Dr. Manon Houben
Director of PorQ Consultants in Swine Herd
Health Management
DVM Degree, Utrecht university, Netherlands

Dr. William Close
Close Consulting
Pig Nutrition Production, United Kingdom

40 piglets per sow — fact or fiction?     

Dr. Manon Houben

Dr. Manon Houben is a veterinarian, specializing in pig herd health management. Dr. Houben graduated in 1997 from Utrecht University and started working full time as a veterinarian in a private practice. In 2001 Dr. Houben accepted a teaching position at the Veterinary Faculty of Utrecht University in the department of farm animal health, swine health care. Since 2007, Dr. Houben has been the director of PorQ, a consulting firm that specializes in bringing science to the pigfarm. Dr. Houben is especially skilled at translating science into practical advice which producers can understand and apply directly on their farms. Dr. Houben practices primarily in the Netherlands but has also traveled to Germany, Belgium, England, Spain and the Czech Republic to offer her expertise. Dr. Houben spends most of her time focusing on independent privately owned farms but has been part of several special projects financed by private and government parties.

Dr. William (Bill) Close received his BSc (1967) and PhD (1970) degrees from the Queens University Belfast; the research work for the latter was carried out at the Institute of Animal Physiology, at Babraham, Cambridge. He was employed as a research scientist at the AFRC Institutes at Babraham, Cambridge (1970-1983) and Shinfield, University of Reading (1983-1991). In 1991 he established his own private, independent consulting business, offering technical advice to the pig industry on all aspects of pig nutrition and production. As a consequence, he has travelled extensively throughout the world and is familiar with pig production in many countries. He was a visiting lecturer at the University of Reading and is currently part-time lecturer at King's College, University College, London and ETH, University of Zurich, Switzerland.

He has published extensively in the areas of pig nutrition, metabolism, physiology,  reproduction  and  production, including refereed papers, reviews, abstracts and reports. He was involved in the review of the 'Nutrient Requirements of Pigs', 1981 and 'Nutrient Requirements of Sows and Boars', 1990 and is co-author of the UK/BSAS ‘Nutrient Requirement Standard for Pigs’ (published 2003) and of the book ‘Nutrition of Sows and Boars’, a major reference book published by NUP in August 2000. He has been an invited speaker at major international conferences. He has served on a number of national and international committees to advise on the nutrient requirements of all classes of pigs.

He has a major interest in the application and technology transfer of pig science into practice and has developed various technologies, including models, to suggest on farm solutions and strategies to improve the productivity and profitability of pig production.

We are honoured to have Dr. William Close as a guest speaker at the 2012 Grand Valley Fortifiers' International Swine Symposium.

Martin Clunies has worked in the feed industry for over 30 years, specifically in premix formulation for both amino acid and vitamin mineral companies. Martin obtained his PhD in Monogastric Animal Nutrition from the University of Guelph where he specialized in Poultry and Swine diets. Currently Martin works for Grand Valley Fortifiers as Senior Monogastric Nutritionist where his responsibilities include the discovery and adoption of new nutritional technologies into premix formulas, the formulation of the company’s core swine and poultry nutrition technology, on farm technical service and support, training and support of the company's Swine and Poultry teams and the visit and support of international swine and poultry customers in the United States, Russia, Southern Africa, and Turkey. Prior to working for Grand Valley Fortifiers, Martin worked at Hoffemann La Roche Canada as a Regional Nutritionist, and at Halchemix Canada as a Consultant Nutritionist. Martin also owns and operates a horse boarding facility with the help of his wife Estelle. Any extra spare time Martin has he uses to volunteer on many different committees. Martin is presently serving on the Ontario Pork research committee, is a member of Animal Nutrition Associations Nutrition Council and an active member at St. Georges Anglican Church in Guelph, ON.