At the 2TS Focus on Health conferences he highlighted some of the ways the business aims to maintain good health status.

Vermin control

Mr Brice said: "An all-in/all-out system with good cleaning and disinfection is important to our biosecurity, but that alone is no good if there is a risk of vermin reintroducing disease. Vermin control has to go hand in hand with cleaning and disinfection."

Stockmanship

Good stockmanship is also central to managing pig health. "It helps us spot clinical signs of disease as early as possible so we can get any tests done, work out what the problem is and decide how to deal with it quickly," Mr Brice said.

Prioritise the pig

Thirdly, Mr Brice emphasised his view on vaccine use: "We make sure we vaccinate at the optimum timing to benefit the pig, rather than just to suit our own routine. We see all vaccinations as insurance."

All the speakers’ presentations, along with BPEX factsheets, are available to view here along with BPEX factsheets. The national Pig Health Improvement Project now provides the structure and resource for producers to work together (Click here).

Further Reading

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Find out more information on porcine reproductive respiratory syndrome (PRRS) by clicking here.