Pig electronic identification device technology (EID)

Explore how the electronic identification (EID) technology can maximise the efficiency of your pig production system, allowing you to track and monitor valuable information. 

Current data-recording systems rely on human transcription and are often limited to batch-level analysis, i.e. cohorts or batches of pigs will be analysed for weights, FCR and other KPIs, but individual pigs would not.

Batch-level aggregated data often hides outliers that affect production efficiency. Individual identification of the growing herd in particular offers the opportunity for increased efficiency gains, traceability and predictive modelling by showing how the outliers are affecting performance and profitability.

To maximise the efficiency of the production process, the pig, coupled with a unique identifier (UI), such as EID technology (electronic identification), can ‘talk’ to the increasingly smart technology within pig production systems. This allows you to track the ‘virtual animal’ through the production process. Retrospectively, this data can be used to make inferences about the efficiency of each stage in the production process. Changes can be made and business performance improved, which, of course, will increase value.

Looking forward, the data produced, if analysed using modern analytics such as machine learning through software, can make predictions on production outcomes, e.g. using initial birth, sow and environmental data, a prediction of the final finishing weight of individual pigs can be made.

If outside of normal production boundaries, interventions can be put in place to ensure more pigs hit their quality  value (slaughter specification), increasing the number of pigs receiving premium payment.

How does EID technology work?

An electronic identification device (EID) makes use of radio frequencies transmitted by a radio-frequency identification device (RFID), as part of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM). The terms EID and RFID are often interchangeable.

When linked to a power source, these transmitters are always sending out a signal. Most RFIDs used for EID are passive, using the energy from EM waves sent by a transmitter to send a signal back to a receiver.

While not commonly used, RFID for EID of livestock means that each animal can be given a unique identifier (UI), which does not need to be read and obtained by a person to:

• Reduce transcription errors
• Collect UIs automatically
• Speed up the process of recording pigs at different stages of the production process
• Associate UIs with other data, including health, geographical and production data
• Increase traceability of products entering the food chain

EID Data analysis

Health data and other information is currently collected at processing and so could be matched at the abattoir to the batch number on the ultra high frequency (UHF) tag. Further analysis is being done on an individual basis to demonstrate value to the producer through easier collection and assessment of data and the ability to attribute it to specific animals:

EID Frequency types 

RFID tags operate in the following frequencies:

• Low frequency (LF) (124–134 KHz) RFID System
• High frequency (6–13.56 MHz) RFID system
• Ultra high frequency (UHF) (840–960 MHz) RFID system

These RFID systems have various properties that make them more or less useful depending on the situation in which they are employed, as explained below. 

Low frequency EID benefits

• Better in harsh environments
• Better for reading an individual pig in a slower-moving system
• Technology for reading already optimised for livestock
• More UK equipment available, communicating to a unified standard

Evaluation of low frequency electronic ear tags

The AHDB feasibility study trialled practicalities of using low frequency (LF) technology in an abattoir. A specialist reading system, comprising of a Datamars LF panel reader, was installed directly into the black-box system supplied by Hellenic Systems Ltd. The system read individual pigs from our Strategic Farms at the MLC scales.

The system was used on a standard production run with two Pork Strategic Farms supplying tagged animals. Tag read rate was 80%, with the 20% error due to staff blocking the reader. The abattoir and AHDB staff were confident the read rate would be 100% with a refined protocol around reader and staff position.

The data gathered provided individual data regarding pig specification (deadweight and P2) that was then sent to herd-management software to be analysed. The analysis showed how much variation there was from the Q box. As individuals were identified, this could be traced back to examine influence of all other production factors recorded, such as sow, sire, weight at birth and weaning, as well as medicine use and environmental factors, to examine likely areas to drive efficiency.

Ultra high frequency EID benefits

• Cheaper
• Greater read rate
• Ideal for fast-moving situations with a range of animals from piglet to sow
• Easier to read in bulk
• Both tagging systems have their limitations and usage needs to be determined by what you, as the producer, wish to record.

Evaluation of ultra high frequency electronic ear tags

The AHDB feasibility study trialled practicalities of using ultra high frequency (UHF) technology on farm by tracking performance data on a pig-by-pig basis throughout the production system. 

In an on-farm trial, approximately 1,800 piglets were individually tagged and weighed at birth. A UHF tag reader was installed in a commercial abattoir to send back slaughter to the farm and attribute to the individual pigs. These pigs were followed through to slaughter with a 98% retention rate of tags retained and readable at the abattoir. Using the information helped the producer reduce mortality rates.

The use of UHF tags to track pigs through a system and determine if marketing strategies can be optimise via predictive rather than reactive analytics was also explored. Records from 750 tagged pigs at our Pork Strategic Farm were fed into a machine- learning platform to create a model that will predict the week of kill using only birth data (gender, weight at birth, parity of sows, etc).

This shows scope for wider use of performance data for predictive analytics to identify a way to increase weight to slaughter,; improve market forecasting;, more accurately determine time for ration changes; and achieve early warnings for health and environmental control.

Find out more information on the rise of the robots… well, almost!

Pig tagging

With all identification tags, take special care during the process. Click below for step-by-step instructions:

• EID ear tagging piglets video
• EID ear tagging piglets factsheet    

Remember to:

1. Complete a risk assessment beforehand
2. Tag piglets when first processed, i.e. day 1 or 2
3. Tag the same ear for all pigs
4. Position the male part of the tag on the outside of the ear for improved retention rates