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Experience gained from working on the HG 10 Hot Spray scraping machine
Several breeders have invested in the new 10 Hot Spray scraping machine. Does it produce better scraping results?
”We’re convinced that the new HG kit valves will result in improved well-being and lower mortality rates,” says Flemming Toft, Production Manager, Denmark.
Testing new feed computer Improved well-being in the cages and lower mortality
Hedensted Gruppen | March 2017
”I t can turn out to be a real game-changer for the industry. The purpose of WelFur is as appeal-
ing as it could be, so it should lead to a real pat on the back for the sector and have a positive effect in the long term.”
So say two branding experts, Søren Sachs (Partner) and Rasmus Sumborg (Brand Developer) from the Copen-hagen-based advertising agency Yellow Advertising, with regard to the launch of the new WelFur certification scheme.
“It’s a good time to start now. The timing is excellent, although there are no guarantees that – from the per-spective of image – the certification scheme will have the desired effect straight away. It’s sure to be a long, hard process, and WelFur is absolu-
tely ideal in this context – as long as you stay true to your strategy and are prepared to take a couple of knocks along the way. WelFur is a great name because it clearly communicates what the scheme is about,” explains Søren Sachs.
“For many years, a movement has been under way to return to the authen-tic – to the old-fashioned traditions of craftsmanship, and there has been a growing desire for simple solutions backed by top quality,” adds Rasmus Sumborg, who continues:
“We can see it in the current features of consumption: we revere the art of brewing coffee like a religion, convert our eating patterns to the Palaeolithic diet, take cross-fit classes to stay inPelsavisenttt
Page 7 Page 8Page 6
After a six-month trial period, Ove Svendsen reports on HG’s prototype for a new feed computer.
A game-changer for the industry
Branding experts believe that WelFur certi-fication will have an effect in the long term.
2
shape, and want to know where our clothes come from, and who made them. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean we’re interested in living a simpler life. Put in another way, we love to settle down in front of ‘back to nature’ programmes on TV, watching the host spending hours making his own tools – which we would never dream of doing ourselves.
However, we’re quick to pick up on the values and apply them to our own consumption. Our per-sonal patterns of consumption
have always told a story of who we are as people, and there is justification for fur in this context given that we humans have a tra-dition for wearing furs and mink stretching back millennia. It is a story that could withstand being told again.”
Branding also has a lot to do with ‘storytelling’, i.e. having a narrative to communicate about your product, and this is sure to become increasingly important in the future on a global market-place. A narrative which could, for example, centre on sustainabil-ity, on proximity and on locally sourced products. A clear trend has appeared in recent years with regard to highlighting local involvement, through sponsor-ship and support for charitable organisations, etc.
The good story for the mink and fur industry
The WelFur certification scheme has presented the mink and fur industry with its good story to tell.
“You have to have a purpose for selling your product, and you must communicate it clearly. One of the essential ideas behind WelFur and fur production must be to explain that mink are treated decently. By working with certification and communicat-ing as clearly as possible what
it entails, you can openly and honestly answer the questions most commonly asked today about fur farming. You can make it clear that the industry is doing its best to promote welfare in the mink cages. This is essential to communicate generally, but also more locally in the com-munities closest to the farms themselves.”
Two scenarios
WelFur should be viewed in relation to two groups of stakeholders: consumers and environmental activists and organisations.
“For the people who buy and wear furs, the most important aspects of the story are still style, fashion and class. How-ever, consumers are increasingly seeking our shops which sell goods with a story, sustainable
goods and customised prod-ucts – or products that are only available in limited numbers. Consumers are willing to pay ex-tra for items that stand out from the common flood of consumer goods. When it comes to furs, the aspects of being fashion-able and looking good are sure to make up the key sales pitch for many years to come. For the present, certification in this context will be more ‘nice to know’ than ‘need to know’. As mentioned previously, how-ever, there is a clear movement towards consumers wanting
to know more about what they are actually buying – that the goods they are spending their money on have been decently processed and produced. From this perspective, the certification scheme can boost the percep-tion of quality and thus become an extra sales argument. In the long term, it is by no means unlikely that consumers will start asking exclusively for certified furs,” says Rasmus Sumborg. He adds:
“Environmental activists and organisations don’t always act completely rationally. Their arguments are often more emotional, and it’s tough to argue against emotions. So this is where the hard work will have to be done – by talking openly, honestly and objectively about both production and certifica-tion, and ideally including pro-fessional knowledge as well.”
Sustainability
The two branding experts from Yellow Advertising do not believe that WelFur can shoulder the entire whole load as regards the attacks and hard knocks the certification scheme is sure to be subjected to almost from day one. The next step is branding – and as a part of this branding initiative it is essential to bring sustainability into the conversa-tion, given that they also view sustainability as a key element in the future.
Sustainability has to do with tak-ing a careful look at the product throughout every link of the chain, from start to finish: How is a product made? What resources are used? How long is a product’s service life? Has due considera-tion been given to social issues? What’s its environmental impact, including waste products? And what are the old tradi-tions regarding mink and animal welfare?
“The arguments for sustainable fur could, for instance, include the fact that furs last for years – perhaps a lifetime – in contrast to overclothes made of syn-thetic fabrics. And then you could mention the mink feed, which is largely made up of waste prod-ucts from modern food produc-tion,” emphasises Søren Sachs, who thinks it is essential to focus more heavily on sustainability in the mink industry. n
PelsAvisen is published by Hedensted Gruppen A/S
No. of copies DK: 2.000UK: 2.000PL: 600
EditorsJens Jørgen Madsen (resp.) · Jens Villadsen · Gert Thomsen · Henrik Mortensen · Olgierd JakubowskiDaniel Sawa
Photos Svend Pedersen · HG arkivText Knud Erik JensenPrinter OTM AVISTRYK Herning-Ikast
Thanks to the advertisersBetafence | Dansk Træmel
Special thanks toKamil Blaszczyk | Maciej Figura Anders Jensen | Bo Larsen Arvydas Martinaitis | Jaroslaw Pioszyk | Poul Erik Riis | Søren Sachs | Bertran Trane Skadsem Rasmus Sumborg | Ove Svendsen Steffen Therkelsen | Flemming Toft Wim Verhagen | Bo Witte-Pedersen
Vejlevej 15 · DK-8722 HedenstedTelefon (+45) 75 89 12 44Telefax (+45) 75 89 11 80www.hedensted-gruppen.dk
Pelsavisen
Pelsavisen
ttt (continued from cover page)
The WelFur certification scheme has presented the mink and fur industry with its good story to tell, estimate the two branding experts.
3
”It’s exclusively about animal welfare. Not about rules, regulations and
ethics.”
That is how Morten Ågren, who works with export sales at HG, summarises the new WelFur certification scheme prepared by FurEurope, an organisation that represents the entire European fur breeding industry, which is now on the point of being introduced by 4,000 fur farmers in Europe.
The three largest auction houses – Kopenhagen Fur, SAGA Furs and NAFA – envisage selling the first WelFur-certified skins as early as December 2018. Together, these three players command almost 95 per cent of the global market for skins sold through auction houses.
And as from the 2020 season, they will only be selling skins certified under the new WelFur standard.
Research-based and independent
The new certification has been developed with the purpose of as-sessing animal welfare on European
mink and fox farms. The standard is the work of researchers from seven universities in Europe who devel-oped it over the period 2009–14, when they devoted a great deal of time and effort to collecting infor-mation about the aspects impor-tant to the welfare and well-being of mink. As such, it is a research-based and independent welfare certification programme founded on EU standards and backed by scientifically established welfare indicators. It is the pan-European sector organisation FurEurope that has taken the initiative to set up a system for certifying mink farms.
Four welfare principles
The assessment of each mink farm is based on four welfare principles, and the auditing and certification work is performed by the international inspection and certification company Baltic Control, which has its headquar-ters in Aarhus, Denmark, and maintains offices in 42 countries all over the world. The company is already engaged in certifying a variety of other agricultural prod-ucts including Dansk Kalv (veal), Antonius-grisen (pork), and the Coop animal welfare label.
The four welfare principles are:
u Good feed – inspectors check whether the animals are thin, whether they have enough water, etc.
u Good housing – where the emphasis is on the quality of the nesting boxes, insulation and cages
u Good health – which focuses on sick animals, wounds, diar- rhoea, killing, etc.
u Appropriate behaviour – inspectors take a closer look at social behaviour, toys, whether the animals are moved often, stereotypical behaviour and so on.
So says Morten Ågren.
Three visits a year before certi-fication
Immediately after the turn of the year, Baltic Control started visiting the farms, which will be receiving three visits per year – in winter and during the kit and growth seasons – before certification.
The Baltic Control inspectors will describe the welfare status at the individual farm on the basis of a long list of factors that can be both observed and meas-ured. During their visit, they will carry out both animal-specific (the health of the animals) and a resource-based (care, fittings and furnishings) observations.
Points classification between 0 and 100
“The observations will be entered into the system and produce a point value of between 0 and 100, where 100 points is the top score and 50 is neutral. After the third visit, the inspectors will thus be able to prepare an overall assessment of the mink farm on the basis of four scores,” explains Morten Ågren.
The four scores are:
u Best (80–100 points).u Good (55–80 points).u Acceptable (20–55 points).u Unacceptable (below 20 points).
In order to obtain certification, the mink farm must be positioned as follows, on the basis of the scores:
Best – if it scores higher than 55 points on all four welfare princi-ples.Good – if it scores higher than 20 points on all four welfare princi-ples and higher than 55 on two of them.Acceptable – if it scores higher than 10 points on all four welfare principles and higher than 20 on at least three of them.Unacceptable – if it fails to achieve one of the three levels mentioned above.
Mink farms that are rated ‘Best’, ‘Good’ and ‘Acceptable’ will there-fore be awarded WelFur certifica-tion.
“It’s naturally a matter of doing as well as possible on all parameters. Being given an actual score for how good you are in the area of animal welfare is a completely new concept, and it’s sure to have a positive effect – not just on animal welfare, but also on skin prices,” emphasises Morten Ågren. n
Hedensted Gruppen | March 2017
WelFur certification focuses exclusively on animal welfare
As from the 2020 season, the three largest auction houses in the world will only sell certified skins.
4
Betafence produces all types of security fencing, forest-area fencing, barbed wire, garden fencing, mink and fox wire, and a broad assortment of welded and woven products for the farming industry.
Betafence is the undisputed world leader in the production of wire mesh solutions - largely because the company never compromises on standards and quality targets.
With 11 manufacturing units and a worldwide sales network, Betafence is represented in more than 100 countries.
Betafence is the only company on the market that manufactures all wire grades used in the fur industry: Zinc Aluminium, Zincalu10*, galvanised, stainless steel, woven and plastic-coated.
Zincalu10 is a new coating developed by Betafence. It has an increased aluminium percentage in the coating compared with the traditional Galfan or Zincalu coatings. Salt
spray testing according to ISO 9227 shows an improved corrosion resistance. This new type of coating, together with a proprietary production process of Betafence guarantees an excellent corrosion resistance.
w w w . b e t a f e n c e . c o m
Securing What Matters
Securing What Matters
*NEW:
Betafence produces all types of security fencing, forrest-area fencing, barbed wire, garden fencing, mink and fox wire, and a broad assortment of welded and woven products for the farming industry.
Betafence is the undisputed world leader in the production of wire mesh solutions – largely because the company never compromises on standards and quality targets.
With 9 manufacturing units and a worldwide sales network, Betafence is represented in more than 100 countries.
Betafence is the only company on the market that manufactures all wire grades used in the fur industry: Zinc Alu-minium, Zincalu10, galvanized, stainless steel, woven and plastic-coated. Today, the plastic-coated wire comes with the strong Zincalu10 under the coating.
5
Hedensted Gruppen | March 2017
15 January 2017 was a big day for the mink sector in Norway. Voting 58
to 44, the Norwegian parliament (Stortinget) decided to allow mink farming to carry on, thus assur-ing the survival of 250 Norwegian mink farms and guaranteeing continued employment for 2,300 people.
A ban on mink farming in Norway has been on the political agenda for the past 6–7 years, and the decision from parliament not to introduce such a ban is primarily attributable to the work done by the Norges Pelsdyralslag sector organisation to ensure sustaina-ble development based on animal welfare.
In October last year, the or-ganisation carried out an internal inspection of almost 500,000 mink, which demonstrated that fully 99.903 per cent of the ani-mals were healthy and free from injuries. An action plan for animal welfare in the period 2013–2018 has likewise had a positive impact on the decision taken by the Norwegian politicians when they were asked to choose one of two options: sustainable development, or managed discontinuation.
Animal welfare a key aspect in the discussion
“We’ve implemented a set of regulations which means that se-rious mink farmers who abide by our animal welfare programmes can continue to operate their farms in the future. And we’ll be participating actively in the work to prepare criteria for the form these animal welfare programmes are to take going forward. There can be no doubt that animal welfare was a key aspect in the discussion, and we made a significant contribu-tion to convincing the politicians to assure mink farming a future in Norway,” says Bertran Trane Skadsem, mink farmer and presi-dent of the Norges Pelsdyralslag organisation.
He adds:
“This entire process has resulted in us committing to a level of animal welfare that’s among the highest in the world. Moreover, we now have a basis for securing sustainable framework conditions for Norwegian mink farming in the years to come.”
Norges Pelsdyralslag has also received solid support from col-leagues in the Danish association
Dansk Pelsdyravlerforening, which Bertran Trane Skadsem relates has been keeping a close eye on developments in Norway.
Protracted battle in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, however, where a battle between the Dutch state and the country’s mink farmers has been raging in the courts for years, a ban has now been passed. This means that 160 Dutch mink farms are to have ceased operations completely by the end of 2024 at the latest.
The Netherlands has been the third-largest fur producer in Europe for many years, bringing around six million skins to market every year. The ban was actually passed by the Dutch parliament back in 2012, but it was suspended shortly afterwards when the Dutch mink farmers successfully took the state to court. The state sub-sequently appealed the decision, and the courts have now upheld the original ban.
Introduced welfare system
In response to the decision Wim Verhagen, Director of the Dutch fur breeders’ association NFE, says:
“The discussion started 20–25 years ago, when it focused on welfare, the environment and killing methods. We entered into dialogue with the government and organisations with expertise in these areas, and came up with solutions in the areas of killing methods and the environment. We dealt with the issue of welfare by introducing a welfare system which meant that our mink farms were inspected from top to bot-tom by the authorities. They had to live up to extremely high stand-ards, which we felt gave us solid arguments against a ban. We were successful in our endeavours, and up until ten years ago we thought we were on safe ground.
“But then our opponents among the country’s politicians changed their angle of attack. All of a sud-den, it was not a question of wel-fare or the environment. Instead it was an ethical issue – about keeping mink in cages and killing them to produce a luxury product that ‘no-one needs’. After 10–12 years, our opponents achieved a majority in parliament, and from then on things just became tougher and tougher for us. A ban – on ethical grounds – was the final outcome. – Except for the fact that the NFE has now decided
to go to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, be-cause we totally disagree with the decisions made by the Supreme Court in the Netherlands.”
Welfare no guarantee
“What events in the Netherlands teach us is that welfare is no guar-antee. We were ahead of the curve on welfare, with everything this entails regarding inspections and pressure on the mink farms. And we thought that everything was fine. We believed in a future for the industry. But our opponents’ agenda was simply to put an end to mink farming. Which is why they changed their approach.
“This debate is sure to recur elsewhere in Europe. In and of itself, WelFur will not put an end to the discussion. Fur farmers in other European countries must not make the mistake of believing this is enough. It is essential to build up public acceptance of mink farming – people need to be con-vinced that it’s OK to keep mink in cages to produce skins for furs.”
“Acceptance and respect are crucial!” he concludes. n
Norway carrying on – Netherlands pulling the plug
6
Pelsavisen
”It’s been excellent. It worked precisely as
intended.”
After half a year as one of three ‘test pilots’ for HG’s prototype for a new feed computer, Ove Svendsen – a mink farmer with 6,000 females at his farm near Vejle, Denmark – can look back over the trial period and state categorically that the new feed computer is really good. He continues:
“It functioned just the way it should, and it didn’t break down at any point. Over the first six months, we’ve run 435 tonnes of feed through it without any problems – so
yes, it’s reliable. In addition, it’s really simple to operate. There are four of us who use it at our farm, and there are no problems at all. It takes hardly any time to calibrate it. What actually takes most time dur-ing calibration is looking for the scales!”
Another positive aspect of Ove Svendsen’s experience of the trial period was that he was in regular contact with Kim Chris-tiansen from the HG develop-ment department.
“The dialogue with HG has been excellent,” he says.
Keep it simple
‘Keep it simple’ and improved operational reliability. Those were the goals when Kim Christiansen started work to develop the feed computer and prepare it for prototype testing. It almost goes without saying that the daily work to distribute precise amounts of feed should be as simple a process as possible.
“More than 50 per cent of the repairs made to a feeder have to do with electrical faults. The feed computer accounts for a significant share of these – a share the new feed compu-ter is designed to reduce,” he emphasises.
“It must be simple to use. That is why the display is so important, because it has to present all the relevant details
to the user. During use, it must constantly provide informa-tion about portion sizes, pause time and choice of programme. A volume meter – i.e. a kilo counter – shows how much feed has been distributed. The display also shows which func-tions have been activated, and which have not. It’s all laid out on the front panel,” explains Kim Christiansen.
Larger display
He continues: “We’ve made the display bigger so that it’s easier to see and to read the information. The emphasis here is on stability and focus. The feed computer can work in temperatures from -30 to +70°C. It’s service life matches that of the feeder itself, and its accuracy for the portion sizes distributed is +/- 3–5 per cent. On average, there should not
be a deviation of more than +/- 3 per cent across ten portions.”
Calibration important
As regards the number of calibrations, Kim Christiansen recommends calibrating the computer just as often as you receive feed from the central feed warehouse.
“It’s up to the individual user, of course, but you must remem-ber how important calibration is in ensuring accurate feeding. The more often you calibrate, the more accurate the por-tions. So as a minimum, cali-brate every time you receive a delivery of feed,” he concludes. n
A really good feed computer
After a six-month trial period, Ove Svendsen reports on HG’s prototype for a new feed com-puter.
7
Hedensted Gruppen | March 2017
A great many oper-ating hours and a great many skins
have passed since Anders Jensen had three new HG 10 Hot Spray Scrapers installed at his two North Jutland pelt-ing centres last year.
In fact, they processed around a million mink in 2016 – 550,000 at Dalsgaard Pels in Kongerslev, and 450,000 at Pelscenter Nord in Hjallerup.
“It has all run really smooth-ly. Of course, it took us a little while to get to know the new scrapers, but it was easy enough and from then on everything just flowed,” relates Anders Jensen, who highlights in particular the two eye spikes on the flesh-ing beam, which operate on a delay, slipping into posi-tion when a skin has almost been seated on the beam and then retracting at the end of the process, ready for the next skin.
Improved scraping result around the neck
“I think the scraping result around the neck is much better on account of the
five-sided beam and the 115 mm rollers, and thanks to the eye spikes we have had fewer problems with skins getting twisted. “This has long been a major source of irritation, so we’re delighted that it’s not such a problem any more,” he adds.
The new beam and roller combination makes it pos-sible to operate with lower scraping pressure, but this hasn’t made much of a differ-ence for Anders Jensen as he has never run his machines at a high pressure. Having previously built many pieces of equipment himself and remodelled his scrapers, An-ders was actively involved in the design of the new HG Hot Spray Scraper, contributing all kinds of ideas and wishes.
He describes the new ma-chine as ‘service friendly’ and says it is easy to switch rollers so that he can work with the biggest skins – sizes 60, 70 and 80.
Fewer skins to rescrape
“In addition, we had to rescrape fewer skins than previously – which is sort of important to us,” says
Anders Jensen, and adds:“As regards user-friend-liness, there are a lot of good things about the new machine, but there are still some areas that need improving. For example, you have to loosen far too many screws to replace the rubber section when washing the beam. I also think the beam is set too high, so I’d like to see it lowered 10–15 cm. I’ve made this point to HG, and I hope they come up with a solution.”
Has performed really well
Steffen Therkelsen, who runs a mink farm with 3,300 females in Uldum, likewise swapped his old scraper for a new HG 10 Hot Spray model in 2016. He is largely in agreement with Anders Jensen, confirming that it has performed really well.
“The machine scraped the skins much better than we’re used to. In particular, it scraped much cleaner around the front legs thanks to the five-sided beam. This was precisely the area where we needed the scraping to improve. The five-sided beam is a clear advantage
with the new scraper,” states Steffen Therkelsen. He continues:
“The HG 10 Hot Spray is simple to set up and easy to work with. My assistant and I went on a course and we were then able to deal with all the machine set-tings ourselves without any problems. Of course, there were a few things we had to take the time to study to find out how they worked, but as soon as we’d done that everything worked just fine. We’ve hardly had any shut-downs on account of skins tearing or getting caught on the beam. What is more, the machine’s really easy to clean and to maintain. In relation to the standard recommendations, we’ve run ‘double up’ on each set of rollers, scraping 12,000 skins before replacing a set. This produced a really satis-fying result.”
Lower scraping pressure
Thanks to the five-sided beam and the 115 mm roll-ers, Steffen Therkelsen processed his skins at a lower scraping pressure than previously.
“We hardly needed to run any skins through the ma-chine twice, because there wasn’t any more fat to re-move. When we were getting the skins ready for auction in
January/February, we noted that they were lighter than usual – even though they were larger. By the way, the new machine processes and scrapes even large skins really well,” adds Steffen Therkelsen, who also made a number of suggestions for alterations to the HG 10 Hot Spray Scraper. “And every time, HG was quick to deal with the issue,” he empha-sises.
Good to have the eye spikes
One of the changes had to do with the eye spikes on the beam. There was a problem with sawdust clogging up the holes the eye spikes run through, preventing them from retracting all the way.
“Changing the system so that the sawdust is blown off the beam solved the prob-lem with the eye spikes. And it’s good to have the spikes – they’re a really useful detail,” says Steffen Ther-kelsen, who is also pleased with HG’s service, which he rates ‘excellent’.
“The service staff made a point of calling me up to hear how things were going, which was a good way for them to keep track of the new model,” he says. n
A lot of operating hours, a lot of skins and a better result
That is the verdict from two North Jutland pelting centres. Steffen Therk-selsen, a mink farmer from Uldum, Denmark, also reports a much better fleshing result with the new HG 10 Hot Spray Scraper – especially around the front legs.
8
Pelsavisen
”W e previously
experienced
excessively
high mortality during the
period when kits had to learn
to drink. We’re convinced that
the new HG kit valves will
result in improved well-being
and lower mortality rates. We
don’t yet have figures to prove
it – we need another year for
that – but we’re sure of it.”
So says Flemming Toft, Pro-
duction Manager at the Nørre
Halgaard mink farm near
Holstebro, Denmark, which
actually comprises two full-
year farms that house a total
of 12,000 breeding females
– 8,500 at the main farm
and 3,500 at the secondary
facility.
“Last year, we had 3,600
drinking valves fitted at the
two farms, equivalent to
almost a third of the birth-
ing females. Since then we’ve
bought another 3,600 or so
valves, which means we now
have drinking valves for more
than half of our females,” says
Flemming Toft. He continues:
“We previously used drinking
systems designed for rabbits,
and it took a lot of time and
effort to keep them filled with
water. We had to top them up
all the time, and during the
first few days when the kits
were learning to drink it was a
full-day’s work for one of our
employees. The HG kit drink-
ing system is connected to
the circulation water system,
which means it’s filled with
fresh water all the time. And
there can be no doubt that the
kits use the valves. You can
always see a drop of water
hanging off the valve. The kits
can see and smell it, too, so
they know there’s water for
them to drink. What’s more,
the HG kit valve is positioned
right next to the hole in the
nesting box – which is really
important. The valve was far
too far away before, but now
all they have to do to have
a drink is step through the
hole.”
Expectation for higher
weaning weight
Flemming Toft expects an in-
crease in the weaning weight
for both kits and females.
“We’re almost sure of it. We
expect and feel certain that
the weaning weights will be
higher. This is the whole point
of our decision to invest in the
HG kit drinking system: lower
mortality and higher weight,”
he emphasises.
Drinking 3–4 days earlier
Poul Erik Riis, who owns a
mink farm with 4,000 fe-
males near Herning, Denmark,
agrees that the HG kit drinking
system works perfectly.
“The kits start drinking 3–4
days earlier than they used to,
when they had to walk all the
way to the back of the cage to
drink. They’re quicker to get
hold of the water now, which
means they also start grow-
ing earlier,” he adds.
Like Flemming Toft, Poul Erik
Riis is still collecting figures
to make an actual com-
parison, but he has noted
that the mink in the cages
have become calmer since he
installed the HG kit valves.
Fewer sucking injuries
“The kits aren’t fighting
as much. If they don’t get
enough fluid, they tend to
fight a lot more and they
often end up with sucking
injuries on their ears because
they have an inborn instinct
to suckle when they’re short
of fluid. Now that they have
easier access to water, they
drink this instead – resulting
in a drop in sucking injuries.
And they’re calmer, which
means greater well-being and
better growth,” says Poul Erik
Riis.
Experiments with and with-
out the kit drinking system
HG has run experiments with
and without the HG drinking
system, which produced the
following results:
u + 8 per cent feed intake for
the kits.
u + 8 per cent weaning
weight among the kits.
u + 0.1 kit result.
u + 10 per cent weaning
weight among the females.
u + 3 per cent weight among
the kits in early October.
Neither Flemming Toft nor
Poul Erik Riis can confirm
these figures – as they are
still waiting for appropriate
comparison figures – but they
are not unwilling to believe
the tendency.
Japi Farm bought 3,200 HG
kit valves
Last year, the owners of Japi
Farm in Poland purchased
3,200 HG kit valves, which
were distributed between two
facilities. Kamil Blaszczyk,
Production Manager, explains:
“We’ve been working hard for
years to improve animal wel-
fare and increase the number
of kits, and we’d noticed that
it had something to do with
getting the kits drinking at a
young age. However, as there
weren’t any satisfactory
solutions to the issue on the
market, we tried to design our
own drinking system for kits.
Unfortunately, it was harder
than it looked ...”
“So we were delighted when
HG presented its new HG kit
drinking system,” he adds.
“We were a little sceptical at
first – as you tend to be about
all new ideas, given that eve-
ryone knows that mink farm-
ing is a finely balanced busi-
ness area, where it is easy to
make a bad investment. That
said, we know that before
releasing a new product, HG
always makes sure to test it in
‘real life conditions’ on its own
farm, and that the company
works with Kopenhagen Fur
to ensure that the product will
actually prove a real benefit to
farms and farmers.”
Believe in improved well-being and lower mortality
Two mink farms that installed the kit drinking system from HG have noted that kits begin drinking earlier with the new system – which helps them start growing at a younger age than before.
“The HG kit drinking system is connected to the circulation water system, which means it’s filled with fresh water all the time. And there can be no doubt that the kits use the valves,” says Flemming Toft.
9
Hedensted Gruppen | March 2017
A good investment
After a single season, Kamil
Blaszczyk concludes that the
kit drinking system is a good
investment.
“We haven’t done any specific
research as yet, but it’s obvious
that the animals are healthier
and bigger. Mortality among
the kits has fallen, which
is clearly evidenced by the
increase in the number of kits
we now have. The females are
doing better as well. We noted
that the kits started drink-
ing after as little as a month.
The key aspect of the HG kit
drinking system is the special
design of the valves, which
ensures there is always a drop
of water hanging from them.
In fact, the valves constantly
release 3–4 drops of water
per minute,” relates the Polish
production manager, who goes
on to highlight another good
reason to choose this system.
Reduces bacterial infections
“The system helps us re-
duce the bacterial infections
transferred from females to
kits. The kit netting we use,
which has a mesh size of 0.5”
x 0.5”, often catches mink
excrement. Previously, when
the females dragged the kits
to the other end of the cage
where the drinking system
was located, they often trod in
the excrement. The next time
the females fed the kits, they
naturally transferred bacteria
from the excrement to their
kits, which often resulted in in-
fection and dehydration – con-
tributing to the high mortality
rates. We can now take the
netting out earlier because the
kits have a water valve right
next to the hole in the nesting
box where the netting has a
mesh size of 1” x 1”. In addition,
the kits are
more relaxed when they can
stay close to the nest, and the
females often use the system,
too,” says Kamil Blaszczyk.
Considering the HG kit drink-
ing system for the entire farm
Jaroslaw Pioszyk, who owns
Japi Farm, always listens
carefully to his production
manager’s opinion, so he is
seriously considering fitting
his entire farm with the HG kit
drinking system.
“We have identified the ben-
efits, and we now know it’s
a good investment that has
improved our results with the
animals from several per-
spectives.” concludes Kamil
Blaszczyk. n
10
With the opening of our new factory in Lunderskov near Kolding, Denmark, we’ve more than
doubled our capacity. Our facility in Esbjerg has been finding it more and more of a challenge
to keep pace with the growing demand for high-quality sawdust. Demand has really taken off
over the past few years, with Kopenhagen Fur placing great emphasis on the quality of the
sawdust and its significance for the end product. We are now once again in a position to accom-
modate the demand and the influx of new customers.
Dansk Træmel expands
Freshly produced, high-quality sawdust delivered to you
– when you need it!
The broadest range on the market coupled with great flexibility
Dansk Træmel A/S
Gl. Lifstrupvej 3, 6715 Esbjerg
Østmarken 1-5, DK–6640 Lunderskov
Tel. +45 75 16 80 37
l 15 or 22 kg sacks – paper or plastic
l Number of sacks per pallet to order
l Big bags with weight to order
l Unpackaged product delivered by dumper
truck, vacuum pump truck or walking floor
truck
l Delivery or collection from Esbjerg or Lunderskov
l Wide range of special mixes to order – so you can
be sure of precisely the mix that best matches your
pelting plant.
Pelsavisen
11
T he Pelscenter Midtjylland pelting centre located near Herning, Denmark, suc-
ceeded in processing 950,000 mink during the 2016 season. A team of 12–14 employees worked around the clock at times, but were otherwise on shift from
early in the morning to late at night five and a half days a week – which naturally makes de-mands on the pelting machines.
They have to maintain a fast pace. The pinning work has to run smoothly. And the three new,
updated HG Quick Cut machines have made a significant con-tribution in this regard, as Bo Larsen, owner of the mid-Jutland pelting plant, explains. The ma-chines were purchased in autumn having passed a demanding test in spring.
The perfect angle
“The real advantage is the way they cut the animals. The two blades that perform the triangu-lar cut are positioned at the per-fect angle. Moreover, there are all kinds of options for adjusting the
machines. You can regulate the speed simply by turning a knob,” says Bo Larsen, who continues:
“Thanks to the triangular cut, you can make the cut in exactly the same place every time and it doesn’t make any difference how large or small the mink are. This is important given that a variety of different people actually feed the mink into the machines. The work runs more smoothly, and it’s easier for us to pick up the pace and maintain a good work rhythm. And because we don’t have to correct the machines from one time to the next, we can get the pinning done a little quicker. In ad-dition, it’s simple to teach people how to cut the mink correctly.”
According to Bo Larsen, there is one aspect of the Quick Cut that could be improved, however. It should be possible to cut the paws a little farther in on the thighs to produce a neater pin-ning line.
New functions with reverse
The new functions that allow you to reverse the process if the crosscut and triangular cut are not ideal have not been used much at Pelscenter Midtjylland.
“It’s almost impossible to feed the mink incorrectly into a Quick Cut machine, which naturally helps maintain a good working environment. And HG provides perfect service. All we have to do is call them up and they come,” concludes Bo Larsen. n
I’ve never had a feeder that turns so sharply. It has really proven its worth!”
Bo Witte-Pedersen, who runs a mink farm with 4,000 females in Holste-bro, Denmark, has had a new ‘sharp turn’ kit retrofitted to his HG Feeder 125 M. He bought the feeder back in March last year, but soon had to concede that it could not turn sharply enough in his closed halls.
“We had to reverse and drive back and forth a couple of times to make the turns. It took far too long and was a real irritation given that we’d become used to being able to slalom
smoothly between the rows in our halls,” adds Bo Witte-Pedersen.He was quick to accept HG’s offer to retrofit the new ‘sharp-turn’ kit, and is happy to express his satisfaction in both words and figures.
“We can now slalom away like before and make turns where there isn’t a lot of space. The feeder can turn almost 90 degrees and has a turn radius of just 4.5 metres,” says Bo, who describes his HG Feeder 125 M as a simple and ‘clever’ machine that doesn’t overheat in the summer, rarely breaks down and is simple to maintain and service. n
“I’ve never had a feeder that turns so sharply. It has really proven its worth!”
Bo Witte-Pedersen had the new ‘sharp turn’ kit retro-fitted to his HG Feeder 125 M
Hedensted Gruppen | March 2017
“Never had a feeder that turns so sharply”
Easier to pick up the pace
The triangular cut makes it easy to cut in the same place every time with the new, updated Quick Cut machine
12
A s from 1 July 2018, Poland will be applying more strin-gent regulations regarding cage sizes that comply with EU regulations. These regulations are identi-
cal to those laid down in the European WelFur certification scheme.
2 animals
For mink that have a cage to themselves or share a cage with one other mink, and for females with kits, the individual cage must feature at least 2,550 cm2 of space.
This means that cage compartments must be at least 30 cm wide and at least 70 cm deep (both measurements excl. nesting box). They must also be at least 45 cm high.
Minimum space for 2 animals
Width (min.) 30 cm
Depth (min) 70 cm
Hight (min) 45 cm
Floor area 2,550 cm2
HG standard block for two animals
The requirement of a minimum of 2,550 cm2 can easily be met by installing an HG standard block as shown below.
In an HG standard block, the floor area measures 12” x 36” = 2,787.1 cm2.
3 animals
For each extra mink that is to share the cage, the floor area has to increase by at least 850 cm2 – so for three animals, there must be a total of 3,400 cm2 per cage compartment.
Floor area 3,400 cm2
There are several ways to meet this requirement, depending on the size and design of the hall.
In a conventional, 2-row shed
One solution that is ideal for conventional 2-row sheds is to add the HG 3D superstructure to a standard block – with angled rear roof and a plastic partition wall in the super-structure.
The entrance hole to the superstructure is located at the rear, where the floor area does not count because it does not meet the requirement of 45 cm in height, and where the roof is angled.
With floor space and full height in the superstructure of 9” x 12”, the total floor area in a cage fitted with a 3D superstruc-ture amounts to 3,483.88 cm2.
In a shed with plenty of space
Another solution for the ‘three animals per cage compart-ment’ situation that can be used in halls with plenty of space above the cages is a standard block fitted with a superstruc-ture module with vertical rear wire, where the partitions can be made of either wire or plastic.
The floor area in the superstructure is 12” x 12”. The space for the entrance hole (6” x 6”) is deducted from the total space for movement, leaving an area of 3,483.87 cm2.
4 animals – in a large shed or a specially designed 2-row shed
If you would like to work with four animals per cage com-partment, you will need to add another 850 cm2 to the floor area – making a total of 4,250 cm2 per cage compartment.
Floor area 4,250 cm2
The storeyed block from HG meets the space requirements. The lower storey features a standard 2,787.1 cm2 of floor space. With a partition depth of 24”, this translates into a floor area of 1,625.8 cm2 once the space for the entrance hole (6” x 6) has been deducted. The total area for movement is thus 4,412.9 cm2 per cage compartment.
PelsavisenCage sizes that comply with the WelFur certification regulations
Poland is about to introduce new and more stringent requirements that also meet the WelFur certification regulations regarding cage sizes
These are simply a few examples of the options HG offers. Please do not hesitate to con-tact us for details of other solutions. – All available for both 6- and 8-room cages.
12” (30.48 cm)
12”
1” (2.54 cm) 36” (91.4
4 cm)
9”
18” (
45.7
2 cm
)
18”
12”
18” (
45.7
2 cm
)
12”
12”
18”
18”
36”
12”
12”
24”
13
Seminar for European mink farmers
I n autumn 2016, HG or-ganised a range of semi-nars in Lithuania, for
example, and in three Polish cities: Poznań, Białystok and Kraków.
The theme of each seminar was targeted at the local market. In Poland, for in-stance, the seminars covered four main topics:
1) What can I do to make the most of my farm?2) How well are the Polish farmers succeeding, com- pared to their counterparts in other countries?3) Review of the new regula- tions on cage sizes in Poland.4) Kit drinking system and other new products.
We asked a number of people what they took away from the seminar. One of them is Maciej Figura, who runs two large and ultra-modern mink farms in Poland that house a total of 25,000 females.
“It was fantastic! The seminar took the form of a profes-sionally prepared PowerPoint presentation packed with ex-amples, photos, graphics and great visualisation in general. The topics chosen were highly relevant as well. Briefly put, it was an excellent opportunity to learn more about what’s happening in our industry,” he says.
Useful knowledge about high skin quality
Maciej Figura continues: “One of the things that caught my attention was the explana-tion of how to process the skin optimally throughout the pelting process. Every farmer knows that any mistake in the processing translates into a lower sales price, which naturally has a negative effect on the results of our work. In contrast, correctly performed cutting can increase the price per skin by as much as EUR 4–5!”
“Even though I was aware of many of the factors that can affect the result, I was surprised at how much im-pact good management and control have on your earn-ings. The market has recently demonstrated that farmers who produce large, good quality skins and velvet types do better than others. Farms that are unaffected by Aleu-tian disease also earn more because they produce more skins from each individual female.”
– and about HG’s kit drinking system
“I also think the automatic drinking system for kits looks like an interesting solution. Not only can it help reduce mortality among weak and dehydrated kits, but it is also sure to cut the repetitive and time-consuming work involved in filling water bot-tles by hand.” So says Maciej Figura.
The Lithuanian farmers also provided positive feedback on the HG seminar, which was held in the northern Siauliai region. One of the mink farm-ers who attended was Arvy-das Martinaitis, who certainly enjoyed the event.
“We really need seminars like this – especially when they are organised by a company with in-depth knowledge of our industry, and which presents innovative solu-tions designed specifically for our field of work. The topics covered at the seminar were highly relevant, and we were given useful, educational information about how we can boost our bottom line, for example. I’m also pleased the seminar was held locally, making it easy for us to get there and back,” says Arvydas Martinaitis.
More in 2017?
Wherever it was held, the HG seminar attracted between 25 and 55 mink farmers. Ac-cording to Olgierd Jacubowski, Sales Manager at HG Poland, the event was a huge success:
“Immediately after the semi-nars, we heard a lot of positive feedback from the farmers who took part. They were sur-prised at the information we have to share. A lot of them were unaware of how many – and which – factors have an impact on the quality of their production. I think the semi-nar will have inspired them to look at what improve-ments they can make to their everyday work processes to make the most of their input. And it’s my impression that the Polish farmers are hoping that we’ll be holding a simi-lar seminar over the coming year.” n
Hedensted Gruppen | March 2017
“We’re keen to share our knowledge about the different parameters you can adjust to ensure the best possible result out in the farms – and to lay out facts and figures for development in the industry,” says Jens Villadsen, Sales Manager at HG.
14
A fter just a year working in internal sales, Rasmus Holm Madsen has been named
HG’s new Service Manager. Rasmus will be taking over from Tom Krist-jansen, who, after 11 years with the HG – including a period as director of the Polish company – has decided to seek new professional challenges elsewhere.
New challenges were also high on Rasmus’ wish list back in 2015 when
he sent an unsolicited application to HG. “I’d heard it was a good place to work – a large company where you had every chance to develop your skills,” he relates.
Five years with one of the ‘big boys’
Although young, Rasmus has a fair amount of experience in the mink industry. “I actually started work as a 12-year-old. I found a job with Franz Struntze at Volbæk Minkfarm
in Aars, Denmark, where I spent my school years doing everything that no-one else wanted to do. When I finished school I wanted to be a farmer, specialising in mink, but I only completed half of the study programme because it involved far too much theory.”
So Rasmus returned to work at Franz’s farm, where he gradually made his way up the career ladder. When the decision was taken to
establish a large new pelting centre – Danpels – he was the one called upon to help with everything to do with the fittings, furnishings and logistics. As a result, Rasmus built up plenty of experience with the challenges that arise in pelting operations:
“We did pelting work for a lot of other farms, so we would be working with between 600,000 and 950,000 skins in a single season. If we had problems with the machines, we simply didn’t have time to wait for a service fitter to come out and fix them. I therefore have a pretty good idea of how the machines are built up and how they work. In fact, we had a lot of HG equip-ment at the large pelting plant – for cutting, skinning, scraping and drum processing – so I know the company’s range really well; as a user, too.”
Rasmus enjoyed working at Franz’s farm, but he eventually reached a point he knew was the end of the line there.
On the basis of his unsolicited ap-plication, Rasmus was invited in for an interview with the recruit-ment agency HG had commissioned when the company was looking for an extra sales consultant. Even though someone else was given that particular position, HG felt there was something special about Rasmus. The company therefore took him on in the department for internal sales – which was not exactly what Rasmus had been hoping for. And then one day in August last year, the CEO called Rasmus into his office.
Threw himself into it
“We had no doubt that with a lit-tle help, Rasmus would be able to handle the role of service manager,”
relates Jens Jørgen Madsen. Rasmus, however, had more than a few doubts; understandably ... At the tender age of 26, he was about to be given re-sponsibility for a department staffed by nine experienced smiths with a combined total of 121 years as service fitters at the same company. Right before the start of the pelting season!
The fitters themselves were natu-rally unsure as to whether young Rasmus was the man for the job. But he threw himself into it. And now, with a successful first pelting season behind him, Rasmus no longer has any doubts.
Young buck’s ambitions
“Of course, any experienced fitter is going to grumble a bit about a young buck like me suddenly turning up with plans to shake up all the patterns and the rhythm that have defined his working life for years. My view, however, is that all the fitters should all be equally well prepared to handle any challenge they might encounter in the pelting centres. At the same time, it’s hugely exciting to have the chance to work with these highly skilled and independent people. When it comes to servicing the machines, they naturally know a lot more than I do – and things are actually running pretty smoothly now,” states HG’s new service manager.
As to his own dreams and ambi-tions, Rasmus seems incapable of standing still for too long. “I’ve more than enough to do over the next few years, learning and building up experience as a middle manager. But in the long term it could be fun to be a ‘real’ manager,” he concludes. n
A young man with fire in his belly
How are the prospects in Denmark for a 27-year-old man whose aca-demic career stretched to finishing mandatory schooling and half a study programme at agricultural college? Pretty good, actually ...
1: Cage hook ready for nesting box lid. 2: Place the lid in the hooks. 3: Use a hammer to press the hooks back into place.
4: Use an electric screwdriver to secure the hooks.
Pelsavisen
Easy way to fit nesting box lids:
Product news
New ’gooseneck’
handle – closer to the straw board, but
still easy to open
15
”During my time in the industry, I’ve experienced
almost explosive develop-ment – particularly in the field of technology. Machines have almost completely taken over all the hard, manual work, es-pecially in the pelting centres. The units have become – and are becoming – bigger and bigger. As are the animals. I’d guess that on average they’ve increased by three sizes during my 25 years in the business.”
So says Henrik Mortensen, who, as something of a pioneer in many areas during his time at HG, has worn more than a
few different hats, primarily in the areas of sales and man-agement, marketing and prod-uct development. Today, he holds the position of Interna-tional Sales Manager and can celebrate 25 years of working in the mink industry.
At the age of 23, Henrik was of-ficially taken on by his parents’ company, called ‘Jemo’ at the time, of which he became joint owner shortly afterwards. Jemo developed and sold feeders and other equipment to mink farmers.
In the wake of the great crisis in the mink sector in 1992,
however, the industry under-went a range of structural changes – which, in the case of HG, entailed corporate acquisi-tions. When HG took over the family business in 1995, Henrik found himself transferred to the new organisation. From the prospect of having and run-ning ‘his own company’, Henrik suddenly had to get used to working as a sales consultant for HG, which employed only three travelling salesmen at that time, and only in Denmark.
Up and out into the world
New foreign markets such as those of Germany and Spain
were subsequently added, and the company then continued to expand, supplying the Baltic States, Greece, Poland and – over and above the Nordic countries, of course – the United States. Even though Henrik is officially International Sales Manager today, he still has customers in Denmark.
“I really enjoy working in all areas. I don’t mind whether the farms are large or small, based in Denmark or abroad. Wher-ever you go, you can always find inspiration and share it with others. And, naturally, it’s always good to have your pro-fessional skills challenged.
“I’ve been blessed with an incredible network of great people all over the world. In my immediate surroundings, too. The freedom I have in my job – to influence the com-pany’s development, goals and strategy, for instance – makes sure I’m ‘always on’, and pas-sionate about coming up with the best possible solutions for my customers. It’s almost like working for my own company, just without having the over-arching responsibility. I really am in my element here. So if you ask – yes, I’d love to give it another 25 years!” n
25 fantastic years in the sector
“It’s been a fantastic journey! Not only figuratively, from the perspective of the development that’s taken place in the sector, but literally, too. I don’t think there’s a mink producing country in the world I haven’t visited.”
Hedensted Gruppen | March 2017
www.hedensted-gruppen.dk | +45 75 89 12 44
We help boost your efficiency, because that determines the cost price.We also help boost size and quality, because that determines the sales price.
We at HG understand the importance of ensuring that efficiency goes hand in hand
with quality. We have devoted 40 years to powering the development of Danish mink
farming up to world-class level – in close collaboration with farmers and auction
houses. This approach allows us to exchange the knowledge and experience that
help promote product development in all areas of our range.
Henrik Mortensen +45 20 20 56 11Dorthe Antonsen +45 22 69 58 16Morten Aagren +45 27 79 37 07Olgierd Jakubowski +48 509 650 136
Nikos Papountzas +30 6941 40 44 64Tonny B. Rasmussen +45 30 88 13 31Ejnar Groot Rasmussen +33 498 000 894Giedrius Gedminas +37 0 614 14841
