COPENHAGEN, June 19 (Xinhua) -- "Those piglets are my fortune and hope," Michael Nielsen said with a grin at his farm in the suburbs of Copenhagen.
Michael Nielsen, owner of the Tilsbaek farm, talks to visiting Xinhua reporters at his pig farm some 50 km from Danish capital Copenhagen, on June 16, 2009. Neilsen makes about one million kroner (187,000 U.S. dollars) a year through the sale of his pigs. (Xinhua/Zhu Feng)
Nielsen, a very tall and solidly-built man, greeted Xinhua reporters after we drove 50 km to the Tilsbaek farm from downtown Copenhagen.
"Welcome to the farm, my guests from China," he said.
Pointing to a field of wheat outside a row of bungalows, where the private pig farm is located, Nielsen said he planted 300 hectares of wheat this year, nearly all of which is turned into fodder for the pigs.
More than 600 sows raised at the farm can breed many piglets for sale annually, according to the pig farm owner.
"I usually make one million kroner (187,000 U.S. dollars) a year through the sale of my pigs," Nielsen said. But this year he will not be able to earn that amount of money because of the drop in pork prices and reduced government subsidies due to the global financial crisis.
Denmark produces 1.75 million tons of pork per year, accounting for 8 percent of the total European Union (EU) output.
"I expect a better situation next year," Nielsen said.
At the farm, a recycled ecological economy has been achieved -- wheat is made into fodder for the pigs, and the pigs' manure is turned into fertilizer for the wheat.
Pig farmers, who want to purchase more than 30 hectares in the country, are required to have an agricultural college degree to run the business. Nielsen said two students from a local technical college were working at the farm as interns.
Wearing protective gowns and boots, we visited the fully-enclosed pigsty, which is usually out of bounds to outsiders for health reasons.
"The temperature in the pigsty is adjustable, and piglets of different ages are fed accordingly," Nielsen said, holding a piglet tenderly in his arms. |
