Smart Thinking
Are Your Diets and Genetics in Synch?
The U.S. pork industry continues to experience steady genetic growth. Sows today are genetically able to produce more marketable pounds in a quicker time frame than ever before, but are U.S. sows meeting their full genetic potential? Research shows that some sows may not, due to shortages in nutrition.
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Stalls or Groups: It’s a Complex Issue
This year, numerous food retailers have announced deadlines for their pork suppliers to ensure that farms raising the hogs eliminate gestation-sow stalls. These directives are vague in details regarding the compliance regulations, verifications and allowances.
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Lessons Learned from Deep-pit Foaming and Flash Fires
Foaming on the manure surface in deep-pit swine barns is not a new phenomenon, but until recently, spontaneous foaming was rare. Foaming incidence has increased significantly since 2008, and concerns over the potential hazards posed by foam have risen accordingly.
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Raising the Professionalism Bar
Over the years pork producers have been good stewards of the industry, teaching those who work on the farm how to effectively and responsibly perform their jobs.
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DDGS not at Fault for Mulberry Heart Disease
Some industry professionals have described distillers’ dried grains with solubles as the biggest change in feeding livestock and poultry since soybean meal was introduced several decades ago.
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The Smell of Money is Cleaner Air
Everyone in confinement livestock production strives to improve air quality in the barn as part of the goal to improve production efficiency. A new production tool that does just that is called electrostatic particle ionization, or EPI.
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In Pursuit of the Fantastic Four
Mention the “Fantastic Four” to most people and they’ll think about a team of comic-strip superheroes. As a reproductive physiologist working in the pork industry, however, I tend to make a different association.
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Swine Dysentery Déjà vu?
Swine dysentery, commonly known as bloody scours, seems to be making a comeback. It was first described in 1921 in the Midwest. By the early 1970s the disease was prevalent in up to 38 percent of U.S. herds, with an estimated annual cost to the industry near $130 million.
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Setting the Gold Standard for Ileitis Control
Health setbacks in the finishing phase can be costly. Any illness or infection that leads to reduced appetite or feed conversion in pigs can quickly add up to lost market weight and revenue.
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Consumers Provide Food for Thought in 2012
With an eye toward the new year, pork producers might consider a resolution aimed at bolstering consumer trust and confidence.
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The Changing Face of Swine Influenza Virus
Flu in pigs has been known for 90 years, and on the surface, it may appear as though little has changed. We still suspect flu when a high percentage of pigs have a sudden onset of barking cough, especially during temperature fluctuations in the fall or spring.
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