Two EuroTier Innovations Honoured with the Animal Welfare Award 2026 for Advancing Animal Welfare

Award ceremony at EuroTier 2026 – 10 to 13 November 2026 in Hanover, Germany – World's leading trade fair for professional animal farming and livestock management – Guiding theme: “Intelligence in Animal Farming” – Award recognizes outstanding contributions to higher animal welfare standards

This year, two innovations have been recognized with the Animal Welfare Award 2026 as part of the Innovation Award EuroTier 2026 scheme. The award was presented to WEDA Dammann & Westerkamp GmbH jointly with VetVise GmbH and to Lock GmbH SmartSolutions in cooperation with smaXtec GmbH.

The Animal Welfare Award is an additional distinction awarded exclusively to innovations that have already received a Gold or Silver Medal in the Innovation Award EuroTier competition. From this group of medal-winning innovations, products are selected that demonstrate exceptional benefits for animal welfare and animal health, particularly by promoting species-appropriate behaviour and supporting the health and well-being of animals.

The official award ceremony will take place during the Animal Health Event on 12 November 2026 at EuroTier 2026.

The Animal Welfare Award has been presented since 2018 by DLG (German Agricultural Society) in cooperation with the bpt (German Association of Practising Veterinarians). To qualify, an innovation must first receive either a Gold or Silver Medal in the Innovation Award EuroTier competition.

Winners of Animal Welfare Award 

Manufacturer: WEDA Dammann & Westerkamp GmbH

Product: Smart farrowing pen: AI-supported animal welfare analysis and adaptive barn control
Hall/stand: 17 B04
Joint development together with VetVise GmbH)

Explanatory text:

The farrowing phase makes particular demands on animal welfare, animal health and management in the farrowing pen. During this sensitive phase, the needs of sows and piglets differ significantly and change within a short space of time. Continuous animal monitoring as well as the quick and needs-based adjustment of feeding and the pen climate are therefore of particular importance.

WEDA's smart farrowing pen employs a camera-based, AI-supported assistance system that continuously analyses the behaviour of sows and piglets. For example, an impending birth can be recognised on the basis of characteristic behavioural changes and the sow's feeding can be adjusted accordingly. Amongst other aspects, the system registers the piglets' use of, and lying behaviour in, the piglet nest after birth. This enables the actual heat requirements to be assessed better and allows the nest heating to be controlled as required. Conspicuous behavioural patterns can also be identified early on and indicated to the support personnel.

Directly linking AI-supported animal monitoring and automated control represents a particularly innovative approach. While conventional systems are based primarily on fixed time programs or individual climate parameters, the smart farrowing pen is oriented towards the animals' actual behaviour and the needs determined from it.

The system therefore enables care that is more appropriate to the situation for sows and piglets, assists the support personnel and helps to specifically adapt the husbandry conditions to the animals' needs. WEDA's smart farrowing pen consequently represents an innovative approach to improving animal health and animal welfare in pig farming and is therefore being presented with the Animal Welfare Award 2026.

Short text:

WEDA's smart farrowing pen combines AI-supported animal monitoring with the automated adjustment of feeding and the pen climate. The system analyses the behaviour of sows and piglets in real time, recognises changes and responds according to needs. This significantly improves animal health and animal welfare in pig farming during the critical farrowing phase.

Manufacturer: Lock GmbH LockDrives Lock SmartSolutions
Product: SmartCalving
Hall/stand: 12 D58

Joint development with smaXtec GmbH

Explanatory text:

Cattle are particularly vulnerable to all kinds of stress factors around the time of calving, as a result of which their immune system is weakened and the risk of infectious and non-infectious diseases such as ketosis and hypocalcaemia is increased. One of these stress factors can be the barn climate (heat stress, draughts, concentrations of noxious gases). Active regulation of the barn climate contributes directly to improving the welfare of cattle. Products such as fans, automatic gates and adjustable wind protection curtains have frequently been installed, particularly due to repeated confrontation with heat stress in recent years. These systems can already be controlled by means of sensors on the basis of climate factors. If local adjustment to the particular requirements of the peripartal cow and her newborn calf is needed, however, this has had to be carried out manually to date.

SmartCalving uses a signal transmitted directly from the animal (bolus technology) to control the climate in the calving pen within the barn. This provides both the cow and the calf with a protected, climatically optimised environment, contributing to a healthier start to life and lactation respectively.

Thanks to direct data processing, up to and including automated reaction, SmartCalving therefore represents a valuable innovation for improving the health and welfare of cattle, and is consequently being presented with the Animal Welfare Award 2026.

Short text:

For the first time, SmartCalving controls the barn climate in the calving area on the basis of data collected directly in the animal by means of bolus technology. This ensures that both the cow and the calf are provided with an environment that is optimised according to their needs during the birthing period. Smart adjustment of the barn climate reduces stress, promotes health and well-being and improves care during this particularly sensitive phase.

Media contact

Malene Conlong
+49 69 24788-237
m.conlong@dlg.org

DLG. Progress and sustainability in the agriculture and food industry

The DLG (German Agricultural Society), founded in 1885 by Max Eyth, stands for productivity and sustainability in innovation-driven improvements in agriculture and the food chain. The aim of the DLG is to promote progress through the transfer of knowledge - especially with regard to technology and quality control. Non-profit, politically independent and with an international network, the DLG has more than 30,000 members worldwide.

As one of the leading organizations in its sector, the DLG not only organizes trade fairs and events in the fields of agriculture and food technology but also tests food, agricultural technology and equipment. With its competence centers for agriculture and food, its demonstration farm where practical trials take place along with its numerous publications, the DLG continually promotes independent knowledge transfer. In addition, the DLG works on numerous national and international committees of experts to develop solutions for the challenges facing agriculture and the food industry.

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