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PorganiX
- An efficient program for producing
robust organic replacement gilts

The purpose of PorganiX is to establish the first, Danish organic core livestock for breeding purposes and create knowledge, so the organic farmer kan select the best gilts for organic breeding goals. For organic farmers, important traits are low mortality, weaning of many robust pigs and a high meat percentage at the time of slaughtering. Phenotypic and genetic information on these traits in both males and females will be collected from the core breeding livestock. We will develop new methods within genomic selection, which combine the phenotypic and genetic information from both crossbred and purebred individuals. The best individuals in relation to the organic production form can then be selected and sold as production animals to the organic pig producers. In cooperation with the breeding and production livestock, the project will calculate a cost/benefit analysis for the use of genomic selection in the core livestock, and for the production of piglets with organic gilts, selected for an organic breeding goal. The most important result from PorganiX will be the possibility of offering all Danish, organic and free range producers organically bred gilts, genetically selected according to an organic breeding goal, which not only weights high profit but also high animal welfare and sustainability; essential values for further growth in the organic pig producing sector.


The Danish Agricultural Agency’s subsidy programme GUDP has granted close to 9.5 mio. DKK to the PorganiX project, active from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020.

Project participants