhard Feller from the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Agriculture gave a presentation to the plenary session. The topic was "Animal welfare labelling and farming systems". He highlighted current political and regulatory developments and outlined a vision for future-proof pig farming. This input was also well received and discussed in an intensive exchange.

Author: Constantin Haupt, FiBL Projects Ltd.