In recent years, the pig market has been characterised by volatile market prices, seasonal fluctuations, animal welfare debates, structural change and increasing regional concentration of production. The industry is facing rising production costs, changing consumer habits and a declining number of farms. Despite these challenges and although the economic conditions for many farms are becoming more difficult, the pig sector has shown remarkable adaptability. The trend towards larger farms and concentration in certain regions continues. Under these circumstances, the exchange of experience and information as well as further training measures are becoming increasingly important as essential factors for individual farm success. The production and economic data recorded by member farms form an essential basis for economic farm analyses. Analyses of this data provide important insights into the economic situation on the farms and enable measures to be derived that can lead to improved farm success.
Objective
The aim of the project is to continue supporting the working groups in further developing the key performance indicator system and in analysing and interpreting operational data. The Federal Agency for Agricultural Economics and Mountain Farming (BAB) is responsible for calculating and quality assuring the key figures presented in the federal report. The focus here is on collecting, checking and evaluating the working group data. In addition, the BAB compiles selected chapters of the federal report, including those on international market developments. The findings derived from this provide an essential basis for recognising operational strengths and weaknesses, identifying efficiency potential and deriving measures to improve economic success. In addition, the data is increasingly being used as a basis for scientific analyses, such as sector studies or contribution margin calculations.
Status of the project
The federal reports of all working groups were revised seven years ago, streamlined structurally and modernised graphically. In addition, a chapter introducing a member company was introduced. Since 2019, the LFI has been responsible for supra-regional coordination and uniform final editing, including layout, consolidation of content and final correction.
In 2025, the tasks of the BAB included, in particular, sending out the data sheets, collecting and evaluating data, organising and chairing the editorial meeting, drawing up the agenda and writing selected sections of the federal report, including the summary reports.
Work 2026
In 2026, the central work packages will continue to focus on collecting, reviewing and evaluating the production-related and economic data submitted by the working groups. In addition, new key figures were developed in 2025, agreed upon within the working groups and integrated into the existing key figure system. These expanded key figures will be used in future to calculate, evaluate and compare the working group data. In addition, specific chapters of the federal report must be written, summaries of the most important results must be prepared, and the essential tables and graphs must be compiled. The editorial meeting, which takes place annually in the spring, serves to coordinate content between the federal states and to determine chapter responsibilities. The meeting will continue to be held by the BAB and the LFI as a video conference. In addition, participation in specialist information events – such as the Pig Industry Conference, the Winter Conference or the Pig Industry Representatives Conference – is planned. The focus here is on in-depth technical knowledge, exchange and networking with experts from the industry.
