This year AMVEC will dedicate its congress to Dr Joaquín Becerril Ángeles, the 15th president of AMVEC from 2001 to 2003. The swine specialist has a comprehensive experience of more than 40 years in the swine sector, both in academia and on farms. Dr Joaquin Becerril Ángeles will give the first keynote lecture on 2 August at 9.00 am, entitled “Reflections on the Role of the Human Factor in Pig Farms”.

In addition to the total of four keynote lectures, speakers from the United States, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, and Germany, among other countries, will be part of the Congress’ scientific program, divided into 11 forums.

Animal welfare will be one of the central issues where lecturers will be discussing the critical elements of a sustainable swine production cycle. Participants will learn about the specific aspects of group gestation and precision feeding, which are two major breakthroughs in pig nutrition. Furthermore, these two components are among the most promising avenues to promote food safety and minimalize the impact on the environment. However, constructing adequate pig housing not only supports the above but also mitigates the risk of heat stress, which is another crucial factor in animal welfare. Since heat stress in pigs can reduce farrowing and growth rates, as well as litter sizes, temperature monitoring in hot weather is essential. Speakers will share their knowledge on how to identify heat stress and apply preventive measures to avoid these negative effects.

Attendees will also receive information on how to manage and keep diseases off the farm as part of the biosecurity forum. Infections that were once easily treated are becoming more difficult to manage due to the globally growing antibiotic resistance in animals and humans. National and international speakers will focus on the challenges of antimicrobial reduction and the use of natural alternatives to ensure animal health and productivity.

Furthermore, lecturers will be focusing on several diseases that pose a great risk to pig productivity and management. Among others, the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) and African Swine Fever (ASF) will be discussed with possible solutions to reduce the mortality and productive damages of these diseases.

The programme of the event is already available at the following link.

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This year AMVEC is celebrating its 55th national congress from August 1-4 in Acapulco, Mexico. The exhibition and events will be held at the Mundo Imperial complex where an estimated attendance of more than 1,500 congress attendees is expected.

Once again, Veterinaria Digital is the official media partner of the event and will be present at booth 40 during the three days of the Congress, where visitors will be able to learn about the services of the portal and its initiatives related to animal production.

For more information about the registration process and prices, visit the event’s website.