On Friday 19 of October, myself and two other students and Mrs Le Feuvre attended the Adelaide Roseworthy pig education day run by Graeme Pope and Pork SA. It was a very informative day learning about pig nutrition, piglet survival, colostrum testing in bloods, artificial insemination and assessing healthy uterus’.
To start off the day we drove a couple of kilometres down the road to the piggery. We suited up in protective clothing and learnt all about the eco shelters and the different stages of housing used for the pigs.
An exciting part of the day was when we were allowed into the farrowing shed where they pigs gave birth, and saw and held all of the cute baby piglets.
We were able to observe some of the pigs being artificially inseminated. After watching this, we went back into the university and were shown a uterus on a table.
They demonstrated each step of the process so we could see what happens on the inside of the pigs when inseminated.
The pig education day gave each of us students a great insight into life at university and the different jobs available within the pig industry.
By Tiana Short (Year 12)