The group felt there was great variation between available buildings and pigs need managing in different ways depending on their available environment.
We went on to talk about each unit and what changes they had seen in the last few months. Some main points included:
• Growth had increased at the end of last year but it had recently slowed. In the high growth period vice broke out. This unit does not tail dock. The problem disappeared when growth rate slowed back.
• One unit saw an outbreak of pneumonia over the cold period
• Poor harvest 09 and mycotoxins has lead to a poor performance
• One contract finisher has seen better growth rates, with good pigs gaining1000g/day and the poorest 850g/day (40kg – finish). This is down to better health from a new supplier. 
• One unit had experienced a scour problem.
• Weighing once a week on one unit had highlighted it was hard to know what was going to be ready for market due to uneven growth rates. There are always more available than picked up in previous week.
Top Tip: One unit put sharp stone on top of iced driveways up to farm to allow farm deliveries to continue.