The 34th annual Swine Conference hosted by Carthage Veterinary Service drew its biggest audience yet at the Oakley-Lindsay Center in Quincy, Ill., on Aug. 27. A conference full of practical production tips and cutting-edge research results you can use on your farm, here are a few things worth repeating.
“We have to think about everyone trying to stay in business. It’s easy to shut things down, but it’s much harder to get them going again.”
– Bret Marsh, Indiana state veterinarian, in “True Grit: The Truth About Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza”
“Grit is defined in a number of ways. It’s really about passion and perseverance in reaching goals. Grit is not talent. Grit is not luck. It’s the ability to progress toward goals.”
– Aaron Lower, Carthage Veterinary Service, in opening remarks
“Agree on and have goals for risk management. What is necessary for your business? What situations need to be avoided? Don’t fall in love with your own opinion – talk to as many people about the market as you can.”
– Brady Reicks, Reicks View Farm, in “Grift and Risk Management”
“Reassortment provides a shortcut to the dangerous road that leads us to outbreaks in pigs and maybe pandemics. Our shared flu is concerning but biosecurity, vaccines, pig flow knowledge and grit can keep us off the dangerous road.”
– Marie Culhane in “The Challenge of H5 in Dairy Cattle and the Concern for Spread to Humans, Pigs, Poultry”
“When the production team, vet, owner reaches out for help, believe them and understand there is a problem. Work together with all departments. Review your area of responsibility. Have an environment where teams can talk and have a game plan to work on the issue. Ask questions. Visit the barn together if possible. Look at the pigs and understand the issues as this helps to get a better understanding.”
– Casey Neill, nutritionist at Carthage Veterinary Service, in “Nutrition Influence on Nursery Performance”
“Neither increasing the frequency of sow feedings nor decreasing the interval between feedings prior to farrowing reduced piglet stillbirths in our recent research. This contradicts findings in some research trials and supports findings in other research trials.”
– Dustin Boler, director of research for Carthage Veterinary Service, in “The Latest Research Findings” session
“Diets are formulated to meet the needs of the ‘average’ sow, but there is no such thing as an ‘average’ sow.”
– Jorge Estrada, director of nutrition at Carthage, in “CISS Update on Recent Lactation Research”
“You have to ask yourself, is the juice worth the squeezing? Each producer/nutritionist needs to determine their own risk/reward threshold on each alternative ingredient.”
– Wayne Cast, nutritionist, in “Use of Non-Typical Ingredients in Swine Diets”
“Dealing with piglet diarrhea? First, define the problem. Then, use one of these tools in your toolbox: reduce exposure to pathogens, improve immune protection or reduce environmental stressors.”
– Elise Toohill, veterinarian at Carthage Veterinary Service, in “Suckling Pig Diarrhea”
“Good teams do what’s necessary. Great teams do a little more.”
– Milt Lowder, sport psychologist at Clemson University, in his keynote, “Growing Grit: The Tougher it Gets, the Better We Are”
Your Next Read: How to Decide Which Alternative Ingredients to Include in Swine Diets
