AS the weather gets colder, pig producers should revisit the ventilation settings in controlled environment buildings, advises an environmental specialist.

Following a summer of record-breaking temperatures, farmers need to re-set their minimum ventilation rates and also, importantly, check that their alarm systems are properly set up,” says Tim Miller of ARM Buildings.

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“During the hot weather, farmers had to set minimum ventilation rates quite high and, in some cases, the temperatures were above the normal trigger points on the alarm systems resulting in false call outs. But now that the weather has cooled down these need to be adjusted,” he said.

“With high energy costs, having minimum ventilation rates set too high means that fans are running unnecessarily causing producers to waste heat and ‘burn’ money by heating the surrounding countryside.”

The biggest savings can be made where supplementary heating is used – typically in weaner-grower houses.

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“It’s quite possible to make savings of £20 to £30 per day in a 400 to 500 pig house by adjusting the fan settings to the correct level,” said Mr Miller.

In addition to cutting costs, setting ventilation rates at a sensible level helps to create the correct environment and safeguards the pigs’ welfare, he pointed out.