Industry population figures and trends in Ireland, and the top European producing countries. National performance and key performance indicators including economic indicators. Slaughtering, processing and marketing in Ireland. Main developments in the industries and likely future trends. Estimating the impact of production fluctuations on the value to the Irish economy. Understand the role of producer and processor partnerships, marketing strategies, schemes, quality and traceability, specifications and pricing. Latest developments in improving sustainability.

Pig and Poultry anatomical and physiological systems and their functioning. Reproduction and breeding within Pigs and Poultry. Husbandry factors for optimum performance in pigs including gilt, boar and dry sow performance, optimum lactating sow and litter performance, optimum weaner and finisher performance. Poultry production systems to include egg, meat and breeding stock production and optimum performance within these systems Understanding of the day to day skills associated with the different production systems with the pigs and poultry.

Diseases, disorders and parasites of pigs and poultry and their respective curative and preventative measures. Traceability requirements in pig and poultry husbandry. Understanding of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the treatment of animals.

Digestion and metabolism in pigs and poultry. Roles and function of the major organs of the pig and poultry digestive system. Nutrition requirements and intake potential of common commercial units in terms of energy, protein, fibre and minerals. Understand the nutritional value of feedstuffs pertinent to pig and poultry production. Understand the effects of nutrition on metabolic diseases and disorders in pigs and poultry. Feed conversion efficiency, nutritional requirements, cost efficient diet management in pigs and poultry. Formulate feeding regimes for a common production systems. Manage feed stuffs in accordance with best practice and current legislation.

Housing options, plans and costs. Design and planning. Meeting animal welfare and environment requirements of housing pigs and poultry. Housing climate control and lighting - their role in pig and poultry production, Pig and poultry equipment and labour saving devices associated with husbandry tasks. Equipment for mixing and delivering feed and managing water. IT management programs and control of various systems required for production systems. Energy usage and management.

Collection and storage of slurry or manure in pig and poultry production. Nutrient content and value of pig slurry. Handling and spreading systems. The implications of legislation on air and water quality and how this affects the handling of slurry and manure. Calculating quantity of slurry and manure produced on a farm, and calculate the storage requirement and actual on-farm capacity, and determine the maximum customer import capacity. Adding value to manure.

Slurry nutrient values, demonstration of environmental control systems. Site visits to pig, poultry and egg production units to understand husbandry skills. PC labs to review performance reports and interpret key performance indicators.