The structure of the programme, spread over several training days, addressed topical issues such as the reduction of antibiotics and animal welfare, together with more traditional topics such as farm management, animal health and farm workforce optimization.
The management section was divided between two days; the first day consisted of a theoretical session on farm management, given at the HIPRA headquarters by the international consultant Enric Marco (MarcoVet Group). The theoretical session was very dynamic, with discussions with the veterinarians about the latest innovations in the management of pregnant and lactating sows and piglets in the first 48 hours of life up to weaning; innovations with the objective of maximizing productive parameters on the farm. The knowledge acquired was put into practice the following day during a complete tour of a farm, where various subjects were discussed, in particular the group management of pregnant sows by means of electronic feeding stations.
On the third day, the group moved to the headquarters of CRESA (Animal Health Research Centre), where Dr. Joaquim Segalés (director of CRESA), Dr. Gerard Martín (CRESA researcher) and Dr. Marga Martín (CRESA researcher and professor at the UAB) presented three refresher sessions on different diseases such as influenza, enteric diseases and the Porcine Respiratory Complex. These sessions were of great interest to the specialists as they discussed the main differences in terms of swine disease between the different countries.
On the last day, there were three training sessions on different highly topical subjects: the science of animal welfare, presented by Dr. Antoni Dalmau (IRTA researcher), the practice and reality of the reduction of antibiotic use in Denmark by the Danish veterinary consultant Tage Rodbro (LVK vet consultancy), and a final session on farm workforce optimization given by the Spanish consultant Antonio Ubiergo (AVP Planasdemunt & Associats).
This comprehensive new advanced training programme, which is part of the HIPRA UNIVERSITY, was created with the aim of offering specialists in the global companies in the swine sector updates on swine health and production. In this way, HIPRA consolidates its position as a strategic partner of major companies in global swine production, not only providing highly effective and safe vaccines, but also contributing to the training of the best specialists for these companies.
