Farmex Ltd. - I.T. In Pig Production: Which Generation Will Reap Benefits?

The challenge of bringing the full benefits of information technology (IT) to the pig industry will be tackled this autumn in the 5th Annual Fellowship in Pig Research sponsored by the Royal Agricultural College and NATWEST Agriculture. The Fellow this year is Hugh Crabtree, director of Reading-based environmental control specialists Farmex Ltd, who will present his report on Tuesday November 7 at the RAC Cirencester, under the title: 'Can the promise of IT become a reality in pig production?' "The ubiquitous computer and fast expanding IT have made their impact on every walk of life," says Mr Crabtree. "This trend will continue and accelerate - we all know that. Every industrial process is making use of IT to a greater or lesser extent, although some sectors of agriculture have been slower than most to adopt available technologies. Why is this? Is it in fact true?" Hugh Crabtree has had close personal involvement with automation and control engineering in the pig industry in the UK and beyond over more than 25 years. His report will review IT's current status in pig production around the world, highlight barriers to its adoption, illustrate the contribution IT can make, and suggest how it can be successfully exploited in future. "IT certainly has great promise," he says, " but it may take the coming generation to make a reality of integrated production systems that optimise prime producer output, provide full traceability, ensure zero waste and deliver reliable consistency to the consumer.