The 2019 Nick Bird Award has been presented at Harper Adams University, to Olivia Hartshorn, from Staffordshire, for her dissertation on ventilation design in pig finisher houses and its impact on animal performance.

Unlike other countries which experience hot weather regularly, pig housing in the UK does not usually have any cooling elements such as misters, so our pigs are likely to feel the brunt of the temperature.

Health is a key factor in pig production. Buildings, and the environment they provide, have an enormous influence on the health of pigs and therefore their performance.

Larger livestock units with many bulk bins, often on different sites, makes it increasingly difficult for farmers, managers and stock-people to remember to check the amount of feed remaining in them. This problem has been overcome with a new electronic sensor device called the SiloMetric, supplied by ARM Buildings.

Harper Adams student, Bethany Walford, has been given a one-year’s placement opportunity by Staffordshire-based ARM Buildings and Reading-based technology company, Farmex, to help develop their digital sales and marketing operations.

Mick McNulty has been appointed contracts manager for Staffordshire-based ARM Buildings. Previously senior site foreman, and with 30 years’ experience, he is amply qualified for this position and is already well-known among many pig farmers.

Colder weather could be a blessing for pig farmers with naturally-ventilated straw-based finishing houses. On some farms there has been an endless round of mucking out dirty bedding because the pigs’ dunging habits have been reversed.

IT systems for pig production management from farmex – turning data into information into knowledge into profit! 

Tim Miller, environmental specialist with Staffordshire-based ARM Buildings, says load-cells have been installed under feed bins on a number of units.