FARM VISIT
Farm producing pigs, data and knowledge
Gathering data, data and more data – that is what matters at the Swine Research Farm north of Segovia, Spain. Not surprisingly, the farm is full of sensors as well as innovative ideas to uncover pig knowledge yet to be discovered.
By Vincent ter Beek, editor Pig Progress F
arm manager Miguel Ángel Tejedor kneels in front of what looks like a fridge. On top is a bed of sunflower seeds. With his hands he presses on the top floor of the white case and reveals the true nature of this innocent-looking white box: a rat trap, with a rooftop
that can flip over. He moves the box’s entire top part away; its contents are a basin, filled with a mixture of water and alcohol. In this no rat survives longer than a few minutes, he says.
Swine Research Farm (CEP), Segovia, Spain
The CEP near Aguilafuente, 40 km north of Segovia, Spain, has 500 sows. The farm is in transition to use only Danbred gilts (Large White x Landrace) to be served with Bavarian Piétrain semen. The farm weans between 27-28 piglets/sow/year and gets compensat- ed in case retarded growth or prema- ture deaths occur as a result of the tri- als. Male piglets are not castrated; the farm runs at a three-week system with weaning at 28 days. All pigs are vacci- nated for PCV2, PRRS and M. hyo. Antibiotics are only used by prescrip- tion for individual animals.
16 PIG PROGRESS VOLUME 32, No. 6, 2016 Segovia
The model Tejedor shows is for demonstration purposes – hence a human smell is not a problem. The real ones are hang- ing at various places inside the research farm. Initially, the number of caught rats easily went up to 70 per month. Rats usually warn each other of dangerous situations, he says, but that’s not possible when bathing in alcohol. The monthly catch is now about three or four.
Innovative ideas It’s this kind of innovative ideas that is exemplary for the Swine Research Farm (Centro Experimental Porcino, CEP), near Aguilafuente, at about 40 km north of Segovia, Spain. The farm is a separate entity, but is closely connected to pig research, service and consultancy company PigChamp Pro Europa. Every innovation is welcomed, as long as it supports the key function, to acquire the best data possible. In fact, it’s hard to think of things that aren’t recorded. The farm’s mission is to continuously search for quantifiable statis- tical data, loads of them, the more that can be monitored, the more that can be analysed and benchmarked, the better it is. The majority of research trials revolve around feeding, envi- ronment and welfare, explains Carlos Piñeiro, director at PigChamp Pro Europa. Personally, he is the main shareholder of the farm and a strong believer that the Web and Big Data are going to help livestock production and agriculture push forward, becoming more professional. A great example of this
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