Americans visit UK for technology training

Hugh Crabtree (fourth from left) with staff and American delegates at a training session at Farmex’s UK  headquarters.
Hugh Crabtree (fourth from left) with staff and American delegates at a training session at Farmex’s UK headquarters.

American pig technicians, who are helping US pig farmers develop information harvesting systems for production management, have visited a UK company for a high-tech training session.

Four Nebraskans spent five days with Berkshire-based technology company, Farmex, for advanced ‘bench’ and seminar sessions on the company’s hardware and software systems. They also visited associate software company Dicam Technology in Suffolk.

“American pig companies are investing directly in developing information systems for real-time performance monitoring and they are very respectful of the skills and knowledge we have here in the UK,” commented Hugh Crabtree, Farmex managing director.

“The trainees represented over 100,000 US sows. Their companies are already spending tens of thousands of dollars on product every year and are now beginning to spend money on development. This means they believe they can achieve significant commercial gain from the application of these technologies.”

Nebraska has a vibrant pig industry with a state herd of over three million head, directly employing 35,000 people and annually generating $775 million in cash receipts.

“A low-tech visit to London and a chance to sample English ale also went down well!” added Mr Crabtree.