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FEED FOR THOUGHT ▶▶▶


A refreshing approach I


had the wonderful opportunity of spending two days in Copen- hagen, Denmark, participating in a workshop on loose farrowing systems for sows. Now given my role as an assistant professor at The Ohio State University, I spend a lot of time participating confer-


ences both on a national and international basis. Although I have en- joyed and learned from almost every continuing education programme that I have attended, this workshop was different. As I entered the room, I was overwhelmed by the diversity of those in the audience. Typically, I am surrounded by researchers and academics who focus much more on the scientific approach to answer questions rather than the realistic approach to implement solutions on-farm. To my surprise, I was surrounded by veterinarians, swine producers, allied industries and research scientists all dedicated to improving pig welfare on-farm. Not only was the workshop diverse in the fields and interests of those participating, but also encompassed a strong international perspective, hosting over ten countries with varying experiences in loose farrowing systems. This workshop focused much more on hands-on problem solving among the group. Developing, designing, destroying and redesigning the per- fect loose farrowing pen encompassed much of the second day. Groups of five participants with a range of backgrounds and skill sets sat around tables cutting out feeders, creep space for piglets and enrichment devic- es to carefully piece together the puzzle for the perfect farrowing pen. This hands-on work allowed us to go beyond thinking about loose far- rowing from a scientific perspective and challenged each one of us to think in a way that optimises the sow and piglet’s welfare, the labour requirements from staff and the economic impact to the producer. Although we did not unanimously agree on the perfect farrowing pen design, this opportunity allowed us to develop strong collabo- rations and utilise a holistic approach to successfully implement- ing loose farrowing systems. This was an invigorating and re- freshing approach to solve a problem and I was glad to be a part of it. The success of this workshop was based not only on those that participated but the background work and preparation put in to such an event. Vivi Aarestrup Moustsen, with the support of the Danish Swine Research Centre, deserves most of the credit as she worked tirelessly to develop such an effective two days. As I sat on the airplane heading back to the US I did not think about the research questions or experiments, but acknowl- edged the importance and how we approach issues. I realised we must take advantage of the international expertise, learn from the producers and caretakers working directly on farm, and join together as a unified group to reach the goals for improving swine welfare.


34 ▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 34, No. 5, 2018


Monique Pairis-Garcia Before joining The Ohio State University in 2014, Dr Monique Pairis-Garcia received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy degree from Iowa State University with a focus in swine welfare and health. Her research interests include pain manage- ment in live- stock animals.


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