Over 170 pig farmers and industry representatives were privy to a visit of the new Teagasc’s Pig Development Unit recently.
The pig unit, which was built on the Teagasc Moorepark campus is now the centralised home for all Teagasc pig research in Ireland.
According to Teagasc, the total capital investment on the new facility was €3.5m and it can house 200 sows and their progeny through to sale.
Through participation in the stakeholder group they provide feedback and input into the Teagasc pig development programme to ensure its relevance to commercial application.
The ‘walk through’ tour took place prior to stocking of the new facility for bio-security reasons.
Pig research started in Moorepark in 1958 and the old piggery had become completely outdated relative to modern commercial farms, and so an updated research centre was needed.
Dr Laura Boyle explains the working of sow feet crate. Photo: Shane McAuliffe
Teagasc’s Pig Development unit – Purpose built for research
According to Teagasc, the new facility is purpose built for research, allowing trial work to be carried out on individual and small batches of pigs.
As well as the normal pig housing associated with commercial pig farms the new facility also has a range of experimental research housing and equipment.
These include a high spec feeding system that allows feeding of multiple diets to different categories of pigs throughout the farm and a wet feeding experimental room.
Teagasc also say that the new Pig Development Unit features two Feed Intake Recording Equipment station rooms for weaner and finisher pigs, a metabolism room, a sow care room, an experimental farrowing room, breed evaluation rooms and a laboratory with freezer rooms.
Tomas Ryan shows the workings of the Big Dutch Man feeder. Source: Shane McAuliffe