Helping swine producers feed the world

JEJU, South Korea -- Bayer Animal Health used the occasion of the 22nd International Pig Veterinary Society (IPVS) Congress in Jeju to reveal the latest programme of activities aimed at transforming livestock production.
Wolfgang Müller, head of Global Marketing Farm Animal Products, said "At Bayer Animal Health, we are acutely aware of the challenges facing the pig industry in the years to come: the need to deliver increased productivity in a cost-effective manner while preserving resources and protecting animal health and welfare are key issues. All parts of livestock community need to work together to meet these challenges. With these symposia and other events of their kind, we will continue to bring together local knowledge, science, innovation and global expertise to help the livestock community to survive and thrive in these challenging times."
Sharing local knowledge
The 4th International Bayer Pig Symposium, chaired by Dr Bent Nielsen, representative
of the Swine Veterinary Association of Denmark, focused on sharing local knowledge to
deliver practical guidance for swine producers and vets seeking to improve swine welfare and production now and for the future.
Dr Kees Scheepens from FarmulaOne in the Netherlands, took the audience through the basics of the new ‘Pig Signals’ concept whilst Dr Joaquim Segalés from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain presented practical tips for designing swine vaccination programmes that maximise results while minimising costs.

Dr Kyoungjin Kim of the Pig and Health Vet Group in South Korea gave an update on the current state of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea (PED) in South Korea, showing mortality rates in suckling pigs were up to 100%. According to Dr Kim, a new trend is being seen in PED infections in South Korea, with lower rates of mortality (20-30% versus 80-100%) appearing in suckling piglets in the 2011/12 winter season. However he stressed that prevention is key to controlling PED, with those applying bio-security concepts seeing reduced numbers of outbreaks.

Finally, Dr Anders Holm of the Odder Veterinary Practice in Denmark took the audience
through his efforts to raise awareness of coccidiosis infection in China with a ‘lab-on-wheels’, developed by Bayer Animal Health. Dr Holm toured China giving swine producers previously unattainable access to laboratory facilities to assess the presence
of coccidiosis on their farms. According to Dr Holm, “Pig producers in China are very
interested in exchanging experiences with colleagues from abroad. I also believe that
European producers could learn from Chinese colleagues, as costs of buildings are reduced and diseases not yet present in Europe are frequent in China.”
Feeding the world... or saving the planet?

At the Satellite Symposium on June 11th, the need for practical guidance on maximising
production value was debated by 400 veterinarians and swine producers from around the world. Entitled 'Feeding the world...or saving the planet?' the lively debate was chaired by Professor Arlette Laval, professor of Food Animal Medicine at Nantes Atlantic College of Veterinary Medicine.