DanBred Academy: On-farm Training

Helpful experts in charge of training

The experts at DanBred’s training facilities always go out of their way to make sure you feel welcome and taken care of. The groups from Agri Plus appreciated that the staff were so patient and good at explaining how they carry out the different tasks – and why their routines are structured as they are.

“One of the best things was that the managers and farm employees were really open and willing to answer the questions. Thanks to which, we could compare our farms with the Danish ones and notice the differences.”

– Mateusz Szacfajer, Production Manager and Veterinarian, Group 1

 

By now, the farm staff at DanBred Academy’s training facilities have great experience with On-farm Training, and they enjoy the interesting questions and professional discussions. These groups all appreciated exchanging experiences with DanBred’s experts.

“The best thing about doing On-farm Training was visiting the farms, getting the possibility to observe the entire production from ‘the inside’, talks with managers and owners, and the possibility to exchange experiences.”

– Marta Bubrzyk, Veterinarian, Group 3

 

“The greatest thing about the training was the possibility of exchanging experiences with practitioners, they willingly shared their knowledge and solutions with us.”

– Daria Pajkert, Production Manager, Group 1

 

Practical learnings

DanBred On-farm Training is a very practical way of learning about pig management. The three training-weeks were tailored to the three different groups, their past experiences, and what they desired to learn.

All three groups got to follow along with management and routines in a breeding farm as well as a production farm to learn about the differences between the two farm types.

“I received the confirmation that genetic farms should be treated completely different than the commercial ones and should not be compared to one another.”

– Adrian Ciechanowski, Farm Manager, Group 1

 

“I had the opportunity to learn about rules for running a nucleus farm.”

– Arkadiusz Kaczmarek, Production Manager, Group 2

 

And all participants said they learned new techniques from the On-farm Training, such as management in the farrowing unit (e.g., split suckling), biosecurity, how to treat shoulder injuries, measuring back fat (and the importance of this!), gilt and sow management, boar management, getting piglets ready for weaning, feeding, selection of pigs for export etc.

“I really liked the bandages used for injuries on shoulders as well as mixture of powders made for pigs entering nurseries.”

– Mateusz Szacfajer, Production Manager and Veterinarian, Group 1

 

“I had the chance to see what biosecurity measures are used in an ASF-free country.”

– Arkadiusz Kaczmarek, Production Manager, Group 2

The training is about knowledge sharing. These groups all enjoyed exchanging experiences with pig professionals from another country. And they returned home with new knowledge and inspiration that they could implement directly in their work at the farms in Poland.

“I changed my approach towards diarrhoea in the piglets – from treatment to prevention. It was interesting to see that sometimes yoghurt is given to pigs on the first days of life.”

– Arkadiusz Kaczmarek, Production Manager, Group 2

 

“We’ve started to measure backfat more often, just like it is done in Denmark, to have a better overview on the condition of our sows at breeding, gestation, and before they farrow.

– Mateusz Szacfajer, Production Manager and Veterinarian, Group 1

 

“I’ve started regular measurement of the backfat of sows and gilts before they farrow and after weaning. I’ve also improved feed doses for gilts. I’ve increased the light level too by adding an extra source of light in the gilt pens. Following these changes, I’ve seen that the gilt conditions have improved, and I’ve noticed an increase in the liveborn piglets in second litters.”

– Adrian Ciechanowski, Farm Manager, Group 1