Blog: Kerri’s placement draws to a close

This is my last blog – 11 months completed and just under a month to go until I finish my Pig Industry Scholarship placement. It has flown by!

The last few weeks have been the favourite part of my placement. I had the opportunity to attend the British Society of Animal Science (BSAS) conference and Pig and Poultry Fair, as well as spending time on-farm working with free farrowing systems.

Attending the BSAS conference was fascinating as I was able to learn about the latest research being completed across the pig sector, from milk supplementation to creep lights and lots more. I also chatted to PhD students about their learnings, as well as their pathway through completing a PhD, as I would love to do one in the future. It was fantastic to get out to an event and socialise in person, and to make contacts for later in my career.

Following BSAS, I spent two weeks on-farm learning about full free farrowing systems e.g. PigSAFE. To work with these types of system, it is crucial that stockpeople are calm and that they make the sow aware they’re entering the pen or room. Some people like to carry radios with them and this helps the sow recognise the stockperson is working in the area.

The stockpeople on both farms I worked on most recently emphasized how important it is to observe the sow’s behaviour, especially 48 hours prior to farrowing and immediately afterwards – this is when the sow is at her most defensive and can show aggressive tendencies. Although I used to talk to sows in conventional crated systems when I was working in the pen, I recognise I was never fully zoned into the sow’s behaviour as she was confined. It’s a different ball game with full free farrowing systems and it certainly kept me on my toes!

At the Pig & Poultry Fair I saw some farrowing systems that I haven’t worked with before, and I got straight into the pens to figure out the mechanics of how they worked! I have loved every minute of completing the loose lactation case studies that I’ve been involved with on my placement, and which AHDB will be sharing the findings from over the coming months. I also spoke to some French sales staff to learn about pig farming in France. I worked on a dairy farm in the Loire Valley some time ago and experienced French farming cooperatives, specifically shared machinery, however, I learned that pig producers have their own cooperatives to sell their pigs and to enable them to have more power over the processer. They also explained how some producers are exploring the concept of increased water intake 48 hours prior to farrowing as a possible indicator of when a sow will farrow. 

Without sounding clichéd, my placement has changed my life. The practical experience I gained at Bedfordia will forever be the foundation of my career in the pig industry and I have met some truly amazing farmers over the last year. However, the story doesn’t end here as I will soon be completing a third placement with Devenish Nutrition, in my homeland of Northern Ireland.

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