How a data-driven mindset
turned Olof Ahlby into a smarter pig producer with ProGrow
When Olof Ahlby bought his pig farm back in 2001, he already had deep roots in agriculture. Growing up on a farm on the island of Gotland, Sweden, and later running his own operation with around 7,500 slaughter pigs a year, he knew the rhythms of production by heart. But even with 25 years of experience, he felt something was missing - he wanted faster insights. He wanted to stop guessing. And he wanted to move beyond manual weighing that told him too little, too late. That search led him to ProGrow. Olof had heard about the system years ago, and the early conversations with SKOV’s Sales Manager, Ingemar Fransson, stayed with him.
I wanted to see results from my production much sooner and avoid making manual weighings.
It was not a question of starting over or changing his philosophy. It was about turning experience into cutting-edge precision. ProGrow would turn out to be exactly what he needed for his daily production.
A farm that "thinks" in real time
Today, checking ProGrow is part of Olof’s daily work routine. Every morning, every afternoon, every time something feels "off," he opens the app. Not because he must - but because every glance tells him something useful.
I check up on ProGrow every day.
One specific habit has become incredibly valuable: keeping an eye on the maximum weight in each pen. That small detail has rewritten how he plans slaughter logistics. Instead of waiting for visual cues or guesswork, he now knows exactly when the first pigs are ready.
I check the maximum weight quite often… then I know whether I should plan to send pigs for slaughter.
When behavior tells a bigger story
One of the initial important lessons was observed in the resting behavior of the pigs. A sudden change happened; they stopped resting in their usual spots and instead settled on the slatted area, which they usually avoid. This was unusual behavior, indicating that something was wrong, and ProGrow detected it immediately.
The number of daily weighings dropped. Not because the system failed - but because the pigs no longer walked to the feeding area where the cameras measured them.
We could clearly see the change in behavior because the number of weighings was dropping significantly.
Olof combined that insight with his knowledge of optimal climate conditions for pigs and their behavior. Temperatures. Airflow. Settings. Suddenly, a small behavioral shift became a warning signal - from the pigs themselves.
We can evaluate if something is not optimal and might need an adjustment in the climate settings.
In other words, behavior became the early warning, while ProGrow became the lens that made it visible. A sudden drop in weighings was not a data gap - it was the pigs signaling that something needed attention. By pairing those signals with SKOV settings, Olof could adjust before performance slipped, not after. That is when ProGrow stops being a graph and starts being operational awareness - instantly showing what is changing in the pen, so the right corrections can be done at the right time.
From insight to actioin - faster
ProGrow did not just give Olof visibility on what is happening in the production. It also gave him the ability to react faster, too.
He recalled a moment when daily gain suddenly dropped. Nothing made sense at first - until he remembered a new supply of feed concentrate. By matching the delivery timing to the drop in growth, the answer became obvious.
It turned out the quality of the new concentrate was not satisfactory… when we changed it, the daily gain started to grow as expected.
What might have been a slow, expensive week turned into a day where everything was corrected in time - because the data from ProGrow made the cause visible instantly.
To avoid forgetting important thoughts, ideas, and actions, Olof comments directly in the graphs so actions and outcomes stay connected.
I add comments, so I remember important actions… I would otherwise forget what happened during a batch.
It also gives him the confidence to experiment - new feed types, water additives, procedures - knowing he will see the effect immediately and can slam the brakes if needed.
I get quick feedback… and can quickly go back to what works best.
Delivering the right pigs at the right time
Maximum weight per pen has become one of Olof's favorite signals. It turns sorting into timing - not guessing.
I use the information about max. weight in the pens to evaluate when I should sort out the slaughter pigs.
With that single view and data, the biggest pigs leave earlier than before. That means fewer overweight pigs on his farm - and no expensive last‑day feeding.
I now send the largest pigs for slaughter earlier… 5–10% used to be too heavy. That is down. The sooner I sort them, the more I save on feed.
In short: timing is money - and ProGrow gives him both.
Sharing success - and planning for more
Olof is not quiet about tools that work. He has demonstrated ProGrow to fellow pig producers in Gotland, recommended it, and already plans to install more systems on his farm.
I plan to invest in more ProGrow systems… I am just waiting to get the offer.
He also highlights how valuable it has been for his service partner to be able to access his SKOV controller remotely.
He could access it remotely very quickly and check my climate settings if something was not set up correctly.
Looking ahead, Olof sees even more potential. As more batches are completed, he is excited about comparing growth phases - week 2, week 4, week 8 - and finding new areas to improve.
Then I can more easily see if there are certain growth phases where I could improve.