There’s no doubt we are more aware of biosecurity these days. One area of concern for livestock producers is whether feed and feed ingredients may also be routes of virus transmission and how to manage those risks. A new fact sheet from Iowa Pork Industry Center focuses on three research papers that evaluated compounds to mitigate virus-contaminated feed. Swine specialist … [Read more...]
Ventilation video series for swine producers
Contains Commercial Content Proper barn ventilation is a key factor in promoting swine health and productivity. AP, an AGCO brand, developed a series of 14 short ventilation videos with tips to help producers unlock better year-round performance and improve animal health. Source: National Hog Farmer, February 10, 2022. Link. INSIGHTS: Consider this resource to educate … [Read more...]
Best young farmers in America
The National Outstanding Young Farmers program has named winners for 2022 and 2021. Eight farming families were named for each year. Their farming profiles show the individual and collective diversification required for farming success. Take a look at the winners and other finalists listed. You may find one of your customers. Source: National Hog Farmer, February 15, … [Read more...]
A pig’s role in human health
Xenotransplantation is the term for transplanting living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another, and the practice was first tried in the 1980s. Early in January 2022, as a last-ditch effort to save David Bennett’s life, doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center transplanted a pig’s heart into him. Bennett, a 57-year-old man, was not eligible for a … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – January 13, 2022
Last week’s most read posts Workplace bullying, a growing concern for HR departments. Link. To hug or not. Tools to solve the conundrum. Link. Last week’s AHD Bulletin Animal Health Digest Bulletin, January 6, 2022. Link. =========================== So you cried at work Source: Harvard Business Review, January 4, 2022. Link. To minimize the impact of … [Read more...]
Characterization of overgrown toes in sow breeding herds
Overgrown toes, often called digital overgrowth, can be a challenge for commercial sow breeding herds. The condition can contribute to increased locomotion challenges and reduced sow performance in the herd. Breeding sow herd lameness is a major contributor to mortality challenges, feet and leg conformation and lameness. Feet and leg structure rank right behind … [Read more...]
Dead sows are co$tly
Complimentary Commercial Content Sow mortality has nearly doubled in the past 15 years to approximately 13 percent. Ron Ketchum estimates a midpoint cost of $1,125 per dead sow. This amounts to an estimated $2.25 per pig weaned in incremental production cost. Source: The Pig Site, November 11, 2021. Link. Also see: Sow to sales: mortality breakdowns, National Hog … [Read more...]
Time to FOCUS on biosecurity
Opinion The theme for the Kate Dion’s discussion of the biosecurity research currently in progress could be begin with the end in mind. She describes current work at Iowa State University to understand the rate of disease transmission in growing pigs and associate the timing of disease introduction with <location> biosecurity characteristics or events that could cause … [Read more...]
Highlights from the 31st Carthage Swine Conference
An emphasis on people, training, culture, retention and advancement are key priorities for today’s swine producers according to Claire LeFevre, DVM. She summarizes priorities from presentations at the swine conference. Source: National Hog Farmer, September 28, 2021. Link. Presenters discussed using the TN Visa Network which allows professionals from Canada and Mexico to … [Read more...]
Batch farrowing progress tracked with big data
Ron Ketchem and Mark Rix share the progression results of batch farrowing and provide views of various data depicting progress, challenges and value. Source: National Hog Farmer, September 1, 2021. Link. With the increasing disease challenges to the swine industry and large sow farms and finisher sites, batch farrowing needs to be explored.” INSIGHTS: The use of … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – August 19, 2021
Last week’s most read post 40 percent of U.S. wild deer have coronavirus antibodies: study. AHD Link. Cat2VetDay is August 22nd Source: Cat Friendly Homes. Link. In the United States, more than half of our 74 million cats are not visiting the veterinarian regularly. See the resources available for immediate use including, 5 reasons NOT to postpone … [Read more...]
National Pork Board seeks producer input on survivability
Improving Pig Survivability is a 5-year project to reduce overall mortality in the U.S. commercial swine industry. The National Pork Board encourages producers to participate in the survey to generate information about the motivations and barriers to reducing pig mortality. The results will direct research and university extension efforts and producer training topics. Help … [Read more...]
Porcine circovirus type 2; where do we stand?
First seen in the 1990s in swine, PCV2 has been observed to be involved in a wide variety of clinical presentations. Thirty years later with millions of dollars lost by producers and millions spent chasing this virus, it is still a conundrum. The most common form of the disease is considered to be subclinical, write the authors. The evolution of the virus has followed a … [Read more...]
Study reveals ag-related injuries more numerous than previously known
Fatality reporting has traditionally ranked farming as the eighth or ninth most dangerous job. New research looking at people treated in emergency departments for nonfatal, agricultural-related injuries suggests that the agriculture industry is even more dangerous than previously believed. Nearly a third of those injured were youths and vehicles were the primary source of … [Read more...]
Early heatwave a reminder to think about employee needs, too!
Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness in people. It occurs when the body becomes unable to control its temperature. The body’s temperature rises rapidly, its sweating mechanism fails and it is unable to cool down. Body temperature may rise to 106°F or higher within 10 to 15 minutes. You don’t have to be working outside all day to get too hot. The same goes for … [Read more...]
What to expect at World Pork Expo
Joseph Kerns says hog markets, China, U.S. crop prospects, industry expansion, disease and how to navigate the business environment will be hot topics at the first live World Pork Expo since 2018. 2021 World Pork Expo is held at the Iowa State Fair Grounds, Des Moines, Iowa. June 9 – 11. Link. Source: National Hog Farmer, May 17, 2021. Link. INSIGHTS: The topics of … [Read more...]
Emerging Salmonella serotype gains attention, concerns
Includes Sponsored Content Salmonella 1,4,[5],12:i:-, an emerging serotype in swine, has become one of the most identified serotypes in pigs, pork, and humans worldwide. Responding to the industry’s needs, Swine Health Information Center posted a new fact sheet that contains valuable information on the serotype, its nomenclature, as well as resistance. Pigs often carry … [Read more...]
Why pigs don’t wear masks
Opinion Relating the challenges of pandemic mask wearing may be a reach, but swine veterinarians and producers have been fighting Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome (PRRS) since the late 1980s. Most animal health pros realize the importance of pathogen reduction. Air filtering has become a primary method of reducing risks in swine units where herd density … [Read more...]
Redesigning the farm entry to enhance biosecurity
The heart of an effective biosecurity program is the adoption of standard protocols and a proactive mindset to maintain disease prevention at the forefront of farm activities. Producers can decrease the introduction of harmful pathogens and enhance biosecurity measures by redesigning the farm employee entrance to include an additional dry changing room. The risk of introducing … [Read more...]
Water: the forgotten nutrient
Water is known as the forgotten nutrient. Google it and you’ll find references to many species. Pedro E. Urriola shares perspectives from discussions at the recent Lehman workshop on water’s importance in pig production. . . . water can absorb a lot of heat before it starts to get hot. . . it is essential to thermal homeostasis of pigs, and all living species . . … [Read more...]
Coccidiosis a nagging old problem in swine
Appearing like hot melted parmesan cheese, coccidiosis scours start in pigs around 7 to 14 days of age. Give it a starting point in a barn and soon many more litters show up greasy. In my experience, I've seen pretty high morbidity, up to 90%, but low mortality and very few cases that I have pigs actually die from <coccidiosis>. It is more likely <pigs> are … [Read more...]
Water quality and the microbiome
Drinking water quality is considered important to the health and productivity of pigs and all animals for that matter. The classification of "quality" water includes more than just the mineral content. Preliminary data from a study at North Carolina State University suggests that drinking water and location may influence the sow microbiome. . . . oral, nasal, rectal and … [Read more...]
What does it cost to wean an older pig?
It is normal to challenge norms in swine and poultry production. The authors from Swine Management Services manage a complex database to help swine producers make production, health and economic decisions. While counter-intuitive, some advantages exist for moving to an older weaning age. Source: National Hog Farmer, July 1, 2020. Link. INSIGHTS: Data like these help us … [Read more...]
We ARE living the new normal – Part 3, biosecurity strategies ensure progress
COMMENTS Biosecurity is not new to animal health pros. It is central to successfully providing safe care for animals and their owners. Diseases such as rabies, distemper, parvovirus, hog cholera, bird flu, leptospirosis, PEDV, PRRS, salmonella and BVD have pushed us to focus on optimizing infection controls, using quarantine areas and hospital pens in concert with … [Read more...]
Swine disease management and COVID-19
THANK YOU, Jennifer Shike and Cassandra Jones, PhD, for sharing the challenges of managing swine PEDV and PRRS in the context of our current COVID-19 pandemic. Jones believes suppression should be the strategy. “Even then, we’re looking at June or July as peak of this thing, and 8X more critical care beds needed than we have available.” Cassandra Jones, PhD, Kansas State … [Read more...]
Isolation, distancing and PPE protocols ‘old hat’ to livestock production
It is easy to marvel at how under-appreciated, yet familiar and expected biosecurity is to the livestock community: Swine producers learned to shower in and shower out of facilities years ago as part of their efforts to reduce swine disease and stop massive death losses due to farm-to-farm fomite exchanges < link > Progressive dairies manage mastitis incidence … [Read more...]
Gilt management is key to more pigs born, saved
Litter size increases from better genetics have challenged hog producers to keep piglets alive from birth to the ready-to-market stage. Uniformity is also a consequence, although the genetics have produced more efficient pigs. Ron Ketchem and Mark Rix share results from analyzing data from 407 farms in North America where production was >25 pigs weaned per mated female per … [Read more...]
Opinion – Caretaker training improves animal welfare
Samantha Marais presents the value of employee training and how it improves pig welfare. From this, we can assume that training people to care for animals of any species likely increases animal welfare. Our industry routinely separates food animals, companion animals, equine and poultry. Universally however, people receiving proper and continuing education about animals in … [Read more...]
Swine research; alive, proactive
National Hog Farmer’s December 2019 edition is dedicated to myriad research projects that challenge the status quo in swine production. Weaning and transport stress, cross-fostering and odor control are among the research presented, in addition to getting a handle on emerging diseases. Source: National Hog Farmer, December 2019. Link. … [Read more...]
ASF: Full depopulation may be the only option (podcasts)
Veterinarians from Pipestone Veterinary Services discuss historical and future perspectives on swine disease elimination at the herd, regional and national level in two Swine Time podcasts. Sometimes hog producers have become better stewards, and sometimes just the change in the production systems has helped elimination, or at least have diminished the occurrences, of diseases … [Read more...]