The British pig industry needs to attract and retain the best scientific brains there are to make sure it has a sustainable future.

This challenge has been picked up by the British Pig Executive (BPEX) which sponsors PhD students working on projects of relevance to the industry.

A seminar was held where the latest results of the work were presented by the students to their peers, supervisors together with BPEX and MLC staff which gave the opportunity for questions and answers on the work.

BPEX Director of Pig Industry Development Mark Wilson said: "Sponsoring these PhD students is extremely important for the future of the British pig industry.

"It is important to attract the best brains to the industry and even more important that we retain them.

"The work they are doing is relevant to the challenges the industry faces - it is fundamental, practical and the results can be communicated to producers quickly and easily."

The students and their projects are:

• Lorraine Salmon - Research into the multi-disciplinary aspects of finishing pigs at heavy weights.

• Megan Turner - Porcine Circovirus 2 and Post-weaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome in pigs.

• Silvia Nicolau-Solano - Androstenone metabolism in the liver in relation to boar taints.

• Gavin White - Nutrition of the weaned piglet.

• Charlotte Evans- The impact of disease on production in the GB pig industry.

• Bettina Schmidt - The impact of weaning age, environment, nutrition and sow parity on piglet performance and microbial diversity.

BPEX bids for Olympic Gold
New ZAP Salmonella Targets for Pig Producers
Japanese Official Tours Pig Farm