Skyscraper pig farm: revolution in livestock farming in China

The world's largest vertical pig farm is operating in the Chinese city of Ezhou in Hubei Province - a 26-story complex that has become a real revolution in animal husbandry. This grandiose structure, resembling a residential skyscraper, was designed by Hubei Zhongxin Kaiwei Modern Farming to produce up to 1.2 million pigs per year, which is equivalent to about 108 thousand tons of pork. Together with the neighboring building, which is under construction, the total area of the complex reaches 800 thousand square meters, and the capacity is about 650 thousand animals at a time. The farm is fully automated and uses advanced technology. On each floor, starting from the third, there are mini-farms with areas for sows, maternity rooms and fattening areas. The first two floors are occupied by functional rooms where feed and drinking water are prepared, which are then distributed to the floors through pipes and conveyors. Over 30,000 automated feeding points provide precise nutrition for each pig, depending on its age and needs. The animals are transported to the floors through underground tunnels and lifted up in six giant elevators, each of which can carry up to 40 pigs at a time.

The farm's control system resembles a mission control center: a central control room on the ground floor monitors temperature, humidity, ventilation, and toxic gas levels in real time. High-resolution cameras and intelligent systems monitor the animals' condition, and veterinarians monitor their health around the clock. Special attention is paid to biosecurity due to past outbreaks of African swine fever, which claimed millions of animals in 2018-2020. Workers undergo multi-stage disinfection, and some of them can only leave the farm once a week, living in special dormitories on the complex.

The main reason for creating such vertical farms is to ensure biosecurity. The complex is completely isolated and workers are disinfected to prevent outbreaks of diseases such as African swine fever.