SciGene has launched its first high-health boar station in Southwest China through a joint venture with Maikanghong. Located in Chuxiong, Yunnan province, the station will house 400 boars and produce over 500,000 PRRSV-negative semen doses annually. Featuring advanced biosecurity and automated systems, the facility marks SciGene’s expansion into the region and supports its strategy of high-performance, heavy-weight genetics. The opening also coincides with the market launch of SciGene’s premium Meihei breeding pigs, previously available only via semen.
Chinese genetics company SciGene has officially opened its first boar station in Southwest China, establishing a new genetic improvement base in Chuxiong, Yunnan province. The project marks the company’s debut in the region and is being developed under a joint venture model—also a first for SciGene.
The new station, registered under the name Yunnan SciGene Maikanghong Genetics Technology Co., is located in Mouding County, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture. It was developed in partnership with Maikanghong, a Fujian-based agribusiness investor, with SciGene holding the majority stake. Designed to house 400 boars, the facility has the capacity to produce over 500,000 doses of PRRSV-negative semen per year.
Modern infrastructure and robust biosecurity
The new high-health boar station follows a high-standard U.S.-style layout and will source only the top 30% of boars from SciGene’s genetic nucleus. The five breeds introduced include Duroc, Large White, Landrace, Pietrain, and the company’s proprietary Meihei line. The station’s renewal rate is projected at 100% annually.
Built in a mountainous area away from residential zones, the farm is equipped with sub-high-efficiency air filtration (semi-HEPA filtration system) and BASF water purification systems to ensure biosecurity. Pig housing uses AirWorks designs with fully automated feeding lines, supported by central air conditioning to maintain indoor temperatures between 18°C and 22°C throughout the year.
The site also features advanced semen collection and processing equipment from Minitube, including an automatic semen collection system, CASA semen analysis, and fully automated dilution, packaging, and sealing lines via BSP systems.
“Southwest, here we come—with genetic solutions”
“The launch of this boar station signals our strategic entry into Southwest China, backed by a full suite of genetic solutions.” said Shuangbin Li, Chairman and CEO of SciGene. He emphasized the company’s continued commitment to selecting for high-performance, heavy-weight genetics, with standard testing at 135kg live weight at 24 weeks. “This meets the demand among local producers for pigs that grow larger and earn more,” he added.
SciGene began its breeding journey in 2013 in collaboration with a global genetics partner, sharing access to international data to compensate for a lack of domestic historical records. The company went independent in 2019 and has since pioneered the use of big data breeding, value-based selection, and full-chain breeding strategies.
It was also among the first in China to develop and apply UHF RFID ear tags for real-time tracking of offspring performance across environments—an innovation addressing the genotype-by-environment interaction (how genetic performance varies across environmental conditions) challenge in breeding. SciGene remains the only Chinese company to have developed and applied CT scanning to measure thoracic traits in live pigs.
SciGene Chuxiong Boar Station
Growing genetic footprint
The company currently operates five R&D breeding bases (nucleus farms), four production core farms, four multiplication farms, and nine boar stations. Each year, it supplies over 500,000 breeding pigs and more than 5 million high-quality semen doses to the market.
From 2022 to 2024, SciGene sold over 620,000 breeding pigs and 11.38 million doses of semen, contributing to the production of an estimated 145 million market pigs nationwide. In 2024 alone, the company recorded CNY 1.77 billion (USD 249 million) in sales and CNY 270 million (USD 38 million) in net profits.
Maikanghong, the joint venture partner, has been active in the Yunnan swine market since 2017, operating sow farms in Chuxiong and Diqing, with a total sow inventory of around 6,000 head.
Meihei boar now commercially available
Coinciding with the opening of the Chuxiong boar station, SciGene also announced that its well-known “”Zhenxiang Meihei”” line will now be available as live breeding stock. Known for its high intramuscular fat (top 30% of individuals averaging 6% intramuscular fat content) and excellent meat quality, the Meihei line had previously been available only via semen.
Several premium meat brands in China have already worked with the line. SciGene stated that the move to offer live pigs reflects growing industry interest and marks a shift in its intellectual property protection strategy for this proprietary breed.
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