Hot topics in European swine production
For an American audience, it can be refreshing to hear what’s going on across the ocean. At the recently held general meeting of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) in San Francisco, Pig Progress editor Vincent ter Beek discussed hot topics in European swine production. This is an adapted version of his talk on March 3.
Exploring “hot topics in European swine production” also means defining what not will be explored. It will not cover slow developments. It will not cover general topics in agriculture. And it will not talk about Australia, China or for that matter, the United States.
Perhaps “Europe” requires a little more narrowing down. Because technically this could refer to an entire continent, also including Iceland, the UK, Ukraine, Georgia or Turkey. Seeing that this paper more than once will relate to developments initiated at the headquarters of the European Union (EU), this exploration will focus on developments happening in the EU.
For most non-EU members the EU is a major trade partner, which is why developments, regulations and standards developed within the EU have a substantial impact on those just outside. Hence, the 4 swine production themes are the environment, pig welfare, health issues and nutrition.
The most recent developments in various European capitals give reason to believe that Brussels has understood that a more moderate policy might be the way ahead for the next few years
1. Environment
Many developments in swine production relate to one another and that is certainly true for this hot topic: the environment. What is being discussed in this chapter – nitrogen emissions and zinc oxide – have its repercussions on nutrition as well.
To some, the words “sustainability,” “global warming,” and “carbon footprint” mean a tremendous lot, others may shrug or others again may be of the opinion that all this “green” attention is merely hogwash. In the EU, environmental policies certainly have found their way into European politics when the ambitious “Green Deal” was introduced to make Europe carbon neutral by 2050. Nevertheless, the announcement of many “green” regulations did not always receive unanimous positive acclaim. The most recent developments in various European capitals give reason to believe that Brussels has understood that a more moderate policy might be the way ahead for the next few years.
Nitrogen emissions: a nagging problem
One way how environmental legislation has recently affected the swine industry in North Western Europe is related to nitrogen emissions. Particularly, this has become a major problem in the Netherlands, Belgium as well as Denmark in recent years, countries with a thriving swine industry. Bottom line of the problem is that under the European Natura 2000 Directive, every EU member state promised to look well after national parks and nature in general. Now that protection can become jeopardised when nature and agriculture occur close to one another. After all, an excess of nitrogen being emitted can affect biodiversity. Certain plants can thrive whereas others may vanish.
In the Netherlands, the issue has led to extremely fierce debate, with tractors rolling down highways and public controversy impacted at least one and perhaps even two elections. Currently, a government more favourable to agriculture’s course is in power but even they cannot make the conflict of interest go away. In Belgium, an approach was taken to engage on a road to reduce livestock numbers and the Danes have also agreed to bring down the number of livestock, including swine.
Zinc oxide having environmental consequences
Another Europe-wide environmental development with implications for the swine industry has been the restriction of the use of zinc oxide in weaner feeds. This certainly has a strong environmental component, as excess use of zinc can end up in the environment – at least that is the thought behind it. As of mid-2022, producers in the EU can only use 150 ppm zinc in weaner feeds, this should be to meet the pigs’ nutritious needs. Pharmacological levels of zinc oxide are not to be given any longer to overcome weaning diarrhoea. The EU is not the only one doing this – also in Canada and in China laws exist to limit the use of zinc oxide.
2. Welfare
Many pig welfare initiatives are being researched in the European Union, but when looking to legislation that is likely to become introduced in the next few years, one would be looking at tail docking, farrowing and lactation management, and weaning age.
An end to tail docking
An end to tail docking is described well in a Scientific Opinion of August 2022, written at the request of the European Commission, published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). This Scientific Opinion is part of the Farm-to-Fork Strategy, a component of the aforementioned Green Deal. The idea of a scientific opinion is to evaluate whether existing practices need a reviewing. Generally a Scientific Opinion paves the way for further regulations or directives.
In 2008, an EU Council Directive already stated that tail docking should not be performed routinely, but in practice that did not stop producers from tail docking. In case the 2022 Scientific Opinion will be adopted, tail docking of pigs is going to become a thing of the past.
Currently in the EU, tail docking is not performed in Sweden and Finland, and the practice is also banned in non-EU member states Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. Especially Finland has been quite vocal about its ban on tail docking, which was introduced 2 decades ago. To make the rest of the EU follow, scientific studies are being conducted to figure out what complex multifactorial mechanisms lie behind biting happens and how it can be prevented. Various industry players have also started developing initiatives – worth mentioning is France’s largest pig cooperative Cooperl which aims to market pork of pigs whose tails have been left intact.
Freedom during farrowing and lactation
A 2nd important development is how sows should be kept during farrowing and lactation. The same Scientific Opinion of August 2022 openly discusses that free farrowing should become the standard, with an enlarged area of the total farrowing pen. This will have far-reaching consequences throughout the EU, as it will have an impact on the sizes of farrowing houses.
Ahead of new legislation, both Austria and Germany have already adopted new legislation – each with their own specifications. Sweden, as well as non-EU member states Switzerland and Norway, already banned the use of farrowing crates.
Good to mention in this context is recent legislation in Germany with regard to sows during the breeding phase. In 2021, Germany introduced legislation which is pretty similar to what was introduced in California with the Prop 12 initiative – at artificial insemination, sows cannot be confined very long. Germany followed Austria, which initiated legislation along these lines earlier.
Weaning age at 28 days
A 3rd point in the 2022 EFSA Scientific Opinion relates to the current weaning age. Currently, under EU directives, an age of 28 days is recommended, yet exceptions are allowed in specific circumstances. In practice, the specific circumstances often tend to be the norm. The Scientific Opinion advised to reconsider this, meaning that the weaning age of 28 days would become the standard.
For over a decade now, African Swine Fever virus (ASFv) has been top of mind for the swine industry in Europe
3. Health issues
2 viral diseases dominate the headlines in Europe these days – ASFv and PRRSv, each for their own reasons.
African Swine Fever never ceases to attract attention
For over a decade now, African Swine Fever virus (ASFv) has been top of mind for the swine industry in Europe. The virus arrived on the continent via Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2007 and then gradually made its way into Russia, Eastern Europe and finally the European Union (2014). Late 2024 most of Middle and Eastern Europe had had a visit by the virus, as well as a few countries in Western Europe, including Sweden, Belgium, Germany and Italy.
To date, the Czech Republic (2017), Belgium (2018) and Sweden (2023) are the only countries that have managed to eradicate the virus – with the unfortunate note that the virus returned to a different part of the Czech Republic in 2022. In these successful cases, there happened to be a one-off infection in feral pig populations, which could be controlled when the combining the right veterinary policies with cooperation and transparency.
In Germany, the situation is somewhat different, as the country shares a long border with Poland, where the virus is out of control. As a result, there is a constant risk of renewed waves of infected wild boar migrating across the border. In addition, in summer 2024, the virus emerged near Frankfurt-am-Main, in the country’s south-west. So far, this outbreak has formed a challenge, leading to various farms being infected as well.
Italy is also having difficulties getting ASF under control. In 2022, the virus emerged at 5 different locations in Italy. 4 out of 5 could be controlled, but the 5th – in the north – has led to serious animal health issues. Due to an abundance of feral pigs as well as pig farms in the region around Milan and Genoa, the virus managed to spread quickly, leading to at least 120,000 domestic pigs having to be culled over the last 2 years.
PRRSv: Rosalía in Spain
Health-wise, also Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus (PRRSv) provides an entirely different challenge. Spain has been fighting the PRRS-variant Rosalía for several years now, which essentially is a combination of the American and European subtype. In comparison to earlier varieties of PRRS, Rosalía causes higher levels of mortality and abortions in sows, more stillborn piglets and higher mortality rates in growers and finishers. As Spain is not exporting live pigs, Rosalía is not creating problems elsewhere.
Control programmes for PRRSv underway
Not surprisingly, various countries have expressed the desire to get the virus under control once and for all. Hungary, building a centralised nationwide programme, says its swine herds are ready to receive the status free from PRRS. As per this year, vaccination against PRRS is forbidden. Denmark, on the other hand, has embarked on a different route, to entirely eradicate the virus. In an initiative supported by many industry stakeholders, the Danish decided to include PRRSv in the national Specific-Pathogen-Free breeding program based on serology tests. This programme has been underway now for 2 years and again – transparency and cooperation are the basis. It is expected it will take some time for the virus to flare out.
4. Nutrition
The removal of pharmacological levels of zinc oxide from weaner pig diets as per mid-2022 has led to a re-thinking of weaner pig management. Ways to prevent the occurrence of post-weaning diarrhoea involve solutions from the areas of genetics, vaccination as well as management – but the majority of suggested solutions undoubtedly come from the field of pig nutrition.
Even though none of them can be considered to be the silver bullet, it shows a market eager to find different solutions. Some ideas for feed-related solutions involve the usage of wheat bran in the diets, or the inclusion of probiotics, benzoic acids or yeast products. In addition, a lot of attention is being paid to train piglets how to consume solid feed prior to weaning, to make them well-prepared.
Lowering crude protein levels
A more fundamental route of exploration is the search for lowering crude protein levels in weaner pig diets. After all, high levels of proteins in weaner diets can contribute to the occurrence of post-weaning diarrhoea. When taking this approach, various other issues are also being tackled. Protein sources are costly anyway, often protein sources need to come from far which adds to pig production’s CO2 footprint, and high protein levels can also lead to higher levels of nitrogen being emitted into the environment.
Reducing levels of crude protein, however, is a balancing act, as it can also impact performance levels, which opens the door to the need for precision technologies. A lot of research is spent to the inclusion of synthetically created limiting amino acids, for example methionine and lysine. Should those be added to the feed separately, crude protein levels can be lowered.
Conclusion
When reviewing the current hot topics in swine production, one might conclude that the future may not look too bright for swine production in the EU, with challenges coming from many sides. Experience showed, however, with the ban on antibiotic growth promoters (2006) or the ban on sow stalls (2013), that faced with new challenges, the European swine industry has also continued to reinvent itself, with the most optimistic, skilled and forward-looking producers emerging to become the leaders of the future.
Swine production in the future will continue to evolve, so much is clear. If there would be one thing the US swine industry could pick up from this exploration, it would be that hot topics in Europe’s swine industry matter for the US. Perhaps in 2025, Europe’s hot topics may lead to a chuckle, a frown or a shrug for professionals in the US swine industry. But give it a decade or perhaps 2, and certain topics have crossed the Atlantic as well.
In other words: forewarned is forearmed.
