AHI prioitises testing of salmonella strains

During the conference, the Irish Farmers’ Association’s (IFA) Pigs Committee chair, Roy Gallie, outlined the AHI-led strategy to identify specific strains of salmonella in Irish pig herds. The existing tests for salmonella infection being undertaken at pig-processing plants, do not identify the individual strains of the bacterium that may be present in the pigs being tested.
To rectify this shortfall in infection data, AHI has set up a Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health (TASAH), through which on-farm serological tests will be carried out that have the capacity to identify the strains of salmonella that may be present in the herd. It will be a fully funded service and is voluntary in nature for participating pig producers.

Cross-infection danger

The rationale for this AHI intervention is that while there are several salmonella strains that can cause infection in humans, there is a coincidence between the two more serious serotypes that cause the greatest pig-health challenges on pig-production farms and those most commonly associated with human infection from the consumption of pigmeat products. These are Salmonella typhimurium (ST) and monophasic Salmonella typhimurium (mST). The ease of transmission between pigs and humans is the driving motivation to engage in this new initiative to determine the breadth of infection as well as the targeted identification of specific strains on Irish pig farms.
This is not a theoretical, clinical exercise. At stake is the potential reputational damage to Irish pigmeat, should there be a case of human infection directly identifiable as having been transmitted from our pig herd or produce. There is a European dimension in terms of salmonella disease surveillance and, as AHI has confirmed, there are higher-than-average levels of infection of these specific salmonella strains among our pig herds.

Targeted control strategies

Ultimately, in order to control, if not eliminate, the infection in pig herds, specific farm-targeted control programmes will have to be put in place. Adding to the complexity of the initiatives being planned is the fact that most of the targeted ST and mST strains isolated from pigs and pork products, are resistant to at least three antibiotics, as confirmed by AHI. That fact intensifies the necessity of accurately identifying the salmonella serotype present and then formulating a viable control. AHI advisory strategies propose farm-specific control plans to be drawn up in conjunction with a farmer’s vet. These may also include vaccination, hygiene programmes, external and internal biosecurity and other actions as proposed by the vet in attendance.
Of reassurance to pig producers is the fact that the TASAH involvement is voluntary and cost-free with funding being provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It is also not intended to be part of Bord Bia’s quality standards. It is understood that if farmers do proceed with implementing any proposed control protocols there would be costs involved at that stage. However, apart from the health and productivity benefits of reduced salmonella challenge, there would be a more broad-based disease suppression benefit from the introduction and adoption of a control programme.

Applicable research findings

Aisling Holmes, who is based at Teagasc’s pig research centre in Moorepark, focussed on improving growth performance in the early stage of a pig’s life. She noted that there is an ongoing improvement in productivity on Irish pig farms, quoting figures from the Teagasc Profit Monitor which show a 36 per cent increase in average born-alive figures between 2000 and 2020. Aisling then went on to highlight research into building on those figures by improving productivity in the farrowing house. Outcomes from the Moorepark research included a lift in average piglet birth weight from 1.3kg to 1.5kg from 2021 to 2022 – a 15 per cent increase. Average weaning weight also showed a significant improvement rising from 8.1kg to 8.7kg – a 7.4 per cent increase. These performance figures compare favourably to those compiled in the profit monitors from commercial farms. Aisling outlined a range of factors that drove those productivity improvements, including genetics, sow diet, management and creep feed. She then homed in on the productivity gains to be made from two specific actions: sow feeding and creep feeding, and their strong influence on performance. She urged producers to review their lactating sow diet and asked them to consider whether the sows could eat more during their lactation. The Moorepark pig researcher also asked that creep recipes be examined with a view to increasing intakes, possibly with an increase in milk product content to improve consumption. Emphasising the attention to detail required to improve productivity in the young piglet, Aisling described changes in levels of creep feed availability and the impact of introducing new delivery systems at Moorepark. She outlined how these measures helped to improve intakes at this critical growth stage.

The ease of transmission between pigs and humans is the driving motivation to engage in this new initiative

Irish and international insights

The Teagasc pig conference proceedings encompassed a range of insightful research and commercial pig production experiences of value to producers. Optimising post-weaning feed intakes, for instance, was discussed by Teagasc researchers Louise Clarke and Peadar Lawlor. The Finnish experience of managing a ban on tail docking over the past 20 years was discussed by Johannes Vugts an adviser with HKScan Finland. His conclusions were straightforward: “If you want to succeed in keeping the tails of your pigs intact, you need to change your management from a low-cost to a low-risk focus.” Raising pigs with long tails "will increase the cost price of your pigs." “This is why producers need to be rewarded for delivering pigs with intact tails to the slaughterhouse,” he said.

Survival tactics

Francesc Illas, of Grup Batallé, a large, Spanish-based pig production company, laid out his agenda in stark terms: “Raising pigs is not a business based on marginality, it is a business totally related to cost. Regardless of the challenges that we have for the future, pig producers must continue reducing the euro cost per kilogramme of pork to survive.”
Even though Francesc highlighted the percentage of pig-production costs associated with feed in the Grup Batallé pig units, and the requirement to manage that cost carefully, he took time to highlight the importance of managing and safeguarding other costs directly related to overall pig performance. Salaries, he noted, account for six per cent of costs, but insisted that employee input has a big impact on the performance of the business. He made another interesting and important observation that, even though vaccines and medication only account for 2 per cent of total costs, it is an area where farmers typically try to cut costs; sometimes, as Francesc noted, with disastrous results in terms of pig performance.

Stay calm, breathe easy

Des Rice of Creating Collaborative Organisations presented a paper that wasn't pig-performance focussed. The theme of his presentation could be summarised as describing the tools needed to stay calm, despite challenging circumstances. It was a very practical advisory session that has relevance for most farmers across the country, at a time when stress levels have rarely been higher as farmers try to accommodate regulatory and management changes, increased workloads and the ever-present challenge of working in all weathers.