The Pig Edge

The 2022 Teagasc National Pig Herd Performance Report is hot off the press, showing some changes in our key performance indicators for 2022.    On the latest Pig Edge podcast, Specialised Pig Advisor Ger McCutcheon joins Amy Quinn to discuss the report and interpret the figures and trends in more detail.     For more episodes and information from the Pig Edge podcast go to:  https://www.teagasc.ie...

The Teagasc Pig Open day is just around the corner, taking place in Teagasc Moorepark Fermoy, Co. Cork at 10am on Tuesday May 9th and in Ballyhaise Agricultural College, Ballyhaise Co. Cavan at 10am on Thursday May 11th.   The pig development department will be showcasing the results of the comprehensive research programme undertaken here in Teagasc, giving you the chance to interact with our rese...

The Spanish pig sector has sparked a lot of interest here over the past number of years, for a lot of reasons.   It’s shown impressively fast growth to become the largest pork producer in Europe.  It’s demonstrated remarkable resilience during the recent financial crisis, with only a slight reduction in herd size.   Plus there’s the scale of its vertically integrated systems, as well its continual...

Ger McCutcheon, Specialist Pig Development Officer with Teagasc, joins Ciarán Carroll on the latest episode of the Pig Edge podcast to discuss the environmental sustainability of pig production and the value of pig slurry.   For more episodes and information from the Pig Edge podcast go to:  https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/pigs/the-pig-edge-podcast/     Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedi...

With the current situation of energy costs on pig farms, Louise Clarke, Specialist Adviser at Teagasc Ballyhaise, joins Ciarán Carroll on the latest Pig Edge podcast to discuss the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) and other energy cost-saving measures.   Louise first explains the financial help available to pig farmers via TBESS and the criteria to be eligible for it.   Plus she al...

2022 has been described as the toughest year in a generation for pig farmers but what does 2023 have in store?   Michael McKeon, Teagasc’s specialist pig development officer, joins Ciarán Carroll to look back on the year that was, discussing the main issues and difficulties, as well as highlighting the positive news on the horizon.   2023 will be brighter, says Michael, with a shortage of pig meat...

Teagasc Pig Advisor, Emer McCrum, joins Ciarán Carroll on the latest episode of the Pig Edge podcast to discuss some of the main topics and talking points from the 2022 Teagasc National Pig Farmers’ Conference.    Producers, farm staff and industry colleagues were welcomed back to an in-person event this year, the first since 2019 due to Covid 19 restrictions.    However, the conference was set ag...

Dr. Ruth Hamill, Senior Research Officer at Teagasc Ashtown, joins Ciarán Carroll on the latest Pig Edge podcast to discuss Value Added Pig meat.    Traditionally Irish pig meat is seen as a commodity product, with little focus on value added.    However, if we look at our exports, while value added pig meat only accounts for 20% of total volume sold, it accounts for more than 40% of value of expo...

Teagasc Health & Safety Specialist, Francis Bligh, joins Ciarán Carroll on the latest Pig Edge podcast to discuss tips and advice for health and safety on-farm as well as improving indications for the latest trends.   Podcast Survey In order to understand the aspects of podcasts which are most appealing and beneficial to you the listener, it would be appreciated if you could take 3-4 minutes t...

Bioenergy specialist, Barry Caslin, joins Ciarán Carroll on the latest episode of the Pig Edge podcast to discuss energy-saving technologies that are available for use on pig farms.   Podcast Survey In order to understand the aspects of podcasts which are most appealing and beneficial to you the listener, it would be appreciated if you could take 3-4 minutes to complete the following survey to giv...

Damien Ward, Assistant Principal Meat Policy Division in the Department of Agriculture, joins Ciarán Carroll on the latest Pig Edge podcast to explain the €13 million Pig Exceptional Payment Scheme 2 (PEPS2) which was launched in June.   PEPS 2 is a one-off payment scheme for pig farmers administered by the Department of Agriculture.    The aim is to support farmers in the current financial crisis...

Gerard McCutcheon, Specialist Pig Development Officer at Teagasc joins Ciarán Carroll on the latest Pig Edge podcast to discuss the recently published National Pig Herd Performance Report for 2021. This report is the detailed analysis of the performance of the pig farms that participated in the Teagasc e-Profit Monitor (ePM) recording system in 2021. The data available and included in this analysi...

With pig farmers facing into increasingly difficult times – be it financial, personal or professional – the one thing that shouldn’t be neglected is your mental health and well-being. George Graham is a farmer who faced up to his own problems in his life and went on to found Awareness Head to Toe, a voluntary group committed to helping farmers with their mental and general health. George joins Cia...

For the latest episode of the Pig Edge, you’ll hear from a recent webinar on ‘Financial Supports to Weather the Crisis’ that was held by the Pig Development Department on Wednesday, 16th February. Ciarán Carroll was joined by Gerard McCutcheon and Michael McKeon from the Teagasc Pig Development Department, to discuss current costs and cash flows. Sean Farrell, Strategic Banking Corporation of Irel...

With fertiliser prices reaching record highs, on this month's episode of the Pig Edge, you'll hear an interview that Catherine Egan from the Beef Edge podcast did recently with Teagasc pig development officer, Gerard McCutcheon, and Teagasc specialist, Mark Plunkett. Gerard and Mark gave their insights into using pig manure as a cheap alternative and the dos and don’ts around importing slurry. For...

In our first episode of the New Year, Teagasc Pig Advisor Louise Clarke joins Amy Quinn on the latest Pig Edge podcast to look at the year ahead and consider how to best plan for the current financial situation and legislative changes being implemented in 2022. Louise gives her advice and practical tips for producers dealing with these issues and lets us know about the upcoming Teagasc Webinar on...

For the final episode of the Pig Edge in 2021, Michael McKeon from the Teagasc Pig Development Department joins Amy Quinn to review 2021 and forecast 2022 for the Irish pig sector. For more episodes and information from the Pig Edge podcast go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/pigs/the-pig-edge-podcast/ Produced on behalf of Teagasc by LastCastMedia.com.

There’s no one more aware than the pig producers of the importance of animal health in the pig production system and on this week’s episode of the Pig Edge podcast, Superintending Vet Inspectors from the Department of Agriculture, Dr. Caroline Garvan and Dr. Damien Barrett join Amy Quinn to discuss Animal Health Awareness Week, the rise in antimicrobial resistance and the upcoming challenges for p...

Dr. Carla Gomes, Pig Health Check Programme manager with AHI joined Amy Quinn on the latest episode of the Pig Edge podcast to discuss the programme’s new database. Carla first explains the Pig Health Check Programme including the new Pig Health Check database and how farmers can access their data. She also discusses the Salmonella National Control Programme, gives advice on controlling Salmonella...

This year’s Virtual Pig Week will take place from October 19th-22nd on the Teagasc virtual platform and Ciarán Carroll joins Amy Quinn on the latest episode of the Pig Edge to preview what’s coming up. The event will cover a different topic on each of the four days and will run from 1-2 pm each day and by doing so it is hoped this will facilitate all those involved on farm and in the industry to a...

On the latest episode of the Pig Edge, Amy Quinn is joined by Teagasc Pig Development Department (PDD) Researcher, Keelin O Driscoll, and Head of Pig Knowledge Transfer, Ciarán Carroll, to discuss WAFL 2021, a recent international welfare research conference that took place last month, hosted by Teagasc and the University College Cork. Together they tell us some of the key points for pig producers...

Roy Gallie, Pig Producer, Tillage Farmer and Chair of the IFA pigs committee joined Amy Quinn on the latest episode of the Pig Edge podcast. Roy first explains the history of his farm and its current set up and he then goes through where he sees genetic improvement going, the biggest challenges facing the pig industry and his top pieces of advice. For more episodes and information from the Pig Edg...

Louise Clarke, Teagasc Pig Advisor based in Teagasc Ballyhaise, joined Amy Quinn on the latest episode of the Pig Edge podcast to discuss why farmers should be targeting a 100kg total litter weaning weight per sow. Louise first explained this relatively new key performance indicator (KPI) and detailed why this is something we should be targeting. She then highlighted how we can go about achieving...

Gerard McCutcheon, Specialist Pig Development Officer, Teagasc Oakpark, joined Ciarán Carroll on the latest episode of the Pig Edge podcast to discuss the findings from the 2020 Teagasc National Pig Herd Performance Report. Ger first explained the Teagasc eProfit Monitor Pig Recording Programme and why it’s useful for the management of pig farms. He then goes through the key performance indicators...

Laura Boyle, Senior Research Officer at the Teagasc Moorepark Pig Research Facility joins Ciarán Carroll on the latest episode of the Pig Edge podcast to discuss euthanasia & the casualty pig. Laura explains what euthanasia is and outlines the key parameters that farmers can use to identify sick and casualty pigs providing guidelines for farmers to help identify when a pig should be euthanised...