Farmer Focus: Industry unite against pig disease

Our wood-pellet boiler has now been extended to supply heat for the whole farm and is working really well. It’s has been great not having to buy heating oil.

However, I still haven’t received any renewable heat incentive payment yet with a seemingly never-ending list of compliance issues.

I am sure we will get through these administrative issues, but a little professional help is needed.

See also: Read more from our other Livestock Farmer Focus writers

Looking back to when I started my pig farm back in 1996, heating oil was 9p/litre and now it is in about 55p/litre. If only pig prices had increased five-fold.

American producers are having a difficult time with porcine epidemic diarrhoea, a debilitating disease, which causes scours in young piglets and very high mortality. It is a worry, as the UK does not need another easily spread disease.

Reports suggest it is taking time for immunity to build in affected herds until losses come under control.

I hope our breeding companies have the sense to stop all imports of live animals, as very little contamination appears to be needed to infect an entire herd leaving imported feed at risk of being tainted.

Let’s hope we can keep Northern Ireland free from this and diseases other countries are struggling with.

With these diseases in mind, Pig Regen the levy body responsible for disease, education and research in Northern Ireland along with Irish producers, has been working on a pig-health strategy for Ireland, taking a whole-island approach for not only keeping disease out, but also improving health.

Hopefully, this will encourage all involved in our industry to follow good practice.

Andrew McCrea farms a 740-sow birth-to-bacon business and 150 beef cattle on 37ha. Andrew is a DARD Focus Farmer and was 2010 Farmers Weekly Pig Farmer of the Year