Electronic Ear Tag-Based Full-Chain Intelligent Pig Breeding Technology Selected as Major Leading Agricultural Technology
Enshi Prefecture Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Service Center reports (by Chen Xi, source: Enshi Prefecture Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Service Center) that from birth to market, the pedigree information, growth data, nutritional requirements and even genetic value of a pig can all be precisely traced through electronic ear tags. Recently, the “Digital Intelligent Breeding Equipment Technology for the Entire Chain of Pigs” jointly developed by Guangxi Yangxiang Group and Huazhong Agricultural University was successfully selected as a major leading technology in agriculture in 2025, marking that China’s pig breeding has officially entered the digital age. This technology builds a full life cycle management system of “one pig, one code” through electronic ear tags and has been applied on a large scale in many breeding enterprises across the country, with the genetic progress of the core population increasing by more than 20%.
“Traditional breeding relies on ‘visual observation and handwritten notes’, with scattered data and large errors. It is difficult to precisely pass on superior genes to the commercial generation.” ” Liu Bang, the technical director of the project and a professor at Huazhong Agricultural University, explained. In response to this industry pain point, the R&D team took electronic ear tags as the data entry point and built a full-chain management system covering “great-grandparents – grandparents – parents – product generations”. Each pig is equipped with an electronic ear tag within 24 hours after birth. Its unique code runs through the entire process of breeding, rearing and disease prevention. Combined with intelligent devices such as group feeding instruments and precision feeding instruments, it can automatically collect growth traits, reproductive data and nutritional requirements.
At a core breeding farm of Yangxiang Group, the reporter saw that the staff could complete the genetic assessment of pigs through the background system. Based on the life cycle data of over 100,000 pigs collected by electronic ear tags, the large model algorithm can automatically match the optimal male and female mating combinations to maximize hybrid vigor. Previously, it took three months to sort out the data for seed selection. Now, the system generates evaluation reports in real time, and the accuracy of selection and matching has increased by 40%. The person in charge of the breeding farm introduced that after applying this technology, the feed-to-meat ratio of the offspring of Duroc and crossbreed sows decreased by 0.12, the growth cycle of 30-120kg was shortened by 4.64 days, and the cost per pig was reduced by about 50 yuan.
The value of this technical system has extended to the entire industry. In the demonstration applications of enterprises such as Luoniu Mountain in Hainan and Green Junong in Jiangxi, the precise feeding and intelligent environmental control system connected by electronic ear tags has increased feed utilization by 8% and reduced the ammonia concentration in the sheds by 30%. What is more worthy of attention is its potential for grain savings – based on the national annual output of 700 million commercial pigs, this technology can save 44 kilograms of grain per pig, with a total annual grain savings of over 30 million tons, creating a social benefit of 35 billion yuan.
Experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs stated that the promotion of digital and intelligent breeding technology for the entire chain of pigs not only solves the “bottleneck” problem in China’s seed industry but also promotes cost reduction and efficiency improvement at the breeding end through data empowerment. With the deep integration of electronic ear tags and AI algorithms, it is expected that a national joint breeding platform will be established in the future, providing technical support for ensuring seed industry security and food security.