This major multi-species French livestock salon is held each September in Rennes, in the heart of Brittany. It is notable for two key reasons. Firstly it’s one of the few large shows that is still held annually. Exhibitors might prefer a biennial event but attendances still are good (although visitor numbers at 108,347 were slightly down on 2017) hence SPACE carries on annually. Secondly, it is used as a focal point for farmer demonstrations – usually to draw attention to low prices.

Some years ago farmers closed down the car parks but this year things were very civilised, with no sign of any discontent. Having said that, pig prices have not been good in France, of late, commented Phillipe Malletroit, Director, Genesus (France). “This last summer prices compared to summer 2017 are down by €17 per finished pig. Cereal yields are four per cent down due to the recent hot weather and feed prices are already up by €18/ ton since the summer.” The SPACE organisers always have a special focus. In 2017 robotics was the theme, with a number of robots actually working in real time mode. This year the theme was a similar one whereby various pieces of equipment were demonstrated, which makes work easier for the farmer. Back injuries are very common in farming and so equipment which reduces bending is to be welcomed.

It’s very hard to attract new entrants into the livestock industry and any equipment which makes tasks less strenuous and monotonous is a bonus as well. Asserva has launched innovative equipment at SPACE on a number of occasions and this year was no exception. Institute du Porc (IFIP) staff came up with the idea of a trolley that would reduce bending, which was then developed commercially by Asserva. The net result is the Smart’Care trolley, which was given a 1 Star Award. This is a box on wheels which can be raised or lowered by a winch. In the lowered position piglets are moved from the farrowing pen into the box. The box is then winched up to waist level after which piglets can be injected etc. with a minimum amount of bending. If piglets have an electronic tag the weights are recorded automatically. After treatment the piglets pass through a small hatch and slide down a ramp, back to the sow. The equipment is made entirely of stainless steel which makes cleaning and disinfection very easy to carry out. Injecting pigs can be a difficult task at times and Asserva was also demonstrating its automatic injection device, which saves time and effort. This is a wheel mounted steel frame to which two angled parallel conveyors are attached, in a V- shaped configuration. Piglets are funnelled at ground level towards the conveyors which gently grip the piglets and at the same time a gun automatically injects them.

Welfare is currently a very topical issue and any new innovation is likely to be well received. Hence Fournier gained a 3 Star Award for its Well Floor product. Slatted flooring is a very barren environment and the Well Floor concept makes a pen floor more pig friendly. Well Floor is simply a stainless steel tray containing rooting material and which has the same dimensions as a conventional concrete slatted panel. Hence it can be substituted for a concrete slatted section as and where necessary. In fact a number of these trays can be fitted in random locations if the pen is very large, whereas in a small pen one tray would be sufficient. Very simple, but then simple things often are the best. Again on the welfare front there is considerable concern by the public about how pigs are treated in the abattoir, and that slaughter is carried out humanely.

Neotec – Vision were exhibiting their 2 Star Awarded Stunning – Checker. This is an automatic image analysis system designed to assess the correct stunning of pigs pre-slaughter. The system assesses the corneal reflex of the pig and uses real-time image analysis to alert the operator when blinking is detected.

Wet feeding has been popular in France for many years – “soup feeding” – as it’s referred to, and Weda has been producing wet feeding equipment for many years. Pigs grow best on wet feed but generally the equipment is very sophisticated which is fine until blockages occur. Valves are a pinch point in a wet feeding system and must operate 24/7 if need be. Hence Weda has come up with its PV4 Feeding Valve which has a transparent cover that makes checking the valve very easy. A red LED light also indicates whether the valve is working correctly or not. Again simple, but worth two stars.

Selling slaughter pigs at the correct contract weight is vital to maximise returns. Assessing weight by eye demands a great deal of skill whereas weighing finishing pigs individually is very accurate but is a time consuming, boring, task. Again technology has come to the rescue and Fancom was exhibiting their Eyegrow automatic weight monitor for finisher pigs which uses a moveable 3D overhead camera. Eyegrow is 97 per cent accurate and records pig weights along with daily live weight gain.

A heat source is required at farrowing to stop overlaying and warm up newly born piglets. Some producers swear by heat mats but many others still prefer lamps as a lamp emits light as well as heat. Skot received a 1 Star Award for its new generation heat lamp which incorporates a thin conductive layer of a special alloy on a square glass panel. It’s quite difficult to get piglets to eat solid feed when nice warm milk is available hourly from the milk bar, but Denkavit feels that their Mellow Go star shaped soft pellet will be irresistible to piglets, due to its texture and palatability. It’s fed from 3-19 days post farrowing and sold only in 15kg packs which ensures Mellow Go keeps fresh. The star shaped feed also got a star. Colostrum has always been important to the newborn piglet but increasingly so as our hyper prolific sows tend to produce lighter piglets at birth so quality colostrum is vital for a good start in life. Vitalac has created a unique tool, Scop’Ig, for assessing the immune quality of colostrum. Scop’Ig makes it possible to interpret the Ig content of colostrum as well as to evaluate its variability. Then through feeding it’s possible to improve the amount of colostrum the sow produces. According to Vitalac, Scop’Ig could be included in breeding company selection indices.

This year many companies waited until EuroTier, in Hannover in November, to launch their new novelties but even so the products launched at SPACE were still varied, useful and interesting. •

— By Norman Crabtree