Hog Production
We’re recapping 2021’s most important issues though a look back at the covers of Farm Journal’s PORK magazine.
A flattening of the U.S. swine breeding herd is supported by the continued pace of sow slaughter, analysts said in the Daily Livestock Report. Here’s a look at sow slaughter in 2021.
A new year brings new opportunities. Economists encourage pork producers to consider these important questions.
How one Minnesota pig farmer uses data to ease consumer fears and questions.
In the constant microscopic tug-of-war, genes for antibiotic resistance have been around as long as bacteria. The more pressure you put on bacteria, the more they deploy defensive measures. Spencer Wayne, DVM, reflects.
Sow mortality numbers continue to be a concern for producers across the country, with lameness being the second leading cause at a rate of approximately 30% of the total mortalities.
For many, 2021 will not just be remembered as another year we battled COVID-19. It will also be remembered as the year African swine fever found its way back into the Western Hemisphere.
Although it’s important to focus our biosecurity efforts on the farms, now is a good time of year to review important feed mill biosecurity in these five key areas, says Laura Greiner of Iowa State University.
Four economists weigh in on the 2022 pork outlook and share their advice for pig farmers heading into the new year.
As we launch into a new year of production, a cluster of indicators show this year could be much better than current expectations. Let’s allow ASF to warm the bench while we look at the bullish indicators for 2022.
What do Service Factor, Full Load Amps, and Service Factor Amps tell us about a motor?
Sow mortality continues to baffle the pork industry. Although no one has uncovered the smoking gun, most would agree that it’s a multifactorial problem and needs to be approached from many perspectives.
What makes a good mother? Can early-life social behaviors indicate a female’s mothering ability later in life? A research project utilizing the NUtrack animal monitoring system is seeking to find out.
Neil Dierks gives credit for the organization’s successes to board members, producer leaders, his staff and farmers out in the country—never to himself. But in reality, he’s a shrewd, big-picture thinker.
Swine geneticists, industry leaders, university educators and students gathered for the first ever joint meeting of the Poultry Breeders Roundtable and National Swine Improvement Federation in St. Louis. Here’s a recap.
No one will argue that the pressures pig farmers face when it comes to environmental stewardship of air, soil and water are going to continue to increase. That’s why National Pork Board is offering a new program.
Items and food entering a farm can carry pathogens that can be transmitted to swine and have severe consequences. Here are a few tips from Kayla Henness, DVM, with The Maschhoffs about food entry and UV chambers.
The Swine Disease Reporting System initiative now includes more than 950,000 unique submissions tested by PCR for the five U.S. porcine endemic agents. Here’s an update.
In the midst of tight packing supply and tight harvest capacity, USDA’s decision to allow the nine NSIS plants to use faster line speeds could be the immediate-term help the pork industry needs now.
‘Tis the season to think twice about proper barn ventilation to protect your pigs and to promote energy efficiency. Experts weigh in on how you can save money this winter.
Whether you are converting an existing herd or populating a barn utilizing electronic sow feeding systems with new gilts, it can be a long road to get the herd comfortable with the new system. Here are a few tips.
Kansas State University researchers have completed work indicating that increased levels of a common feed grade amino acid can improve growth in swine herds – to a point. Here’s what they learned.
Farm workers can play a significant role in the transmission of influenza A virus within sow farms, according to Gustavo Lopez, DVM, a PhD candidate at the University of Minnesota.
Often in production herds, especially sow farms with experienced staff, we build internal farm system language or “barn speak” that can take on a life of its own. It’s time to clear it up, says Bill Hollis, DVM.
Researchers developed a quantitative risk assessment model to estimate the probability that one or more corn or soybean meal ocean vessels contaminated with ASF virus would be imported into the U.S. annually.
Whether you’re talking about pigs or people, COVID-19 or porcine reproductive respiratory syndrome (PRRS), zinc keeps coming up in the conversation as tool to help fight these serious health challenges.
“This is the perfect time to launch a truly renewable, electric powered tractor, which is repowered with solar energy,” says Mani Iyer.
Ohio’s Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory will now contribute data to the Swine Disease Reporting System to enhance capabilities as a surveillance tool and for early detection of pathogens of economic consequence.
In modern sow farms, piglet mortality is the leading restraint in producers not reaching their maximum production potential.