Carrying out an on-farm audit, covering potential efficiency factors such as animal health, mycotoxin exposure and antimicrobial use, could help optimise herd performance and farm profitability, according to the biotechnology company, Alltech.
“It’s vital that producers look at their business with a critical and detailed eye to ensure performance is optimised and costs are controlled,” said the company’s technical support advisor for pigs, Lauren Dimmick.
“There’s a diverse range of pig production systems and varying management practices, with different associated risks. It’s therefore important to undertake a farm specific assessment to create a bespoke improvement plan, while taking into consideration wider scale risks.”
Commenting that Alltech’s Pig Assist programme will be featured by the company during next month’s Pig & Poultry Fair, Ms Dimmick (pictured above) highlighted the value of carrying out a visual on-farm assessment to allow a full analysis to be made of the elements that could be contributing to performance losses and which might ultimately be reducing profitability.
“By undertaking a farm assessment to scrutinise current management procedures, pig farmers will also be better able to stay in line with retailer and consumer requirements, while ensuring improved return on investment and higher profitability per pig,” she said.