I'm damned if I'm going to run around for a ham sandwich.

In our natural environment we would be damned for having that attitude. Resources are finite, if we hadn't invented artificial fertiliser we wouldn't be able to create such vast quantities of food, without relatively recent discoveries like that, we wouldn't be able to support our current population. It would be ignorant to assume we can continue like this forever. Maybe a slight attitude change towards the way we consume resources would be a good thing? Here's the right back atchya.

If it's all the same to you, I'll keep modern agricultural practices and science. And more importantly, I'll let someone else make my cider for me too

I need a little help, once again...

We use a lot of "Peitschenshalter" on the slaughter line, to register when a carcass reaches a certain point on the line...

This is essentially a small microswitch with a long metal bar attached to it. When a carcass moves past the switch, it pushes the bar, which causes the switch to register, then it "whips" back into position once the pig has moved past - hence the German name "whip switch". The trouble is, I can't for the life of me think what the English name for such a switch is; it seems to be just behind the tip of my tongue, but it won't come out...

If it's counting then a counter switch or tally counter.

If not counting then what is it actually doing?

I've never heard of that kind of switch before (definitely not having a specific name anyway) but it sounds like a turnstyle or gate system.

I know that it isn't one of these but I thought they might trigger your memory?

HTH

Other than that I would use counter switch as Matt suggested.

Would it be a toggle switch? Or a contact switch? Or maybe a snap action switch?

Or you could just say a micro-switch activated by a large metal pole...?

The switches we use at work to say if a component is underneath it or not is called a - Detection Switch (non contact in our case)

It sends a signal to the PLC (programmable logic controller) or a terminal to tell it that a pig has reached a certain position. It works in the same was as a photo-electric cell, but instead of the pig breaking the light beam, the pig physically pushes the metal bar out of the way, triggering the switch, then it springs back into position afterwards.

Edit: Detection Switch sounds good. Thanks.

I'd go for this.