Eddie Clarke has overseen impressive pig performance improvements on five free-range growing sites since he put himself forward to take on responsibility for them three years ago.
A very dedicated stockperson, he has 24 years’ experience working for Norfolk-based North Farm Livestock – the Overall Pig Producer of the Year at last year’s National Pig Awards – and the largest free-range pork producer in the UK, with 7,000 breeding sows.
Results since Eddie moved into his leadership role have included an improvement in feed conversion ratio of more than 4% on one site, as well as an 8% increase in daily liveweight gain on another.
Performance is driven by Eddie’s deeply held values to ensure the pigs come first at all times. A key part of delivering these consistently high levels of stockmanship is the way in which he has shared his knowledge with his newly formed team, leading by example and offering lots of support.
There are six staff members including himself across the five units, which range in size from 2,400 to 6,800 pig places, with weaned piglets arriving at four or five weeks old and going through to finishing.
“I aim to maintain a high standard of pig welfare all the way through each batch,” said Eddie. “I try to pass on the knowledge I’ve picked up over the years to the people working for me and instil the standards we all keep up. There is also a really good support network across the business.”
When Eddie first moved into his current role he needed to recruit new staff, and he has dedicated himself to training and developing them. “I feel quite proud to see the lads I’ve trained up getting the results at the end of each batch, which have been better than ever before,” he said.
“Although it was daunting to start with, I’ve seen everyone respond positively and stay in the team. It gives me more confidence knowing they all enjoy it and are thriving. That helps me thrive and grow, too – it’s what drives me and makes me want to keep progressing.”
Performance figures across four units that he is responsible for, covering 18,000 pigs, have been very consistent since the spring:
- Growth rates from weaning have ranged from 825g/day to 880g/day across the units.
- Mortality rate has ranged from 4.09% to 4.45%
- Feed conversion ratio has ranged from 2.25 to 2.34.
Staying ahead
When gearing the tented pig accommodation to winter or summer conditions, Eddie and his team try to do as much preparation as possible the day before, so they keep one step ahead and are always ready to meet the pigs’ needs.
In the summer, particularly when the heat is extreme, as it has been this year, a key focus is on maintaining the wallows to keep the pigs cool. They also take the backs off the tents, so they become an open canopy to allow the breeze through.
When the seasons change, the team put bales up at the front to shield young pigs from cold winter air until they are hardy enough to cope with the elements, and they always make sure there is plenty of straw bedding. Keeping pigs warm in the winter, particularly when they are very young, is a priority.
“A lot of these things are common sense,” said Eddie. “There’s also hard graft. Putting the tent backs on or taking them off is a two-man job and we organise our labour accordingly across the sites, to make sure it’s done on time.”
Accommodation can be adapted gradually when needed, depending on the weather and size and needs of the pigs. For example, when pigs are small, they might remove the back from just one of the two tents in each pen so that piglets have the option to go out.
“When they’re little, they tend to all group together in one tent. Then, as they start to grow, some will choose the more open tent and some will choose the cosy one still,” Eddie added. “There is a lot of thought involved – we’re always thinking ahead about what would work best and lots of small things work together to make a big difference.”
Details count
Meticulous attention to detail in the first few weeks, in particular, when piglets are still building up their resilience, has resulted in less illness later on in the growing and finishing process.
Groups of small pigs are kept in separate pens, with a small sheep trough to start with, instead of the larger feed hoppers. Feed is mixed with water plus electrolyte powder to help digestion and to keep them well hydrated.
There are six different feed stages between weaning and finishing, with two stages of bagged creep feed before they move on to a link diet, and then milled feed rations for the late weaner, grower and finisher rations.
“We are constantly walking around, checking the pigs to see that they have everything they need, making sure they have enough straw, checking that the drinkers are flat on the ground and pigs can get to all the nipples,” Eddie explained.
Everyone in the team understands the benefits of being proactive and planning ahead to make sure pig care is always as it should be. Most of the staff had some previous pig farming experience, so training has been about fine-tuning and familiarising everyone with the specific ways things are done on North Farm Livestock units.
“My recent new starter and I went round together for the first two weeks, focusing on basic checks to begin with. New staff start by making sure feeders are clean and that there is clean running water, then they’ll get on the machines,” Eddie added. “I’m always hands-on to make sure new people get a good understanding of how we work. It takes time, but it’s the best way.”
Workload balance
Eddie places a lot of importance on looking after people – his aim is to get young people to enjoy their work and hopefully have a long career in pig production.
“It helps if people see you there working with them, rather than just giving instructions,” he explained. “I always give a lot of support, as I know it can be a difficult job, and lonely at times. If there are any problems, the lads know I’m around to help and that goes a long way. Whenever we can, we all have a catch-up and we all get on well.”
Generally, each member of the team starts their day in their individual roles on different sites, typically keeping in touch with Eddie two or three times on the phone during the morning.
“We try to organise ourselves to balance the workload across the sites,” he said. “Earlier in a batch when the pigs are smaller it’s easier for one person to get round them, but when the pigs are bigger, we’ll have two people on one site, especially on the two largest units.
“We don’t have all the sites full at once, so if one empties, we can move someone across to help on another, or I will go and help, with one of us strawing up while the other is feeding.”
Looking ahead
For Eddie, further expansion of the wider business will continue to engage his skills and provide new challenges, while he will always be looking for different ways to continue to improve what the team does.
“This job is always changing, and you can’t rest on your laurels. It can get hard, but you have to take the rough with the smooth, and I do really enjoy it. It’s a family firm and the people I’ve known and worked with for 24 years have given me a huge amount of support. It drives you to try to give that back.”