National Pig Association THE VOICE OF THE UK PIG INDUSTRY NPA is active on members' behalf in Brussels & Whitehall, and with processors, supermarkets & caterers - fighting for the growth and pros-perity of the UK pig industry.

"iPig“ aims to introduce the concept of herd health plans to the pig industry. A herd’s health data is held on an internet server where it can be pulled down by both the producer and his vet.

Ten pilot producers are sought in Yorkshire and ten in East Anglia. Cutting-edge computer and internet connection equipment on your farm is not essential, nor is an intimate knowledge of how to upload and download data.

Producers accepted for the pilot scheme will find their computer requirements on farm will be met by the project where necessary, and technical support will also be available, if needed. The ultimate intention is to have pig herd health plans for all units, with the aim of achieving better health throughout the national herd.

According to Jamie Robertson, advantages of the scheme will include improved access to your herd’s health data and easier understanding of health trends on the unit via graphical reports. Pig herd health plans can be used to check the effect of management decisions over time, and to make better use of existing records.

Features of pig herd health plans include:

• Secure internet access for the producer and his vet.
• Automatic downloading of new data.
• The ability to print out whatever is required - action lists, reports etc.
• An automatic link to the quarterly vet visit.

The pilot project will last a year. Participating producers will have their farm data put on the scheme’s database. The aim of the pilot is to fine-tune the project before it is rolled out to the whole industry.

Pig herd health planning is a BPEX/NPA project in collaboration with the Pig Veterinary Society and Defra.

ThePigSite News Desk