The Pig Edge

Anyone with an interest in the pig industry is well aware of African Swine Fever (ASF) and the threat it poses to the pig sector. On this episode of the Pig Edge, Amy Quinn speaks to Eithne White, Veterinary Inspector from the National Disease Control Centre at the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine, to get an overview, update and general advice on ASF. For more episodes and information from the Pig Edge podcast go

Pig Farmers can often spend a considerable amount of time grading and sorting pigs throughout the production stages, but in this episode of the Pig Edge, Specialised Pig Advisor Michael McKeon talks to Amy Quinn to discuss why this well-meant practice might in some cases be costing producers. Michael first coined the term “Evenitis” to best describe this practice at the 2015 Teagasc Pig Farmers conference and he tells us that this issue hasn’t gone away. Michael firstly takes us through

Head of Knowledge Transfer for the Teagasc Pig Development Department, Ciarán Carroll joins Amy Quinn on this episode of The Pig Edge to discuss the topic of seasonal infertility in pig production. Ciarán firstly talks through what exactly seasonal fertility is and how it presents itself. He then discusses what measures pig producers should look at to minimise the potential effects over the coming months. He also touches on some of the most relevant research that has been carried out on

The topical area of antimicrobial use and resistance in pig production is covered by Amy Quinn on the latest Pig Edge podcast with Teagasc PhD student Lorcan O’Neill.   Firstly Lorcan gives an overview of his study which looked at antimicrobial usage on Irish pig farms. He then discusses where the Irish pig industry stands in comparison to other countries in terms of measuring antimicrobial usage at farm level.  Lorcan also touches on the new EU regulations governing antibiotic use which

Teagasc Specialised Pig Advisor Ger McCutcheon joins Amy Quinn on the latest episode of the Pig Edge to discuss the newly released Teagasc National Pig Herd Performance Report which outlines the key performance indicators and their trends for the 2019 year.   Ger firstly introduces us to the eProfit Monitor system (ePM) and how it can be used as a useful management tool on pig farms. Ger then highlights the main results and trends, taking us through the 2019 averages for the main key

Teagasc Researcher Maria Costa joins Amy Quinn on this episode of the Pig Edge to discuss the completed PATHSURVPIG project.  This project may be familiar to many as over 60 commercial Irish farms were involved in the project which investigated the extent of respiratory disease on Irish pig farms, associated risk factors, and the relationship with performance, welfare and antimicrobial use.  Firstly, Maria explains what was involved in this project and also discusses the true effect of

Teagasc Researcher Peadar Lawlor joins Amy Quinn on the first episode of the Pig Edge to discuss the WET-FEED project which is nearing completion, this project looked at optimising liquid feeding for increased growth and improved feed efficiency in grow-finisher pigs. Firstly, Peadar explains what this project was all about and outlines its main objectives. Peadar also touches on the practice of liquid feeding, in general, its popularity, as well as the main advantages and disadvantages of

The Pig Edge, Teagasc's new podcast for pig farmers is launching soon.Presented by Amy Quinn, the Pig Edge will cover the news, information and advice to keep pig farmers up-to-date.