SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½

Future Farm's Pig Unit shortlisted for series of national awards

Posted 19 September

An award-winning Pig Unit at SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ has once again been shortlisted for series of National Pig Awards.

The Unit and team members on the University's are shortlisted in four separate categories at this year’s awards, set to be held in November.

Monogastric Sector Manager Matt Swaine is one of three people shortlisted for Unit Manager of the Year, while the Unit is shortlisted in the Indoor Pig Producer of the Year and Herd Productivity categories.

The unit and team are also one of four shortlisted finalists for the NPA Allied Industry Member of the Year category – which will be voted on by members of the public.

 Matt said: “To be nominated in the National Pig Awards again is a great honour - we are very proud of the sows as they do most of the work, with their remarkable performance.

“It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all the members of the Pig Team, their attention to detail and care and welfare of the pigs is outstanding.

“We all share the same goal - to succeed and thrive to get the best performance we can from the unit.

“Indeed, one of the main attributes to the success of the unit is the team and their dedication to the animals to get the best from them.

“The sows are very placid, always wanting a fuss.

“For the unit to thrive we need the herd to retain the high health status we have - this means high welfare, the right nutrition, biosecurity, our cleaning and disinfection and vaccination programmes, and great attention to detail.

“With all this in place, we have healthy happy pigs that keep performing.”

Reflecting on both his own award and on the NPA Allied Industry Member of the Year award, Matt added: “It’s a great honour to be in the finals - being nominated for the award means a lot to me as I have been working with pigs for more than 30 years.

“To be recognised nationally is great, after 30 years working with pigs it still fascinates me seeing what these animals can achieve.

“Meanwhile the award for allied industry member isn’t just about the success of the Pig Unit: it is for all the work SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ do to help the allied industry.

“That means things like the Pig Industry Scholarship programme in partnership with AHDB, the work the university does for placement students in the pig sector, the knowledge exchange we offer to industry, the research work that we do - the list is endless!

“If we are successful in winning this award, it all be an award for the whole University to be proud of.”