Relative efficiency and cost of different cleaning and disinfecting processes for pig farms

A group of trials were carried out involving the mains steps of pig farm cleaning and disinfecting process. For each of them, two possibilities of implementation were assessed, refering to a standard. Various monitoring methods based both on bacteriological items and TPA measurement were used to valuate and optimize the process efficiency. Labor time, water and commercial products consumption were recorded as far as investment and specific equipment were approached.The economic incidences of the different techniques were compared within a cost price model.With respect to global efficiency, the results lead to define an optimized cleaning and disinfecting process including the following steps: applying the detergent after cleaning, emptying and cleaning the indoor slurry pits, performing a second disinfection by the way of thermonebulisation or foams, and drying the room as quickly as possible by heating after disinfection.Besides, using an automatic soaking system, applying the detergent before cleaning or using foam disinfection enable to reduce the cost price, mainly by dumping out the requested labour time.