PHOTO: PETER ROEK
PHOTO: PETER ROEK
FARM VISIT ▶▶▶
Five years of experience at Flemish trial farm
Five years ago, the Flemish Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) started up its own pig farm. Had the farm been built in 2020, different choices would have been made, informed by experience and new possibilities from the field.
BY RENE STEVENS, CORRESPONDENT T Profile
Name: Marijke Aluwé, age 37. Function: Pig farm researcher at ILVO, Melle, Belgium. Description: The ILVO trial farm houses 105 sows and 640 finish- ers, uses a three-week production system and has four employ- ees. There are 30 piglets per sow and the average daily daily gain for finishers is 900g. The farm uses a crossbreed of TN70 and Belgian Pietrain.
he new ILVO pig farm in the Belgian town Melle looks compact in the ILVO’s total barn complex. De- spite the limited number of animals, it is a complete and modern farm. “The barn was built five years
ago, in cooperation with Ghent University and the city’s Uni- versity of Applied Sciences, so students could obtain as much practical experience as possible during their studies,” says re- searcher Marijke Aluwé. She is closely involved with the farm’s operations. “In addition, we needed a location for finishers.” The cooperation ensures that the new barn is used for re- search and study goals. According to Aluwé, during the
planning phase for the farm a balance was found between minimal numbers of animals needed for reliable research, practical work and affordability. “That is why we had to make some concessions.” Especially for sound sow research, numbers are rather low. For finishers however, there are ample possibilities for both management and emission research. For the most part, Aluwé is happy with past choices. With her current knowl- edge however, she would have partly made different choices. “Because of experience, but also because of other questions and possibilities from the field.”
Adjusted pen sizes The trial accommodation operates just like a regular farm, only the numbers are smaller, and the pen sizes are adapted for research purposes. Finisher, sow and piglet barns have been separated by a broad aisle, with the hygiene lock and general spaces at the end. A strict working method is in place to prevent the spread of disease in the barns. Weaned piglets have a relatively large part of closed flooring at their disposal. Steering excretion behaviour requires extra attention. The unit for gestating sows is an exceptional one. Free ac- cess stalls are situated next to an area with straw flooring, where the sows can freely walk around. Aluwé says, “This is a bit more labour intensive, but it is a beautiful sight and the sows thrive.” That is, however, not common practice in Flanders. The num- bers are relatively small for research purposes and automatic registration of feed intake is advisable. The farrowing barn is more in line with the daily practice, with 16 sows per unit. There are no free farrowing pens; that debate came a fraction too late in the planning phase. Especially the different forms of optimal piglet feeding are a focus point here. Piglet mortality was quite high at the beginning. Partly that is due in part to the manner of registration as well as the cir- cumstances, says Aluwé. “Through the years a good evolution in these numbers has been established, both by adjusting the sow choice and management.” The piglet barn has been adjusted with fewer animals per pen, because that is better for getting usable test results (more repetitions). A part consists of large pens, where steering excretion behaviour is a focal point now. Aluwé says, “We find it is even harder to create functional spaces with these pen formats.” She would no longer choose
22 ▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 8, 2020
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