China’s 26-storey pig skyscraper ready to slaughter 1 million pigs a year
A 26-storey "pig skyscraper" in Ezhou, Hubei province, China, operated by Hubei Zhongxin Kaiwei Modern Farming, is the world's largest single-building pig farm. The facility aims to produce 1.2 million pigs annually, utilizing 800,000 square meters of floor space to house roughly 650,000 pigs at once.The $600 million vertical pig farm operates largely through automation, feeding, cleaning, and monitoring more than half million hogs annually. Equipped with closed-loop air systems, automated waste management, and real-time health tracking, it still requires technicians for maintenance, and claims like “zero odor” remain uncertain. The model reflects China’s need to address limited land and rising labor costs by building upward to secure pork supply. Its global impact is significant: increased domestic production could reduce reliance on EU and US imports, while large-scale hog farming sustains strong demand for corn and soybeans.
At the same time, a more stable pork supply supports predictable pricing, influencing broader commodity markets—though critics caution that such density may heighten disease risks: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/25/chinas-26-storey-pig-skyscraper-ready-to-produce-1-million-pigs-a-year