Tech advances focus on pig health issues

While it’s no quick fix for the current pig sector crisis, on-farm technology has an important role in building pig producers’ future resilience, the AGRI-EPI Centre says.

One pig sector initiative making waves is the Tailtech project which is developing the use of 3D cameras in commercial units to help producers identify and act on health and welfare issues at the earliest possible stage.

AGRI-EPI chief executive Dave Ross said: “The pig sector is already far ahead of other sectors in terms of production efficiency and environmental improvements, so any new technology really has to prove itself capable of delivering significant benefits before being adopted at scale across the sector.”

Tailtech involves Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and partners AGRI-EPI, Innovent Technology, Harbro, Sainsbury’s, JSR Genetics, Ritchie Agricultural and Scottish Pig Producers.

In an earlier project, SRUC developed 3D camera technology to monitor pigs’ tail positions and proved that low tail posture is an indicator of imminent tail biting outbreaks. The partners followed this initial research with the aim of developing and evaluating 3D camera monitoring systems on a variety of commercial UK pig farms, visiting regularly to “ground truth” pig health and welfare.

They unexpectedly found that, in addition to giving early warning of tail biting, low tail posture can be a more general indicator of a range of additional welfare problems, such as injuries due to social aggression, lameness and ear biting.

Automated camera technology may also help alleviate the labour issues affecting the pig sector.

Dr Rick D’eath, reader in animal behaviour and welfare at SRUC, said: “Globally, pig farming, like other livestock sectors, has become more integrated with an increasing number of very large farms operating without a parallel increase in farm staff. Continuously monitoring animals using technology presents a potential solution.”

Dr Kevin Stickney, interim head of technical with Harbro, added: “Automatic systems can link together farm owners, staff and the farm’s technical advisers such as the vet or nutritionist.”

Scottish agri-tech firm Innovent Technology has now developed a commercially-viable warning system based on the project findings.

Business development manager David Barclay said: “An early warning system for health and welfare alerts through a dashboard is the future.”

ON CAMERA: An AGRI-EPI project is taking a scientific approach to help give producers an early warning of health and welfare problems.

Pig tails are being investigated by the AGRI-EPI team using 3D technology.