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Lessons learned from FMD
Thompson’s tip:
On pig units, the many problems following the 2001 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease fell into two distinct areas.
Firstly, gross overstocking exacerbated PMWS and also triggered its appearance on previously-unaffected farms. Secondly, a longer-term problem was the failure of breeding herds to maintain an optimum parity structure among their sows. This had a major knock-on effect on fertility, reducing herd performance. The effects were still being seen on some farms years after the event, points out Paul Thompson, veterinary consultant to pig-breeding company, ACMC.
Retaining older parity sows is counter-productive and despite the cost, they should be culled when possible and replacements introduced. While in the very short-term cutting replacements and retaining sows may be the only option, as soon as the opportunity presents itself the replacement strategy should be re-examined, he advises.
It should be remembered that if this task is left for too long, it may then become necessary to introduce large numbers of gilts into the herd at once, and this can have a destabilising effect on herd health.
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