Farmers Weekly farm manager award win brings wider recognition

Rob McGregor’s wider pig sector involvement has grown since he was named Farmers Weekly Farm Manager of the Year in 2022.

The Norfolk-based farmer, of LSB Pigs, was asked by the AHDB to appear in a series of consumer-facing videos on outdoor pig production, focusing on aspects such as the benefits of running the pigs on green cover and the clean water system he has introduced.

The videos are part of the We Eat Balanced campaign and have been filmed recently for release in late spring/early summer.

See also: Farmers Weekly Awards 2022: farm manager of the year

“It’s been an interesting process and was a big complement; it’s all part of what we are trying to do in raising awareness of how the pigs are produced and particularly the welfare aspects,” he says.

The Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture has also been in touch asking for his help to develop employee and employer resources to improve staff recruitment and retention.

This includes the possibility of Mr McGregor and some of his staff taking part in videos about working on an outdoor unit.

The aim is to profile the types of role offered by the sector, including a trainee stockperson, herd manager and, through BQP, a fieldsperson role.

Opportunities

Mr McGregor’s win also meant that BQP – which he produces weaners for on contract – took the opportunity to arrange farm walks for some of its other outdoor breeders.

Although open and very willing to share his approach and developments, bringing visitors onto the farm is always a risk, with strict protocols on putting time between the LSB Pigs visit and any contact with pigs on other units.

His next visitor challenge is a group of 47 students from Aberystwyth University, on a study tour of a variety of farms, with LSB Pigs as their first stop.

Feed trials

Improvements are always being sought and tested. When last year’s judging visit took place, the next experiment was to take delivery of and feed ensiled beet pulp.

While there were no negatives for the pigs, the logistics of handling the beet pulp in and out of the farm were challenging, and a decision was made not to take this up.

“The sows were very content on it and ate it well but were less active, returning to their arks soon after filling up on it.

“One batch of sows performed particularly well, in terms of numbers born alive and weaned, but when grazing, they are out and about and moving more, and I think that level of fitness and exercise is very valuable,” he says.

Constant search for improvement

Mr McGregor has other technical, welfare and cost-savings in his sights.

The most recent is the purchase of pregnancy scanning kit for about £2,000 – a considerable reduction compared with the cost some years ago.

The farm has used the same external scanner for many years, but with its own kit, savings on both cost and timeliness can be made.

“Previously, we scanned every three weeks. Now, we can do it to our own timetable, including scanning an individual animal whenever we want to – for example, where a phantom pregnancy might be suspected,” he says.

He has shadowed the scanning contractor to learn the ropes and is training a staff member, too.

“Recently, we’ve also been thinking about how to reuse and recycle. The hot weather last year challenged us in terms of welfare, so we’re looking at how to raise the arks to get some air flow under them.

“We have some redundant water tanks, so one thought is to fill them with ballast and sit the arks on top of them.”

Wallows are also an important part of welfare but present a management challenge in hot weather, so canopies are being considered.

In the medium term, the carbon challenge is a concern.

“We have to be carbon neutral in seven years – there are pledges and constant reminders but no one is taking this up or telling us how to do this at farm level and the clock is ticking.”

Mr McGregor is keen to get involved in any initiative to address this, for LSB Pigs and the wider pig sector.