The flags have been hoisted, the gravel raked and a discreet sign by the roadside announces the open house event at the Poulsen family farm.

On a bare field outside Høve on Zealand, Poulsen I/S has built a housing unit with space for 1,070 sows and an annual production of approx. 32,000 30-kg piglets. And the three owners are very enthusiastic about the project.

I feel both happy and proud when I drive along the road. The buildings are impressive and blend in really well with the surrounding countryside, says 34-year-old Rasmus Poulsen.

Times are hard, but the Poulsen family is investing in sow and piglet production because the two generations want to stand strong in future.

Staking on the future
He represents the fourteenth generation of the Poulsen family at Lilåsgården which dates back to 1590. Together with his father and uncle, the thirteenth generation, he has invested heavily in the future.

For many years, my father and uncle have produced free-range pigs in the town. They have produced piglets and fattened many of them up for slaughter at Danish Crown. However, the three of us felt that the time was ripe to take the plunge and change direction. We have therefore gone into partnership, says Rasmus Poulsen, who has just joined the family firm after several years working at a variety of large agricultural enterprises.

We realised that we are stronger together. I possess the necessary knowledge and experience, but not the capital. That’s what they have, says Rasmus Poulsen.

A modern farmer
At the moment the new pens are empty. The sows are waiting at the family’s other farms, where they are being kept prior to mating. 

I am probably most proud of the wide aisles where there is space for both the workers and animals. The working environment is ideal, and we are counting on one sow per box, and for the sows to spend four weeks in the service/control pen after mating, and then in the gestation pens, says Rasmus Poulsen, and continues:

My priority has been to ensure that production is as automatic as possible. A modern farmer’s family also expects to be able to take time off and do things together.