PERSPECTIVE DIRECTIONS OF DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS FOR PIG FARMS OF ALL CATEGORIES
Pig husbandry is characterised by continuous renovation of production in order to achieve a balance between the economy, environment and social aspects. Strong retail demand and reduced poultry meat production contribute to an annual increase in pork consumption, which is currently 25.7%. Implementation of the country's food security doctrine promotes the development of pig industry, which has increased its volume more than 2.5 times compared to the indicator of 2005. The bulk of pig products amounting to more than 84% is produced on large-scale pig farms, while the share of small-scale pig enterprises, such as smallholdings and peasant (private) farms, does not exceed 14%. The development of large pig farms and complexes is facilitated by introduction of state-of-the-art high-tech technical, technological and space-planning solutions, which ensure the fullest use of genetic potential of farm animals, and, consequently, an increase in production profitability. The stagnation of small-scale pig production is due to the spread of African swine fever, the lack of mechanisation and automation of production processes, as well as the problems with the product marketing. Further development of the pig industry is associated with an increase in exports of pork and by-products, the volume of which by 2024 should be about 270 thousand tons. In this regard, it is necessary to reduce the self-cost of products to the level of 68 roubles per kilogram of live weight. Such a result may be achieved with the use of modern high-tech technical, technological and space-planning solutions involving robotisation and automation of production processes. At pig enterprises with the production capacity of above 6 thousand head of fattening pigs per year, the most efficient is an automated dry feeding system with minimal labour inputs in the technological process. To provide animals with clean drinking water, the optimal solution is a nipple watering system using various types of nipple drinkers for all animal categories. The pigs should be housed on solid slatted floors with manure pans underneath. To empty them a gravity system of periodic action of bath-and-pipe type is recommended. The inside climate system should provide for remote monitoring and control of ventilation, heating, lighting, and air humidity in all pig houses, ensuring individual parameters for each animal category. For the farms with the production capacity below 6 thousand head of fattening pigs per year the most promising are technical, technological and space-planning solutions of a modular type, involving partial mechanisation and automation of production processes. The conclusion from conducted studies was the need to develop robotic and automated devices for bottle-feeding of suckling piglets, as well as the change in the production area of pens depending on varying pig mass on large-scale pig farms and complexes. For small-scale pig-breeding enterprises, the automation and robotisation of the developed solutions of technological modules shows great promise.