Growing Healthy Pigs

Improving traceability and ensuring higher welfare pig production is key for the UK pig sector to thrive. To support this, MSD Animal Health UK is proud to launch LeeO Precision Farming B.V., an innovative, real-time monitoring system, which will allow UK producers to track individual pig and herd performance throughout their life cycle. From this data, producers and integrators will gain a better understanding of the health and welfare status of all pigs under their management and, ultimately, it will enable consumers to be more informed about where their pork comes from and how it has been produced. In this episode of the Growing Healthy Pigs podcast, Ingrid Potter, key account manager at MSD Animal Health UK, speaks to LeeO founder, Peter ter Linde, about the innovative technology behind LeeO and how it will benefit the UK pig sector from global use case examples. From the potential to replace slap-marking, to influencing management decisions on-farm, the introduction of LeeO provides the opportunity to revolutionise the UK pig sector.

At the PHM Respiratory Health Conference, which was held in Milton Keynes earlier this year, a number of industry experts and MSD Animal Health UK Ltd colleagues spoke about respiratory health in pigs and what can be done to protect this. Some of the speakers included MSD Animal Health UK veterinary technical manager Dr. Serena Shanahan and technical excellence manager Monika Ptaszynska-Sutton. Veterinary surgeon Jordi Baliellas explained how Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) is dealt with in Spain and Hugh Crabtree shared how correct housing and ventilation can support the performance of pigs. In this Growing Healthy Pigs podcast episode, you can hear some of the highlights from the conference.

In this special episode we’re giving a preview of what to expect from our upcoming respiratory conference taking place at the end of this month. We’ll be discussing the importance of respiratory health in pigs and how this can be proactively managed on-farm by producers and vets to help increase productivity, performance and welfare. To register your interest for the conference please email: [email protected]

In this episode, Serena Shanahan, Veterinary Technical Manager for MSD Animal Health UK Pigs, is joined by Ingrid Potter, MSD Animal Health UK Pigs Key Account Manager, to discuss the stress parameters surrounding pig vaccination and how combination vaccines can help combat this. Also joining us is Wayne Benefer, of North Farm Livestock, who shares his experiences of using combination vaccines across the pig sites he managers.

In this episode, we continue to explore technology and innovation in the pig sector by discussing freedom farrowing systems. We’ll be talking to one of our Growing Health Pigs ambassador farmers who has installed a freedom farrowing system on his farm to see what the benefits are and if these systems are the future of the pig sector in the UK.  

In this episode, we continue to explore technology and innovation in the pig sector by discussing the rise of robotics and how the novel technology is being used across the world to help producers and pigs alike. We're joined by Stephane Clement from Jyga Technologies in this episode to hear how robotics is being used in his country.

In this special episode, we’re giving a preview of what to expect from our upcoming Gut Health Roadshow taking place in September 2022 by discussing the importance of gut health in pigs and the benefits good gut health can have on productivity, performance and welfare. Ensuring pigs get the most from their feed and improve their feed conversion ratio starts with promoting good gut health.

The Growing Healthy Pigs podcast is back for season three and episode one is now available for you to listen to. This is the podcast for anyone involved in the pig sector who wants to hear first-hand from key industry players on the big issues faced by the sector. To kick off the series, our host, Ingrid Potter, considers the role of data collection on UK pig farms. Ingrid is joined by Marc Cox, from Agrisyst, and Carlos Pineiro from PigChamp Pro Europe to discuss the benefits which data, when used correctly, can bring to a farm by increasing productivity and profitability.  During this episode, we also consider the struggles that UK pig farms are coming up against when using data on-farm and why data isn’t being used to its full potential.

In the latest episode, we consider whether the UK pig sector is sustainable. Fiona Short, from CIEL (The Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock), joins the podcast to review the government’s net-zero carbon targets and discusses whether this is achievable for the sector. Later in the episode, one of our Growing Healthy Pigs Ambassadors, Ian Baker, discusses what sustainability means for his business and explains the changes he and his brother have made to be more sustainable. So, if you’re listening to us in the shed, tractor or in your kitchen while you rustle up some dinner, get comfy and stay tuned.

We’re bringing you a one-off, special edition podcast episode ahead of MSD Animal Health UK’s cross-sector opportunities conference, Integrate 2021 to be held on 10 November. Integrate 2021 is a pioneering, virtual conference providing the pig, poultry and aquaculture sectors with a rare opportunity to come together to initiate cross-sector learning, inspire new ways of thinking and facilitate industry networking. Presented by the host of our popular Growing Healthy Pigs podcast, Ingrid Potter, in this episode we’re talking to MSD Animal Health UK’s very own Rebecca Rivara about the upcoming event.