We are honored to invite you to the 3rd International Hyopathology Conference in Krakow, the city where the University Center for Veterinary Medicine UJ-UR (UCMW UJ-UR) has been operating for 10 years, established by two universities, the Jagiellonian University and the University of Agriculture.

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It is worth mentioning that this year, in March, the fifth year of veterinarians has left the walls of the Center. UCMW is the main organizer of the conference. The previous two meetings in Krakow (2019 and 2021) enjoyed great interest among veterinarians - swine disease specialists. It can be said that the relocation of the conference venue from Puławy - where 24 editions took place - to Krakow met with great approval of the participants. We notice that an increasing number of colleagues are convinced of the view presented by the organizers for many years, saying that being a specialist in swine diseases is not limited only to classical veterinary knowledge, but also includes the organization and management of production, including optimal use of sows' reproductive potential, nutrition, genetics, etc.

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Without the knowledge of the above-mentioned issues, a veterinarian cannot perform appropriate activities in the field of health protection, and therefore a pig producer has no chance of a profitable, competitive on a European scale production of piglets and fattening pigs. We are convinced that all specialists are aware of the need to keep up with the progress that is taking place in all areas of our life, including veterinary medicine, and the need to implement new and better solutions for practical use.

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Unfortunately, in recent years, due to ASF and low production profitability, the number of pig farms has decreased significantly. Today we have less than 70,000 of them in Poland, once (20 years ago) there were 800,000 pig farms. Consequently, the labor market for veterinarians, specialists in swine diseases, has been significantly limited. The production profile of fattening pigs has also changed; unfortunately, almost 50% of them are reared in fattening houses, which additionally adversely affected the scope of medical and veterinary services.

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Considering the situation in other European countries, it can be hoped that the worst is behind us and that the following years will be characterised by a dynamic reconstruction of the domestic sow herd.

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Bearing in mind that the main reason for the sharp decline in the number of sows outside ASF is the average low efficiency of pig rearing, the 3rd Conference in Krakow will be devoted to drawing attention to the possibilities of improving the existing situation. A new problem that we must face as soon as possible is the need to significantly reduce the use of antibiotics in pig production. We are one of the few European countries where the consumption of antibiotics per unit of meat mass produced does not decrease, but even increases. For this reason, we will devote a relatively large amount of time to this issue in Krakow. As always, for over a quarter of a century, we have invited outstanding scientists and practitioners from Europe - from countries characterized by particularly effective production of the species of animals we are interested in - to participate in the conference. Most of those who will also present their views during the two roundtable sessions are colleagues, recognized in our community, swine disease specialists.

 

The conference can take place in this formula, which will surely satisfy you, mainly thanks to the large number of sponsors, whom we would like to thank for their generosity - despite the temporary difficult times.

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The details of the conference, including data on sponsors, can be found on the website you are already on. We cordially invite you to Krakow, where in the professionally prepared Congress Center of Hotel Metropolo by Golden Tulip we will be able not only to listen to lectures and discussions, but also to meet in person, for which, during the COVID-19 epidemic lasting more than two years, we did not have too many occasions.