profits
Healthy porkers up
profits
Paying more attention to
animal health on all farms
could reap large financial
rewards for pig producers.
Shelley Wright reports
PIG farmers can make dramatic financial savings if they pay closer attention to animal health.
The losses associated with pig health problems were highlighted at an SAC pig seminar in Aberdeen last week when Aberdeen University researcher Jamie Robertson said that the only way that Scotlands remaining pig farmers could differentiate their product and achieve premium prices was if they could show that the quality was genuinely better.
Improved health management was an excellent starting point, he suggested.
Sow numbers in Scotland had fallen by 4000 to 55,000 between June and September this year. "The challenge is to find a way to get more from less," he said.
The average pig growth rate from weaning to slaughter was 640g/day. That had to be improved if the industry was to be compete with EU countries where growth rates are higher. "I would suggest the problem we have here is chronic loss from ongoing herd health problems."
Too often, disease management in the UK tended to be reactive, with treatment administered only when the problem was having a significant impact. But Mr Robertson said the chronic losses from the principal enteric and respiratory diseases cost millions of £s each year.
"Many of the primary pathogens that cause or initiate the diseases are present on most farms. It is unlikely they can be eliminated on farms for more than a short period, so we need to control the pathogens in a way that allows a healthy immune system to develop in the pigs to minimise impact of the pathogens."
With the biggest financial losses on any pig farm being a result of chronic disease, every farmer could do something to improve profitability by tackling animal health problems more effectively.
"For example, 70% of pig farms are positive for mycoplasma. And even 10% lung damage in an animal as a result can reduce daily liveweight gain by 5%.
"About £250,000 is being lost a week from the UK pig industry simply because of lung damage."
Mr Robertson urged pig farmers to look to the huge progress made in the broiler industry in recent years. "Lung damage in pigs is down to dust and ammonia concentration. That is something all producers can do something about.
"Think about cleaning up the environment. The broiler industry looked at building design and invested a lot of money. But as a result, mortality has dropped, growth rates have improved and they are at the stage where they can almost abandon the need for wholesale antibiotic use."
As well as environmental factors, stress on animals was another key point on which to focus to cut disease problems.
"Stocking density is an example. The figures for ideal stocking densities are now prescribed and there is no reason, other than not paying sufficient attention, why there should be overstocking on any unit.
"Your buildings dont change so you should know exactly how many pigs can be in each building. If you exceed that number then the chances are that you are introducing stress and the animals are more likely to run into disease problems."
Better health on pig units could help boost profitability.
PIGHEALTHCONCERNS
• Chronic loss from ongoing problems.
• Reactive rather than preventative approach.
• Tackle animal health more proactively.