Teagasc open days in ‘pig’ demand

This was the first large in-person pig-research event since 2019 and delegates were welcomed in Cavan by the director of Teagasc, Professor Frank O’Mara, and in Cork by the head of the Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation programme, Professor Laurence Shalloo. The opening session at both locations included an overview of the research programme by the head of the Teagasc Pig Development Department, Dr Edgar Garcia Manzanilla.  

An addiction to knowledge

Pig producers are notoriously addicted to building knowledge on productivity and profitability in a sector that is subject to extremes of supply and demand, together with equally extreme profitability and lossmaking peaks and troughs. It was no surprise, then, that over 170 pig producers and industry stakeholders attended over the two-day annual event.

The format for the events had a new structure where attendees were guided through interactive stations. This provided an excellent opportunity for participants to see first-hand the results of the comprehensive research programme being undertaken by Teagasc, and to meet and discuss with the researchers, advisors and postgraduate students who carry out the work. The interactive stations covered a wide range of topics, including many issues targeted towards improving the sustainability of the Irish pig industry, managing the pig environment, improving pre- and post-weaning management and nutrition, managing disease, grower and finisher feeding, as well as the potential for developing added value pig products for the retail and export markets. Also included in the day was an opportunity to visit and view the newest addition to the Teagasc Pig Research Facility at Moorepark, a state-of-the-art finisher building designed specifically to conduct low-emissions and high-welfare research trials. 

Innovative thinking

The Teagasc researchers encouraged producers to look outside their own facilities and inform themselves to an even greater degree of society’s expectations in relation to standards of animal welfare in pig production systems. There was discussion on how producers could capitalise on these expectations by pursuing premiums for high welfare pigmeat production.

With a degree of thinking outside the box, there was also some exploration of the potential for outdoor pig production and how such systems could go some way towards meeting the public’s expectations around higher welfare standards as well as providing diverse ecosystems and diversifying income streams beyond the traditional indoor-based model.

One WelPig roadmap

In collaboration with all the sector’s stakeholders there is ongoing work into developing a comprehensive roadmap – WellPig – designed to assist the Irish pig sector transition to higher welfare production systems. If an objective comment can be made on this important strategy, it is that developing a roadmap towards higher welfare is relatively straightforward. The real challenge is to be able to pass on to consumers the higher costs associated, in many instances, with achieving and maintaining these higher welfare standards. Time and again we have seen that there are inevitably higher production costs to be carried in most aspects of their implementation.

Production models

Speaking after the Teagasc pig events, Teagasc researcher Dr Keelin O’Driscoll, said: “The Teagasc Pig Department has a strong reputation both nationally and internationally in cutting edge pig research. However, as well as showcasing our work, a primary aim of the open days was to engage with our stakeholders so that going forward we can effectively target our programme to address their needs.”