Disinfecting trucks to protect against African swine fever (ASF), using slaughter data to improve pig health and an initiative to promote pork to consumers were among the winning practices in the 2020Â EU PiG Innovation Group (EU PiG) Grand Prix.
Eight pig producers from across Europe have been awarded the title of EU PiG Ambassador, to recognise their innovation in pig production.
The Grand Prix is an annual competition which aims to identify and share innovative practices in pig production throughout the European network of pig producers, and beyond.
EU PiG coordinator Ben Williams, of AHDB, congratulated the 2020 EU PiG Ambassadors.
“This year’s winning best practices should act as aspirational examples of innovative techniques used on pig farms to tackle each of the eight challenges,” he said.
The winning best practices from the 2020 EU PiG Grand Prix are:
| THEME | CHALLENGE | BEST PRACTICE | COUNTRY |
| Health | African swine fever (ASF) biosecurity measures | DrySyst: Truck dry disinfection | Spain |
| Use of slaughter data to improve health outcomes | Use of slaughter data to develop dashboard system to improve pig herd health | Ireland | |
| Meat quality | How to promote pork to consumers? | Create awareness through company tours and the sale of unique Berkhout meat with a story | The Netherlands |
| Being competitive in small-scale farming: developing a niche-market for pork | Expression of the product: Union of local breed, land and men | France | |
| Welfare | Solutions for heat stress | High-pressure fogging | TheNetherlands |
| Strategies for dealing with piglets from hyper prolific sows | Implementing KALINAT approach to fully promote the hyper prolificacy of sows | France | |
| Precision | Reducing costs | 5S Lean programme to improve work efficiency | Ireland |
| Increasing overall farmsustainability | Sustainably produced ABF Rypsiporsas | Finland |
The full details about how each of the ambassador’s innovations work in practice will soon be provided on the website (https://www.eupig.eu/).
Mr Williams added: “Fundamentally, this competition is about connecting pig producers, creating a European network where new information and experience can be shared directly. This aims to ensure an ever more efficient and competitive industry.
“Using the EU PiG platform, producers are able to learn about the ideas and techniques used effectively across Europe to help improve the efficiency and sustainability of their own farm.”
The EU PiG project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.