Girl power drives sow nutrition advances at AFBI Hillsborough

The pig research team at the Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute (AFBI) Hillsborough has been strengthened in the last few years by a dedicated team of three local 1st Class Honours degree students working towards doctorate degrees on sow nutrition.

The AFBI sow herd now produces over 25 pigs per sow per year and this poses a major challenge for sow nutrition to ensure sow and piglet performance is optimised.  Under Dr Elizabeth Magowan’s leadership, the pig research programme at AFBI Hillsborough is focussing on a number of projects on sow and piglet nutrition and management to maximise the lifetime performance of piglets from large litters.   Key aspects of the work are undertaken by three postgraduate  students.

Aimee Louise Craig is currently in her second year of studies, sponsored by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD).  Aimee obtained a 1st Class Honours degree in Agriculture Technology from Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and her studies are focusing on sow nutrition during lactation, with the objective of increasing weaning weight and minimising the proportion of underweight  piglets.   Aimee’s studies align with research projects being co-funded by DARD and Pig ReGen Ltd.

Kathryn Reid started her PhD study in September 2014. Kathyrn also has a 1st Class Honours degree from QUB in Agricultural Technology and is funded through a Walsh Fellowship from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).  Kathryn’s studies are focusing on nutrition during gestation to increase birth weight and piglet viability.

Anna Lavery, who started her PhD in April 2015, has a 1st Class Honours degree in Biological Sciences from QUB and is co funded by a Walsh Fellowship (DAFM) and Leeds University. Anna’s postgraduate studies focus on identifying key indicators of sow and piglet performance and links knowledge from Kathryn and Aimee’s PhD projects to deliver a combined gestation and lactation feeding strategy to optimise herd performance.

Kathryn and Anna work under the umbrella of a large DAFM-funded project entitled “Optipig” which is a collaborative project between Teagasc and AFBI.  With linkages to Teagasc, QUB, UCD and Leeds University across these three PhD projects, AFBI Hillsborough is delivering an important research programme on sow nutrition that will benefit the NI pig industry. In addition all three students are gaining the expert knowledge and skills needed to give Northern Ireland pig producers a competitive advantage.

Notes to editors: 

All studies at AFBI Hillsborough are encompassed within the overriding objective of ‘Advancing Animal Science, Improving Livestock Farming’.

 AFBI carries out high quality technology research and development, statutory, analytical, and diagnostic testing functions for DARD and other Government departments, public bodies and commercial companies.

 AFBI's Vision is “Scientific excellence in Northern Ireland … serving the world”.

 All media enquiries to AFBI Press Office 

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