On-farm best practice from across the major pig producing countries in Europe will be captured and disseminated via a new producer-led knowledge-sharing project.
The EU PiG Innovation Group (EU PiG) aims to support the competitiveness of the European pig industry through identifying and sharing ground breaking innovations and validated best practices.
The project is funded by the European Commission, building an expert network of 19 organisations representing 13 European member states.
Over four years, EU PiG will focus on innovation and best practice in four broad thematic areas, identified as the main challenges currently facing the industry; health management, precision production, welfare and meat quality.
Best practice will be identified through a novel ‘EU PiG Grand Prix’. These annual, local contests will identify best practice in each thematic area, with producers going on to compete at a European level for the coveted title of ‘EU PiG Ambassador’.
Ambassadors will be selected via an evaluation of their best practice, taking into consideration current state of art and economic benefits. The resulting award winning best practice will be celebrated and shared with other producers.
Each year, the contest will focus on different topics under each of the four themes, selected through consultation with the industry and with input from technical experts, to take into account industry trends and emerging issues.
This year the topics are; bio-security, reduction of antimicrobial medication, reduction of boar taint, innovation in short food supply chain, castration methods, tail docking, smart water usage and feeding management.
