MS Schippers are most predominantly known for their large wholesale business, selling approximately 15,000 different products in 40 countries throughout the world. The company has a large footprint on pig, poultry and dairy farms. However, its latest venture sees it focus on pig hygiene.

HyCare system

The HyCare system focuses on the way that diseases are spread, whether this is through a farmer’s boot, hands, needles, flies or rodents and how they can be prevented. While the company does see the benefits of vaccines, it does not believe that using an increasing number of vaccines is the answer. As farms get bigger the pressure from infectious diseases will only increase.

The HyCare system focuses on a few different areas, including the routes that are taken throughout the sheds, ensuring clean materials are used, the cleaning and disinfection of housing, pest management, carcase control and water quality.

The company currently has the system set up on four pilot farms as well as having its own research facility. The aim is to have 17 pilot farms at the end of the year. For now, the HyCare system is focused on pigs from weaning until finishing. However, it has also been implemented on farms from birth until weaning.

The reason that the weaners were focused on is that currently 80% of antibiotic use is at the weaner stage.

The system is not only suitable to new farms, neither is it about completely rebuilding old sheds. The hope is that this is a system which can be implemented on a general pig farm.

Coating

The main aspect of the system is to apply a coating on the wall (to a height of 1m) and the floors. This is not only done in the pens but also along corridors to ensure a clean and disinfected surface is present. The coating will also ensure that everything in the pens is sealed, including gaps between troughs and the floor.

The coating is three layers thick and should last 20 to 30 years. The coating will get rid of the general porous surface of concrete which can store a large amount of bacteria and infection. While the coating can be applied by a farmer, it is recommended that it be applied by a professional.

Not only are there less pores on the coated walls, reducing the amount of bacteria present, but it will also dramatically reduce the time that it takes to disinfect the shed. Depending on the surface and condition of the concrete, this coating can cost anywhere from €15 to €25/m2 to apply yourself. The higher cost represents where a lot of pores and cracks need to be filled.

Absorbent

During the course of the day, a demonstration was carried out to show how absorbent concrete is in comparison to a coated surface. Five hundred millilitres of water was poured from the top of two separate chutes, one with concrete and one coated. There was a substantial difference in the amount of water that is absorbed, with approximately 80% of the water being absorbed by the concrete and approximately 10% being absorbed on the coated surface.

Additional measures

HyCare facilities require anyone using the shed to shower before entering. Each section of the shed will have its own designated colour where the boots, overalls and appliances will all be the one colour and are not permitted to go to any other section; this helps prevent cross-contamination.

This system also helps to increase efficiency of the workload as the worker will not be going over and back between different sheds but will concentrate on one shed and carry out all tasks there before moving to a new area. In this respect, the education of farmers and employees is vital to ensure the system is efficient.

Other simple things like having a designated hand-wash routine and using flat-soled wellies all help to reduce the spread of bacteria.

One of the main disease pressures in pig housing is due to flies. Eighty-five per cent of the fly population is below the slats in the form of larvae and maggots. The HyCare system will see a growth regulator added to water and sprayed on the slats every 12 weeks. This will prevent the maggots developing into flies.

Poison paint is also used to kill adult flies. This can be painted on to the walls. It is vital that it is not painted on to a porous surface such as concrete.

The final aspect of the HyCare facility is to ensure clean water. This may sound obvious but the majority of water will be below the required standard in pigs’ houses.

The HyCare facility will see organic acids added to the water to not only clean the water pipes but to also purify the water, killing all bacteria.

Carcase management is vitally important in preventing the spread of disease on farms. MS Schippers has developed a cold store that will prevent the carcase decaying before it is collected for disposal. This helps improve the general hygiene of the farm.

Research facility

MS Schippers has run trials on its own farm to see the performance difference between pigs under the HyCare system and under normal conditions. They found a reduction in the use of antibiotics (89%), an increase in feed efficiency (4%), an increased growth rate (10%) and a lower mortality than pigs under normal conditions.

MS Schippers is currently in the process of getting funding for independent research to validate its results further.

Their own results have shown a €28/pig advantage when using the HyCare system when compared to the national average. The system represents a €13/pig difference when compared to their control group that was run simultaneously on the farm under normal conditions.

Concerns were raised that if the HyCare system was operated from birth until slaughter, it could leave pigs naïve to disease and make them more susceptible to a disease outbreak.

However, from being on a farm that the system is operated on, it is clear to see that the system will not make a shed sterile. It will, however, greatly reduce the sources of disease.