Features

What You Need to Know about Reduced-oil DDGS

In the past few years, you’ve gone from learning about a new feed ingredient called distillers’ dried grains with solubles, to adding a bit of it to some of your swine diets, to adding significant levels to most diets. You’ve worked through suppliers and the varying quality issues to ensure your diets are meeting pig performance needs and providing value. ... Full story.

Big Changes Ahead for Antibiotics

As of last month, the use of antibiotics on farms is forever changed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released its final version of Guidance 209, which will implement two significant changes in how antibiotics are used on the farm. ... Full story.

Consider Your Alternatives

The corn/soybean-meal diet has long been a pork industry standard. You’re comfortable with it. What you’re not comfortable with is today’s high price. ... Full story.

Make the Right Choices

Certain jobs on a hog farm are less desirable than others. Power-washing comes to mind as one such task, and because of that, it tends to be a starter job. ... Full story.

Breaking the PRRS Code

While the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus has been adept at changing course and surfacing with new strains, researchers may have finally gained the upper hand. ... Full story.

Double Check Your Liability Coverage

Last year, nearly 111 million hogs were slaughtered in the nation, and according to estimates, this year will total about 113 million. Approximately 45 percent of those hogs are raised on a contract grower’s farm. So, you can expect about 51 million hogs to be raised under contract this year for all or a portion of their lives. ... Full story.

Time for New Feeders?

Health, environment, genetics and feed ingredients all exert considerable influence on your pigs’ growth performance and feed efficiency, but don’t overlook the feeder’s importance. ... Full story.

You are the Next Target

Animal activists were busy last month as they fixed their crosshairs on the pork industry — specifically gestation-sow stalls. Now, gestation housing is not new to their list of targets, but with the United Egg Producers joining the Humane Society of the United States on federal housing standards for laying hens, gestation stalls have moved up. ... Full story.

It’s Spring Maintenance Time

As winter fades into the background don’t forget to add barn maintenance to your to-do list. What’s more, March is a good time to prepare for the hot months ahead. ... Full story.

The Immune-System Link to Growth

It’s a recurring scene played out in swine barns across the country — as disease challenges increase, feed efficiency and gains can tumble. ... Full story.

M. hyo: The Uninvited Guest

For most pork production facilities, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, commonly known today as M. hyo, is an uninvited, permanent guest. ... Full story.

Influenza: A New Chapter

Influenza concerns never really go away, rather they ebb and flow — and that doesn’t just apply to seasonality. Monitoring influenza in humans and animals is a full-time commitment. ... Full story.