By Nico van Burick
Infectious diseases are far from eradicated and biosecurity will remain essential for a long time, warns Susan Rodakis, technical manager for swine and poultry at animal health company Zoetis.
Speaking at the South African Pork Producers’ Organisation’s inaugural PigX1 symposium in Pretoria, Rodakis said every farm needs a biosecurity plan that is adaptable, not overly complicated, and not imposed from the top down. Changes should be allowed as needed over time.
“One of the biggest problems in daily operations is when exceptions to the rule are allowed. Often, visitors or the farm owner might not adhere to the principles. This undermines the efforts of the entire team,” she said.
“In addition, there’s a danger of complacency. If the biosecurity plan is working well and there are no diseases, it can lead to negligence. The plan must always apply to everyone.”
Rodakis said having a well-thought-out plan, understanding why it is necessary, and implementing it properly can help reduce biosecurity gaps.
In a presentation on productivity versus profitability, Alex Sly, a nutritional adviser at Elanco Animal Health, said the common assumption used to be that the more sows there are, the more piglets, the more meat, and the more profitable the farming operation.
However, the thinking about this assumption had changed significantly, she said. It was necessary, for example, to consider how many animals the production unit was designed for and how many were being maintained. If animals were pushed through the production process as quickly as possible, it may be more profitable to reduce the less-productive animals and save costs.
Sly provided examples from the US showing that reducing the number of animals can lead to greater profitability.
“This is not something that can work for all farmers. But if you’re in a situation where you can’t farm profitably and you’re considering ending the operation, it might help to think completely differently and even controversially about the situation.”
Tim Horne, regional manager for Europe and South Africa at Zinpro Corporation, spoke about lameness in pigs, saying it’s a much bigger issue than many people realise. Looking at international statistics, 11% of sows experience lameness.
“This is not just a problem involving production and profitability; it’s also an animal welfare issue where we need to ensure that sows don’t suffer from pain due to lameness. It’s also an ethical concern,” he said.
He referred to internal and external factors causing the condition. Internally, problems such as constipation, mastitis and inflammation contribute, while external factors such as wet and dirty floors can lead to foot injuries.
“The visible injuries are just the tip of the iceberg. The other underlying factors are a ticking time bomb. Lameness creates a major bottleneck for production, and increased focus on animal health can improve the situation.”
