ThePigSite Consultants
About ThePigSite Consultants
If you need consultancy advice please click here to contact us.Sam Hoste BSc(Hons) MSc PhD
Dr Sam Hoste is a well known pig geneticist and a member of the UK National Pig Association's Technical and Advisory committee. He is Managing Director of Quantech Solutions providing technical and business solutions in genetics and data analysis for farmers, processors and retailers.
Sam started working with pigs in the mid 1970's for George Morrell and sons in North Yorkshire. Following University he lectured in animal production and pig production at Askham Bryan and the Welsh Agricultural college. He returned to university undertaking an MSc in Animal Breeding in Edinburgh and a PhD in Reading university.
Sam worked for the National Pig Development company in the 1990's being closely involved in the development and launch of the Manor Meishan and use of AI flatpacks in the UK. Subsequently he was UK technical manager for PIC and later Director of Genetics and Research for ACMC. He has successfully owned several consultancy companies.
Sam has considerable experience of working with commercial pig producers, breeding companies and meat processors to implement the use of genetics in breeding programmes, interpret technical results, develop technical strategy, and analyse data.
John Carr., BVSc., DPM., PhD., MRCVS.
Dr John Carr is Assistant Professor at Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine Department where he teaches pig farm stockmanship and the aspects of maintaining a healthy pig herd. John also specialises in Pig Medicine
John started working with pigs at the age of 11 and for the next 10 years worked as a general stockperson on pig, poultry and sheep farms. In 1982 he qualified as a Veterinary Surgeon from Liverpool University and for the next 6 years worked in general practice in Liverpool and Dumfries.
John returned to Liverpool University and obtained his PhD following studies oncystitis in sows. He has taught veterinary medicine and pig health at Liverpool University, The Royal Veterinary College London and North Carolina State University.
In 1992 he joined Garth Veterinary Group where he concentrated on improving pig health through stockmanship on farms throughout the world. At the Garth Veterinary Group has became a Diplomate in Pig Medicine.
John has experienced pig farming throughout the world and in a variety of hot, cold dry and damp climates. He also has a personal interest in pet pigs and was the International Vet of the Year 2000 for pet pigs.
John Deen., MSc, PhD, DVM, Dipl. ABVP
John Deen is a veterinarian and a member of the faculty of the Swine Health Center at the University of Minnesota. John's expertise includes commercial pig production, statistical analysis and its practical interpretation.
John was previously on faculty at North Carolina State University where he worked with various large-scale systems. He is a native of Ontario, Canada, where he grew up on a farrow-to-finish farm in Wellington County.
In Ontario he also gained his training and practiced in Shakespeare, Ontario. He is board certified in swine health management, has extensive academic training in veterinary epidemiology and economics, and has consulted on a wide range of challenges in swine production throughout North America. John is a regular contributor to International Pigletter, the monthly industry newsletter.
John's major interest lies in commercial pig production analysis and improvement. In particular he works on problems of pig flow, variability in growth rates and replacement management. He has led industry level analyses on problems from sow mortality to gastroesophageal ulcers in growing pigs. He has actively participated in the development of PigWin, a new on-farm record-keeping system. John is a regent of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners and a trustee of the American Association of Swine Practitioners Foundation.
Steven Henry., BS, Dipl. ABVP, DVM.
Dr. Steven Henry is a veterinary practitioner of 28 years, working in the veterinary group Abilene Animal Hospital, P.A of Abilene, Kansas. Steve's expertise is in diseases and health management of pigs.
In addition he is also a pork producer, working on the family farrow-to-finish farm with his brother and sister, primarily producing boars for AI studs. Steve and his partners provide veterinary services to pork producers and consultation services to the industry throughout North and South America.
Dr. Henry has written extensively on swine health topics for professional journals and production magazines as well as text books such as Diseases of Swine and Large Animal Internal Medicine. His experience is primarily in disease prevention and therapy, including procedures to limit excessive uses of medicines and vaccines in health control programs. A pioneer in swine dysentery elimination methods, he now is working with systems and procedures to eliminate PRRS virus from production herds.
Steve has served on the US Food and Drug Administration's Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee, the AVMA Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents. He has served as Chairman of the Drug Availability Committee of the AVMA and as Chair of the Expert Panel on Canine and Feline vaccines.
Dr. Henry has served as President of the American Association of Swine Practitioners, and has been honoured as the AASP's Swine Practitioner of the Year. Other honours include the prestigious Allen D. Leman Science in Practice Award. He is a Fellow of the Morris Animal Foundation and a Diplomate, American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in Swine Health Management.
Noel Kavanagh., MVB, DPM, MBAE, MRCVS.
Noel Kavanagh is the Principal of a specialist pig veterinary practice, based in Oldcastle, Ireland and is Managing Director of Oldcastle Laboratories Ltd. which provides laboratory services in the areas of agriculture, food science, environmental science and veterinary diagnostics. Noel's expertise extends to clinical trials to GCP standards and laboratory based research studies.
Noel is a Diplomate of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, is currently Chairman of the Board of Examiners for the Diploma in Pig Medicine of the RCVS and is on the Specialist Register of the RCVS.
Noel's veterinary practice services are geared primarily towards economically efficient methods of maximising pig herd health and production efficiency.
He has published a number of papers on pig production, economics, management, housing, health and toxicological topics in scientific journals and the farming press. Noel also lectures at University College, Dublin on the theme Maximising Pig Herd Health and Production Efficiency. Noel regularly lectures at international conferences on pig related topics.
Ross Cutler., BVSc, PhD
Ross Cutler is principal of Ross Cutler and Associates Pty Ltd, a consulting company based in Ocean Grove, Victoria, Australia. Ross' expertise is in the provision of knowledge based services to the pig industry and other agricultural industries
This expertise covers financial analysis, farm planning and Change for pork producers, for which he runs a number of workshops. Ross also has experience in developing contingency plans and national disease control responses for PRRS.
Other services include national impact technology adoption programs, national exotic disease control plans for the pig industry, technical writing, specific farm based issues such as disease control, resolving production issues and disease eradication.
Ross has a Bachelor of Veterinary Science from the University of Melbourne (1972) and a PhD in Large Animal Clinical Sciences (University of Minnesota 1982). In addition he is registered as a specialist in pig medicine with the Veterinary Board of Victoria.
Ross is a lecturer and examiner at the University of Melbourne School of Veterinary Science and is a Program consultant for GRDC's Delivery Networks Subprogram, a national technology delivery program for the grains industry. He was President of the 16th International Pig Veterinary Society Congress in Melbourne.
Thomas J L A Alexander., PhD, MVSc, BSc, MRCVS, DPM
Tom Alexander teaches pig husbandry, pig medicine, and infectious diseases at the University of Cambridge where he has been deputy head of the veterinary school for six years. Tom's expertise is in disease and health control at both farm and corporate level.
He is internationally known for his research on vomiting and wasting diseases, swine dysentery, streptococcal meningitis, and medicated early weaning which was his brain child.
Tom was one of the first veterinarians world wide to take a post graduate degree in pig medicine, at Guelph, Canada in 1960 and followed up with a PhD in in enteric viruses on the pig in 1965.
He has been International consultant veterinarian to the Pig Improvement Company since 1967. He was a partner in a 200 sow pig farm in the 1970's and is on the board of directors of a large mixed farming business which included 5,000 sows, being chairmen for six. He was a founding member of the British Pig Veterinary Society Congress in 1969. He was a prime influence on the development of a National Diploma in Pig Medicine for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and chaired its pig medicine board. He has been invited to give papers and do consultancy work in most pig rearing countries of the world. He received the 1999 Darymple Champney's cup from the British Veterinary association for his outstanding contributions to education.
Bernard Peet., BSc
Bernard Peet is a production consultant specializing in pig management, housing and staff training, based in Alberta, Canada. He is Technical Director of Rocky Mountain Pork, a coordinated producer group with 10,000 sows, partner in two farrow-to-finish units with 600 sows and a director of Pig Production Training Ltd.
Bernard developed an international reputation during his 12 years as manager of the Pig Demonstration Unit at the National Agricultural Centre in Britain. The unit demonstrated a wide range of production systems, equipment and management techniques, produced comparative results and provided technical information and advice to producers from around the world.
Bernard was closely involved with the development of new group housing systems for sows, especially electronic feeding. He lectured regularly at conferences and producer meetings and was also a frequent contributor to the farming press. In 1989 Bernard received the David Black Award for services to the British pig industry.
Bernard established his consultancy business in 1991 and has carried out work throughout the pork chain, being involved with the development of Quality Assurance schemes in Britain and Denmark. He has a special interest in training, working through PPT Ltd, which develops and markets training programs in practical skills, pig management and leadership skills.
In addition to advising on production issues, Bernard also carries out marketing and public relations work, technical writing and expert witness work. He moved to Canada in March 2001.
Jake Waddilove MA, VetMB, MRCVS
Jake Waddilove was educated at Rugby School and Cambridge Veterinary School from where he qualified in 1978. He initially worked in Framlingham, Suffolk before moving to Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk in late 1979.
He is now a principle partner in Bury St Edmunds in a 12-veterinarian practice. He works almost exclusively with pigs providing veterinary advice for a large number of intensive and extensive pig units.
Jake is veterinary adviser to a multinational breeding company, an international biosecurity company and major pharmaceutical companies.
His work takes him throughout England, Western Europe, Scandinavia, parts of Eastern Europe, and North America.
Brian Vernon B Sc (Hons), M I Biol, Ph D
Brian Vernon is a renowned pig nutritionist, a member of the Veterinary Residue Committee advising the UK Government and an external referee for scientific papers and research projects. He is technical sales manager for Optivite Ltd.
His initial work with pigs was to investigate the nutrition of fats and oils, which led to significant changes in how the UK Feed Industry used these materials in the late 70's. Since then he has worked in the UK Feed Industry gaining a broad experience in research and development, nutrition, manufacturing, analytical/quality systems and in-house pig production.
Brian has hands-on experience of commercial pig nutrition and production systems within Europe, SE Asia and N America. Through this work, he has developed and introduced new diet specifications and feeding strategies that have significantly improved the performance of pigs from weaning through to the slaughter, including replacements for existing digestive enhancers. In addition, he has improved sow longevity and fecundity through specific gilt/sow diets and their associated feeding regimes.
Brian has a keen interest in the analysis of commercial pig production, whether an individual farmer, a pig breeding Company and/or a large integrator. He works on factors such as genetic potential, nutrient intake, carcass characteristics and pig flow that lead to sensible improvements and suggestions to improve overall profitability.
Brian is a frequent presenter at or chairman of both UK National and International symposia. He is a regular presenter at pig producer meetings and Brian has published extensively in both academic and industry journals.
