Pig Producers Reinforcing Disease Defences
Following a series of Focus on Health conferences, more than a third of pig producers have said they intend to review ways of improving defences against pig disease.
Robin Brice, from Rattlerow Farms, explained how they aim to maintain good health status, having invested several years in eradicating PRRS in one unit.
Good cleaning and disinfection is cited as vital to biosecurity, but Brice stressed "that alone is no good if there is a risk of vermin re-introducing disease. Vermin control has to go hand in hand with cleaning and disinfection."
Good stockmanship is also cited as central to pig health, as it makes the earlier spotting of clinical signs of disease easier, which in turn leads to a solution being reached more quickly.
Meanwhile, the importance of vaccinations was also emphasised, with Brice commenting: "We make sure we vaccinate at the optimum timing to benefit the pig, rather than just to suit our own routine. "
For more information on the presentations given at the conferences, and to access BPEX factsheets, click here.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
