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National Pig Association THE VOICE OF THE UK PIG INDUSTRY NPA is active on members' behalf in Brussels & White-hall, and with pro-cessors, supermarkets & caterers – fighting for the growth and pros-perity of the UK pig industry.

The aim is to develop sustainable high-health weaner systems that maximise use of home-grown feed, including cereals and oilseeds.

The work anticipates the future needs of the pig industry, when antimicrobial growth promoters and antimicrobial minerals will be banned from use as prophylactics.

Academic partners involved are SAC and the universities of Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham. The project will be managed by Professor Ilias Kyriazakis of SAC.

'Occurrences of microbial digestive disturbances in weaner pigs present problems and these will be exacerbated after 2006 when the use of antimicrobial agents as zootechnical feed additives will be potentially phased out in the EU,' said Stewart Houston, chairman of the British Pig Executive.

'There is an urgent need for a better scientific understanding of the dietary factors influencing digestive disorders so that new sustainable feeding strategies for weaner pigs can be designed and introduced.'

The 31.5 million project will be jointly funded by Defra, the Meat and Livestock Commission, the Home Grown Cereals Authority, and ABNA, BASF Group, Primary Diets Ltd and Provimi Ltd.

It is part of a proposed 33.35 million programme of research on sustainable systems for weaner pig management.

Source: National Pig Association - 20th August 2003