Pig health planning to reduce emissions

How health planning for your herd can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as improving animal health and productivity.

Herd health planning is a cornerstone of pig disease prevention and performance improvements. By preventing disease on your farm you will save money and time incurred by treating sick animals, reduce the need for reactive treatments and improve your environmental footprint.

Healthy pigs produce fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per kilogram of meat than unhealthy pigs. This is because their feed conversion ratio (FCR) is better and so too is their fertility.

The healthier a pig, the more meat it will produce from fewer inputs – inputs that generate GHG emissions. The meat quality will also be better from healthy animals. In addition, healthy sows will potentially have longer lifespans than unhealthy sows.

Diseases with high mortality rates result in more resources and animals being needed to maintain food production. As well as the inevitable impact on profitability, this generates more GHG emissions.

Good health not only underpins sustainability and efficiency, but pig welfare as well. The welfare of pigs is paramount for the British pig industry, which takes a proactive approach to animal welfare improvement. High standards of welfare are essential for protecting the reputation of the industry and, together with health, are among the most significant issues influencing consumer trust and perception of meat-based diets.

Healthy animals do not need antibiotics, therefore, overall antibiotic use is reduced. Including health and welfare traits in the selection of breeding stock, which improve resilience to disease, can also help reduce antibiotic use.

The mental health and wellbeing of farmers cannot be overlooked either. Dealing with sick animals can take its toll, therefore healthy pigs not only contribute to overall farm productivity but support the mental health of farmers. Time and resources not spent tending to sick animals also allows greater focus on proactive management practices.

Studies of endemic pig diseases have demonstrated the impact unhealthy animals can have on the environment and business performance.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), for example, may reduce has a negative environmental impact because more resources are needed to counter the lower productivity.

Pleuritis impacts performance by reducing growth rates and increasing days to slaughter. It is often only identified at slaughter, highlighting the value in seeking feedback from the abattoir while simultaneously using a herd health plan to introduce changes.

Vaccinating pigs can help reduce emissions in a sustainable way by preventing diseases that would negatively impact performance.

Vaccinating sows against PRRS, for example, could cut GHG emissions up to 25.9% while producing substantially more pork, according to Professor Capper from Harper Adams University. To be effective, however, more than 95% of the herd needs to be vaccinated.

Vaccination also helps to address the threat of antimicrobial resistance, which poses a major threat to human health around the world.

• A written plan provides an agreed method for dealing with disease, both preventative and curative, and for monitoring changes
• Decide where the herd health priorities lie, taking account of any obligations with supply contracts and farm-specific aspirations, and work with your vet and other advisers to create a herd-specific health plan, setting out clear, achievable goals
• Take early action to improve herd health as the financial benefits will likely far outweigh the cost of any preventative measures
• Avoid being overly ambitious, as tackling too many things in one go can be overwhelming. Instead, approach herd health planning in bite-sized chunks to enable progress to be made in one area before considering the next
• Monitor your livestock and reevaluate your farm health plan if your objectives are not being achieved – farm health plans should be dynamic, regularly discussed and actively managed
• Maintain high standards of biosecurity to protect your farm against the incursion and spread of pests and diseases that threaten the herd
• Consider and implement vaccination protocols where appropriate
• High standards of stockmanship, housing, health, hygiene and animal welfare are paramount as is measuring, managing and monitoring the productivity gains from these
• The more efficient an animal is, the faster its growth rate and the fewer resources it will consume – this will reduce its environmental footprint

Discuss targets with your team and vet, for example:

• Increase daily liveweight gain to minimise days to slaughter
• Improve feed conversion efficiency to reduce inputs
• Increase growth rates
• Improve reproductive performance
• Reduce involuntary culling resulting from abortions and other health issues

Keep an eye out for industry initiatives that could help your pig farm achieve its aims on health and disease prevention.

The aim of this project is to deliver a viable alternative to zinc oxide, providing the pig industry with a new, sustainable solution that can be relied upon to improve the health and survival of piglets post weaning.