Mr Barker invented the farrowing pen to address the high mortality rates commonplace with the practice of the welfare-friendly "free farrowing" approach. His research, and resulting pen design, surmised that the size of pen was crucial to minimising piglet losses. As well as benefitting sow and piglets, the design is simple and safe for farm staff to operate.

"The benefits of the system are an increased pig weaning weight, which results in a reduced number of days taken to reach slaughter," he explained. "In addition, sows eat 10% more feed in the pen, which means a good body condition when they return to the boar. This leads to an improved service return rate and an increased subsequent litter number."

Mr Barker says that the throughput of each farrowing pen averages120 pigs per year and that the extra production from the system ensures payback of the pen investment in 18 months.

Commenting on the award, Dr Tina Barsby, OFC Director and CEO of NIAB said: "This progressive farmer has combined multiple innovations in sow movement, lighting and temperature, tackling several welfare issues. The end product is really impressive, and modifications to the design and materials have resulted in a patented pen design that has reduced in price and really seems to be adding value to the pig farmers who use it."

The Practice with Science Award was set up in 2010 to recognise applied scientific work that has resulted in valuable benefits to the agricultural industry, particularly in relation to on-farm practices. "We extended the 2015 awards to also include on farm inventions or innovations such as the 360 Farrowing Pen," Dr Barsby added.

Alastair Grizzell of Map of Agriculture said: "This innovation could have a real impact on the industry if applied correctly. We really liked the thought of sponsoring the award to encourage positive change in the industry, and this product appears to reduce mortality and improve the pig welfare/living conditions."

The three runner-ups in the 2015 Practice with Science Award were highly praised by Dr Barsby for their innovations. They were:

David Flockman - Flockman System of improved health, welfare, production and financial efficiency of chicken meat production;

Dr Neil Havis, Crop and Soil Systems Research Group, SRUC - Ramularia Leaf Spot in barley risk monitoring service;

Alan Lovatt, IBERS, Aberystwyth - High sugar grasses (HSG) for improved livestock production and greenhouse gas mitigation.

The Award is funded by the OFC and the RASE, with additional sponsored support from Map of Agriculture. It aims to recognise the following areas of merit from the research or innovation:

Novel and original application;

Clear economic benefit to the industry, food chain and consumers;

Improved sustainability through the more efficient use of resources.

The £10,000 prize, is made up of £3,000, funded by Map of Agriculture, awarded to the individual and £7,000, funded by the RASE and the OFC, to the institution or business at which the R&D team or individual is based. The latter monies must be used to support further research work on the subject, through the support of a studentship, traineeship or the purchase of a piece of research equipment.