The case in summary • Norsvin, a Norwegian company, has bred the genes of every fifth pig in the world, which corresponds to 160 million pigs.• The company uses CT machines to look at characteristics related to heart and lung capacity in the pigs, a practice which no one else in the world has adopted.• Norsvin produces 11 million doses of semen annually, and is one of the world’s largest companies in pig genetics.• The company aims to double its share of the world market, which today is at 16%, over the next ten years.• Norsvin attaches great importance to animal welfare and has bred pigs that use less feed per kilogram of meat produced, which saves land and reduces costs.• Agriculture Minister Geir Pollestad believes that Norsvin’s exports contributes to further research and development, and will be a competitive advantage both in Norway and internationally. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. A pig is driven into a CT machine. The machine is the same one you are driven into if you are injured or ill. But at Løten, the machine is therefore used on pigs. To see joint diseases, and to look at properties related to heart and lung capacity. – No one else in the world has used this. We were the first to do this in livestock genetics, says CEO of Norsvin, Olav Eik-Nes. And now the genes are spreading all over the world. – 160 million pigs in the world have genetics from Norway, says Eik-Nes. The pigs at Norsvin are doing very well internationally. Photo: Frode Meskau / news Strict There are strict rules for who escapes within the walls of Norsvin’s new test and innovation centre, just a stone’s throw from the ski stadium at Gåsbu in Hamar. The center is built in the forest to be the furthest away from possible infection pressure, and in a place where there are no established pig herds in the immediate area. But Agriculture and Food Minister Geir Pollestad and news have been given access. Every year, Norsvin produces 11 million doses of semen, and according to Eik-Nes, the company is one of the world’s largest in pig genetics. – Very nice The Minister of Agriculture is not surprised that Norwegian pigs are doing as well as pigs in the world. – This is very nice. Here they have combined both the Norwegian tradition and the build-up of knowledge over time, and turned it into an export product that earns money. I would say that we should be proud that Norwegian agriculture has the world’s best pig, says Pollestad. The Minister of Agriculture and Food, Geir Pollestad, is given a tour of Norsvin’s new test and innovation center in Løten by the company’s director, Olav Eik-Nes. Photo: Frode Meskau / news news will be involved when the robberies are tested. – If this robber scores well in everything and has a high breeding value, then he ends up at alpha, our breeding station. And there we export semen. Then he will be the father of many, explains operations manager Marit Stensåsen Karterud. With the help of a CT machine, Norsvin has become the first in the world to use this technology to examine the genetics of its pigs. Photo: Frode Meskau / news Less feed per kilo Norsvin is a cooperative enterprise (SA) owned by 1,300 Norwegian pig producers. Eik-Nes says that animal welfare is the most important thing for Norsvin in the work they do to breed pigs that are not only used in Norway, but also exported around the world. – Pig health in Norway is the best in the whole world. We have little disease, he explains. The second reason why the Norsvin director believes that the Norwegian pig has become so popular around the world is that they have succeeded in breeding animals that use less feed per kilogram of meat produced. CEO of Norsvin, Olav Eik-Nes highlights the importance of animal welfare. Photo: Frode Meskau / news According to Eik Nes, feed is the biggest cost in pig production. – We are very concerned that a pig that uses little feed saves land. This means that when you use less for, you use less area on which to produce other crops. The company is large internationally, and has 16 percent of the world market today. They want to double that share within the next ten years. The Minister of Agriculture is full of praise for Norsvin’s work, and is concerned that the whole animal should be well. Photo: Frode Meskau / news – The whole animal must be well Agriculture Minister Pollestad says it is important for Norwegian agriculture to have such an export company. And he believes that the export contributes to Norsvin being able to carry on with research and development – so that you get even better animals in the future as well. – The fact that we can have breeding that does not only focus on the number of kilos of meat as quickly as possible, but that the whole animal should be well, will be a competitive advantage both in Norway and internationally. Published 12.11.2024, at 16.46
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Norsvin has bred the genes of every fifth pig in the world – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
