New grant program promotes pig health

Bayer is launching a new program to help farmers improve the way they care for their pigs.

The Care4Pigs initiative will offer three grants of €10,000 (about $11,000) each to farmers, veterinarians and other professionals involved in swine health.

This program, similar to Bayer’s Care4Cattle initiative, is a collaboration with the Farm Animal Welfare Education Centre and the Korean Association of Swine Veterinarians.

“The Care4Pigs jury will be looking for submissions that demonstrate an innovative approach and measurable benefit on swine well-being,” said Octavio Orlovsky Eckhardt, head of swine species marketing at Bayer. “The project’s on-farm practicality and applicability through different systems and production conditions will also be considered, as well as its economic viability.”

Submissions are due by June 30. They’re open for farmers, farm animal keepers, practicing veterinarians, as well as researchers and graduate students in veterinary medicine, agricultural or animal sciences.

Proposals need to demonstrate “innovative, practice-oriented ways to improve swine well-being on farm level,” according to the announcement. They should already be underway or planned to start by early next year.

More information is available on the Care4Pigs website.