Veterinary advisory support for five pig farms, mostly located in areas close to the combat zone or those that were under occupation, is provided by Oleksiy Sheptukha, a veterinarian and pig expert.
«To ensure the best results, we provide comprehensive veterinary support, which includes: 1) biosafety audit of the enterprise with the identification of gaps and the formation of recommendations for improvement, taking into account the financial capabilities of the farm; 2) analysis of the health status of the herd, technological indicators of production of each sex and age group of animals, data from post-slaughter analysis of carcasses, as well as pathological autopsies of dead animals; 3) identification of problems, development and implementation of veterinary schemes and technological improvements to eliminate them; 4) verification of the effectiveness of the proposed measures and their adjustment if necessary. Even if there are no obvious signs of pig disease on the farm, we determine the likelihood of problem areas using various indicators. We evaluate the breeding stock by insemination efficiency; suckling piglets by mortality rate before weaning, cases of diarrhea, and weight gain; and growing and fattening pigs by average daily weight gain, feed conversion, and mortality rate. During the post-slaughter analysis, we examine the respiratory tract, liver, kidneys, etc., comparing them with the established criteria for deviations from the norm (compliance table). Based on the pathological and anatomical autopsy and laboratory test results, we make an accurate diagnosis. This allows us to understand what the problem is and how best to solve it. I am confident that such a comprehensive approach will help enterprises improve their usual veterinary practices and increase the health status of pigs,» the expert comments.
The Association of Ukrainian Pig Breeders is a non-profit, voluntary organization founded by Ukrainian pork producers. The main purposes of the association are representation and protection of rights and interests of farms of the association, assistance in development and introduction of new technologies for efficient production of pork, expansion of sales markets, and protection of domestic sales market.
