This year’s Virtual Pig Week, organised by Teagasc, will take take place over a four-day period, starting tomorrow (Tuesday, October 19).
A different topic will be covered each day and a variety of contributors will share their expertise and experience, including Teagasc farm staff, advisors and researchers, along with pig producers and international experts.
Teagasc has said it will run from 1:00p.m to 2:00pm each day, to facilitate all those involved in the industry to attend.
Schedule for Virtual Pig Week
On day one, tomorrow, (Tuesday, October 19), the focus will be on the Teagasc Pig Research Facility.
Teagasc farm manager, Tomás Ryan and research technician, Aisling Holmes, will focus on the gestating sow and the factors contributing to the persistently high farrowing rates.
They will also examine the high weaning weights in the farm and how these are being achieved.
They will further discuss how their detailed record keeping and database of information contribute to these successes.
On day two, Teagasc will host a webinar on wet feeding with international guest speaker from the Netherlands, Joost Leijten, an independent consultant on wet feed systems.
He will look at some of the most common quality control issues and system delivery problems associated with the wet feeding of pigs.
He will examine three main problem areas:
- How to identify the issues;
- Possible impact on pig performance;
- How to rectify the issues.
On day three (Thursday, October 21), the focus will be on milk supplementation.
Teagasc Pig Development Department researchers and farm staff will share some of their knowledge on the evolution of milk supplementation and the key technicalities around its use.
Two pig farmers will also share their experiences with milk supplementation systems on their farms. The focus will be on the general management, key husbandry practices, performance and tips that they have experienced to date.
On day four (Friday, October 22), there will be a live panel discussion on topical issues facing the pig sector. These topics will include the fast approaching ban on zinc oxide in pig diets, as well as pigmeat supply, market opportunities and outlook.
The panel for this event will include representatives from Teagasc, Bord Bia, Meat Industry Ireland (MII) and the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
EXPO room
A new feature this year is the EXPO Room where the Teagasc Pig Development Department students will present a video overview of what is currently happening on some of the many research projects at Teagasc, Moorepark.
Teagasc is encouraging all pig producers to gather staff together to view the free lunchtime event.