Background Heat stress
What to do in the stable and on transport in extreme heat
He seems to be coming after all, the long feared heat wave. No more rain is planned for the coming week, only temperatures above 30 degrees. This causes problems not only in the field or in the stable, but also during livestock transport.
Despite the fact that Dutch livestock transports are well organized and it is clear to almost everyone that adjustments are required during extreme heat. In addition to the protocols, we also asked Jan Vernooij, chairman of the sector committee for pig & piglet trade/exporters within Livestock & Logistics, about his vision on sales and export.
Protocol Livestock transport
According to Vernooij, transport abroad is actually impossible at the moment. "Germany may still go, but the piglet trade to Spain is probably going wrong. It is already terribly hot in the Netherlands, let alone in the more southern countries. Last week it was actually too hot in France to drive, now it is here just as hot."
Should the trade continue, then in accordance with the livestock transport protocol, which has been drawn up by Vee & Logistiek Nederland in collaboration with Saveetra, attention will be paid to the preparation prior to the transport, among other things. For example, it is recommended to check the traffic, to avoid traffic jams and other delays, to be prepared if a delay does occur and to coordinate with all stakeholders of the transport.
The welfare of the animals in combination with extreme heat must also be taken into account during transport. For example, when this is convenient for unloading, loading can take place earlier in the morning, the load factor must be adjusted and vehicles with fans must also use this equipment.
Protocol pig farmers
In addition to a protocol for livestock transport, there is also a heat protocol that is specifically aimed at pig farms. This protocol has been drawn up by the Producers Organization Pig Farming (POV) in collaboration with Wageningen University & Research (WUR) as a manual for pig farmers that they can fall back on during extreme temperatures. In the protocol, a distinction is made between warm weather (heat) and extremely hot weather (extreme heat), on which 3 codes are based. It is up to the pig farmers themselves to make use of the heat protocol.
The protocol takes into account a calculation that includes humidity and temperature, among other things. The 3 codes then consist of code yellow, code orange and code red. With code yellow, the heat lasts 1 to 2 days, with relatively low humidity and temperatures above 30 degrees. The same applies to code orange, except that the heat lasts for more than 3 days and for code red, the extreme heat lasts for more than 1 day with relatively low humidity or heat with high humidity.
Measures that pig farmers can take include cooling in and around the barn by means of misting, a cool pad in the air inlet, insulating windows or keeping the roofs wet. Although pig farmers can choose themselves in which measures they take or whether they want to use a heat protocol, the POV recommends anticipating the heat in good time. Experience has now shown that pig farmers themselves know how to respond to this. Vernooij indicates that pig farmers are becoming increasingly creative in finding ways to cool their pigs. "For example, large fans are used that you also see in cow sheds. This does work, even if it is only a few degrees cooler, it is always more pleasant than it was before."
Slaughterhouses
Not only do we think about the heat during transport, but also in slaughterhouses we think about both the animals and the employees. "Slaughterhouses have, for example, adapted their programs or regulate transport differently. For example, they have so-called climate cars come when it gets warmer, so that the non-air-conditioned cars can unload at less high temperatures at night and in the evening. In addition, they also adjust the waiting areas. Van Rooi in Helmond, for example, has a covered parking lot, some slaughterhouses also use sprinklers to cool the cars with water. There are even those that use large arches to blow mist through the cars," says Jan vernooij.
The aforementioned Van Rooi Meat also submitted an application to the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) or said it may start slaughtering earlier in the coming period. This is also an option for slaughterhouses. This application has been accepted and is the only application from slaughterhouses to date. In this way NVWA inspectors can start at 23:00 instead of 4 in the morning and the inspectors and slaughterhouse employees can stop earlier. For this it must be 33 degrees or warmer at the location of the slaughterhouse.
At the other slaughterhouses, Westfort is also considering submitting an application for earlier slaughter. Vion has not submitted an application, but has announced that it will stop slaughtering earlier this afternoon (Friday 7 August) and move the activities from the afternoon to tomorrow morning (August 8).
Jorine Cosse
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