The major French livestock industry’s event took place as usual in mid-September, in Rennes. The author travels by train (TGV) from Paris airport. It’s a three hour journey and he was looking forward to enjoying a large glass of red wine, to while away the journey, but was most upset when he was told by the conductor that the buffet car was closed! SPACE continues as an annual event – one of the few – but no doubt as long as exhibitors are keen to be there and farmers are happy to attend “if it ain’t broke why fix it!”

This year there were 1441 exhibitors from 41 different countries, practically the same as in 2016. Around 100,000 visitors come through the gates over the four day event to view new products and for many checking out the massive number of cattle that are shown in the breed competitions is a major reason for attending the show. The organizers also put on a varied and comprehensive number of technical conferences throughout the show’s duration.

As usual the French Minister of Agriculture, Stephane Travers, visited the show along with many other high ranking officials from abroad. Like many other shows, overseas visitors are increasing and SPACE naturally targets the French speaking countries with a focus on the African ones.

A very successful initiative at SPACE is the International Centre where all nationalities can mingle and network and this area is always extremely busy. Because of biosecurity concerns the only pigs on show are plastic ones with this having been the case for many years. SPACE organizes a number of farm visits across species and so it is possible to visit a local pig farm although visitor numbers on the pig farm visits are limited.

Pig prices have dropped a little recently, in part due to reduced exports to China. Prices stood at 145p/kg deadweight through August. Having said that, the lower pig prices were not low enough to provoke demonstrations by local producers, something that has happened at quite a few shows in the past. Like in many other countries the number of pig units is falling, but with the remaining ones getting larger. The family farm is still a feature of the French industry helped by the fact that these farms belong to one of the many coops, a major feature of French pig production. Last year Animal Rights protestors staged a demonstration at the main gate but they were not around this year.

Each year SPACE awards prizes – Innov’ SPACE – for new innovations. It must be increasingly difficult to bring new products to the market but fortunately the industry brains come up with innovations each year.

Spanish company, MaXipig (www.maxipig.com) has developed a treatment which increases semen fertility. Semen is activated by LED light of a specific wavelength, over a period of 30 minutes, whereby adenosine monophosphate (AMP) is converted to adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This improves the motility of the sperm and also gives better capacitation. Trials in both Spain and Belgium have boosted farrowing rate and numbers born / litter, even with hyper prolific genotypes.

A Belgian company, noHow (www.noHow.com) markets products that only show fast payback and it has taken on MaXipig as payback is less than a year. A large British pig producer with both indoor and outdoor pigs was so impressed that the farmer was going to buy the equipment immediately on returning to the UK.

Another two star award went to French company Fournier (www.fournier-prefa.com). It won the award for its Modulo–Therm slatted flooring concept. Piped hot water heats the slatted panel to keep the piglets warm. If the heat spreads it can warm the sow and makes her reluctant to let her milk down. Fournier has overcome this problem by piping cold water through the sow’s lying area. “Time is money” – we all go along with that, and anything to quicken the job up is of merit.

BDPorc is based in Paris and their two star award, PIG CONNECT, involves the use of everyone’s third hand, the smartphone. Currently there is a lot of paper documentation needed with pig movements and providing this is very time consuming. Pig Connect enables this to be done on line and transmission is done in real time, saving time. In Europe, legislation states that pregnant sows and gilts now have to be loose housed for most of gestation. This means these females are harder to observe in terms of picking up returns, detecting health problems etc. compared to when they were stall housed for all the pregnancy.

RF-TRACK, (www.rf-track.com) is a Rennes based company and their transponder ear tag allows accurate monitoring of animals via a smartphone. If the pen has an automated weighing system then weights can be checked and feed levels adjusted up or down via data collected through the transponder ear tag.

IMV, (www.imv-technologies.com) is well known in the AI sector and the company was exhibiting its Bacti Bag. “The inside of the bag is coated with bacteriostatic molecules, Bactiguard, which neutralises bacteria “commented sales director Mickael Barre.

Yxia, (www.yxiayxia.fr) formerly known as Landata Cobiporc is also well known in the AI field.

If you visit any pig unit the chances are you will see old feed bags overflowing with used catheters and semen bags. These bags and catheters would probably end up in a landfill site, hardly ideal for the environment and not projecting a good image of the industry. “This is not ideal these days and so due to demand from breeders. Yxia has set up a scheme whereby old catheters and bags get collected on a regular basis and are recycled, at a cost of 1 Euro per sow, per year, commented CEO Romain Brard. “We have a dedicated truck with specialist drivers which operate in Brittany and Normandy, which are pig dense regions. The truck is used solely for this purpose and is washed and disinfected at the end of each day. In this way we are improving the image of the pig industry in the eyes of the big supermarkets and welfare groups.” There are in the region of 30 different breeders and breeding companies operating in France. Dutch breeding companies have operated in France for a while and latterly several Danish breeding companies under the DanAvl umbrella have made inroads in France.

Porc- Ex France, (www.porc-ex.fr) are allied with Genesus and Dr. Bob Kemp VP Genetics and Helena Echberg, Director of Business Development were both at SPACE supporting local manager Philippe Malletroit. “Xyia has our Duroc boars in their AI stud and farmers are gradually finding that the Duroc is superior to the Pietrain in terms of pre and post weaning mortality,” commented Porc – Ex.

I – TEK, (www.i-tek.com) is a major French buildings and equipment company that had a major presence at the show. Amongst their range of products was a large farrowing pen which has a “temporary crating “facility, allowing the sow free range after the first few days post farrowing. Several other building companies had these large farrowing pens on display as well.

Gratien Theriault, Europe export manager for Jyga Technologies, (www.jygatech.com) commented: “I –Tek like our Gestal sow feeders and I have come over from Canada to support my colleagues at I –TEK.”

SPACE is typically French and is well worth a visit, so note next year’s dates: 11-14th Sept 2018. •

— Norman Crabtree