EU to Enforce “Feed-Loss Tax” from July 2026: Wet-Dry Stations and Sensor Drinkers Become Must-Have Hardware for Pig & Poultry Farms
Created on：2025-10-28 11:20
EU to Enforce “Feed-Loss Tax” from July 2026: Wet-Dry Stations and Sensor Drinkers Become Must-Have Hardware for Pig & Poultry Farms
Brussels, 27 Oct 2025 — The Council of the European Union formally adopted the Animal-Husbandry Resource Efficiency Directive (ARED) last Friday, setting the world’s first mandatory ceiling on wasted feed and drinking water. From 1 July 2026 every commercial pig or poultry unit over 250 head will pay a levy of €18 per tonne of feed that ends up on the slat or pit floor, and €0.45 per m³ of water that disappears as spillage. National inspectors will use random weigh-band and flow-meter audits; farms that fail the test twice lose green-loan eligibility.
Why the sudden crack-down?
1.EU feed mills produced 159.4 million t in 2024, yet 11.3 % never passed an animal’s gullet—enough to supply Germany’s entire pig herd for 14 months.
2.Spilled water is the single biggest driver of slurry volume, adding €1.2 billion in hauling costs across the bloc each year.
3.Consumer surveys show 63 % of shoppers now link “wasted feed” to deforestation and higher food prices.
Technology scramble begins
Early adopters in the Netherlands and Denmark are already retrofitting wet-dry feeders and sensor-controlled drinkers to beat the tax. On 1 September, Kloosterboer Varkens (6,000-sow, NL) finished swapping 120 dry feeders for wet-dry stations with integral 360° water nipples. After seven weeks the farm recorded:
Feed waste down from 2.9 % to 0.8 %—worth €11,600 per 1,000 finishers annually.
Water spillage cut 38 %, shrinking slurry volume by 1.8 million L yr⁻¹ and saving €9,100 in hauling fees.
FCR improved 0.14 points, translating into +4.2 kg extra live-weight per tonne of feed.
What hardware meets ARED?
1.Wet-dry feeder for finishers (model ZWF-120)
304 stainless trough, 120 cm, 8 pigs per station.
Side-mounted nipple (450 ml min⁻¹ @ 2 bar) + stainless drip-cup returns 92 % of residual water.
Load-cell kit sends feed disappearance data every 15 min; auger shuts when trough empty >6 min—key to hit the ≤1 % loss rule.
2.360° poultry cup drinker (model ZPC-06)
●Gravity-close float, 45° lip; birds drink residual film, cutting waste to 1.6 %.
●Snap-in PP cup rated 85 °C for pressure-wash sanitation.
3.Pig nipple drinker (model ZMD-30S)
●Low-torque side trigger (≤0.8 N) stops playful loss; silicone return channel directs drips back into cup—spillage <2 % vs 7 % for standard bite nipples.
Market ripple
Rabobank expects at least 28 % of the EU-27’s 11.3 million sow places and 35 % of its 2.1 billion broiler places to replace drinkers or feeders within 18 months. Stainless-steel demand for livestock hardware is forecast to jump 190,000 t yr⁻¹, adding upward pressure to already-high nickel prices.
Need quotation, house drawings or fast-track delivery to beat the July 2026 deadline?
Contact: Felix Tian
Tel: +86 135 8924 5568 (WeChat / WhatsApp)
Email: felix@zhmit.com