It seems that one of the hardest jobs in pork production is deciding what to do with lightweight or otherwise compromised pigs. Stockpeople often care for even the most desperate cases even when it may be better to euthanise them to improve the overall welfare status of the farm without incurring any capital costs.

A project at the Scottish Agricultural College showed that sow aggression is an heritable trait and it may be possible in future to select against it. But the environment and management can still play an important role in how pigs behave.

Models are an essential part of modern animal production research. This is especially true in the UK, where the financial restrictions that reflect the difficult times facing the domestic pig industry make the sheer cost of large scale and commercial trials somewhat prohibitive.

New disposable creep mats show insulating, hygiene and welfare advantages. Piglet mortality in first comparative trials in eastern Germany was reduced by an average of 7%.

New software can now monitor and record stress-induced pig noises for early warning of crowding, poor ventilation or disease in the farrowing or feeding house. The latest examples can also be programmed to listen-in and warn of other economically important sounds such as those indicating sows in heat.

The Italian industry may not be at the forefront in adapting to welfare demands but one enlightened family based in northern Italy have chosen to install loose sow systems during a major renovation programme.

Located in the Brabant province of the Netherlands, in a district designed for intensive livestock production by the government, a new pig unit for a 400-sow herd is being built by Piet Tax. The commitment to group sows has quickly won the approval of the experienced family operation..

QAF Meat Industries Pty, formerly Bunge Meats, has over 60,000 sows mainly in the State of Victoria. Split site production is the norm with hooped structures having proven their worth, even during the winter months. The Gre Gre site manager, Craig Bryon, gave us a tour.