Own crop production provides stability
Plant production at ACT
ACT runs a 1200 hectares conventional versatile plant production located in Southeast Jutland between Fredericia, Vejle and Kolding. In the crop rotation, wheat is grown on 450 hectares, whereas spring and winter barley is produced on 270 hectares in a typical year. The excellent soil quality determines greatly to which extent the design of the crop rotation should be.
The second important factor for our crop rotation is our need for high-quality cereals as a part of the feed for the breeding pigs. Many years of experience with our soil quality shows that we are achieving a high and stable harvest using traditional soil cultivation, including ploughing.
New technology reduces the need for resources
Modern technology in the field of plant cultivation has a quick implementation at ACT. The introduction of GPS controlled equipment opens up completely new possibilities for accuracy in plant production. With the help of GPS control precision machinery, we add different amounts of fertiliser and plant production depending on our field data. In this way, we achieve very high utilisation of the resources, and at the same time, we also gain an optimised harvest yield. Soil samples are collected every year. We use the analytical results to apply, for example, limestone if the pH value is not in balance.
We handle all cereals
ACT has sufficient storage capacity to store all cereals from our harvest. We ensure the quality of the grains by having an adequate drying capacity. Even in years with showers in the harvest season, we do not risk problems with cereal storage. The storage capacity on the different farms varies, so it is the responsibility of the staff working with plant production to move the cereals between the sites.
Competent and experienced team
In the growing season, eight people work directly or assist with the plant cultivation. Six people work in fields with the machinery, one person works in the garage with maintenance and repair, and finally, one carpenter also belongs to the staff.
It is hectic in the high season and some of the equipment almost run 24-7 to secure a dry harvest. Without our competent and experienced employees, we would not be able to achieve high and stable yields. In the low season, the plant production staff assist with various ad hoc tasks related to the work in the pig production.
Slurry application
Pig slurry contains valuable nutrients for plants. We have pig manure storage facilities close to our farms and slurry stores located in the fields. We take care of all manure distribution ourselves. When we use our own equipment, we ensure high utilisation of the nutrients in the slurry. It also means that we can plan when we will bring out the slurry. We also want to avoid using external machinery because this would introduce a new potential health risk to our breeding pigs.
Slurry distribution and notifications
We always notify neighbours on social media before we bring out any slurry. The majority of the slurry distribution takes place in the springtime. We do not bring out any slurry at all on holidays or other celebrations. In the winter season, we usually transport slurry from the stores near the farms to the stores located in the fields.
