Although most farming enterprises are still in traditional Danish family ownership, the huge environmental investments required today tend to favour the larger, more specialised pig production units. Farmers with a high level of training and professional skill in the most modern environmental solutions are also better equipped to take on the challenges ahead.

Farmers’ interaction with the environment is also guided by the need to adhere to rigorous national legislation, such as the Environmental Approval of Animal Production Act and the Agreement on the Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment III 2005-2015.

In order to demonstrate the balance in his production, every Danish pig farmer prepares annual accounts, documenting the number of animal units, farm area and amount of slurry produced. These accounts must be formally approved by the authorities. Following the Danish tradition for openness, this information is publicly available on the Internet at www.pdir.dk, where data on any individual Danish pig farmer may be downloaded (in Danish).