Defra launch sow infertility campaign

UK - In a bid to get to the bottom of the pig industry's current sow infertility problems, Defra are to fund a case study of ten to 20 farms.

14 January 2003

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The study, which will be carried out by pig veterinarians, should be complete by the end of next month and will cover the following:

Detailed breeding records and performance.
Feed usage.
Husbandry systems.
Herd disease profiles including testing for endemic and exotic disease.
And possibly prospective cohort blood sampling.

Defra are also to survey pig AI studs for semen usage patterns, semen diluent issues and customer complaints. This work will be carried out by Christianne Glossop, who will liaise with NPA's Ian Campbell.

In addition, Veterinary Laboratories Agency are preparing a questionnaire for circulation to pig veterinarians. This will be followed up by a telephone survey similar to the surveillance exercise carried out by VLA for PMWS prevalence.

The above measures to identify and quantify sow infertility were agreed at a meeting at Defra last week.

Source: National Pig Association - 12th January 2003