Cargill and Carthage Veterinary Services Announce New Sow Research Partnership
Cargill and Carthage Veterinary Services have entered into a multi-year agreement focused on expanding commercial sow nutrition and health research. According to a company release, the goals of this partnership include optimizing sow performance and health, delivering more and healthier pigs into the pork supply chain, and supporting producer success/profitability.
Cargill and Carthage have made this investment to fill a knowledge gap within the swine industry around delivering the best nutrition and conditions for females to optimize performance from gilts through a long, productive life in the herd, the release said.
“Sow research at this scale is extremely limited in the industry,” Brent Frederick, PhD, swine innovation lead, in Cargill’s animal nutrition business, said in the release. “It’s expensive, time-consuming work, and given the economics of pork production today, the near-term ROI just isn’t there for producers to invest on their own.”
The agreement includes four to five research studies per year. Individual trials will look at diet formulation, innovative solutions through micronutrition, use of technology and operational interventions. Data points will include extensive measurement of gestation and lactation feed intake of individual sows, litter weights, individual pig weights, pre-wean mortality and other parameters relevant to the trial objectives. The companies have committed to sharing key insights from these trials with the broader swine industry.
Beau Peterson, general manager for Carthage Veterinary Services, said in a release, “Large-scale, commercial research is an important step in evaluating new technologies and management strategies for swine production. We’re executing scientifically sound trials ranging from 200 to 400 sows per treatment, with commercially relevant genetics, in a commercial environment, allowing us to produce results that can drive decision making immediately in commercial production systems.”
Trials will be conducted at Carthage’s facilities in Illinois. In addition to their existing sow research facility, Carthage is investing in a new barn expected to open in November. Both facilities include lactation rooms with up to 56 crates, and multiple feed lines for all phases capable of delivering distinct or blended test diets, the release said.
The first research trial of this agreement is set to begin in September 2021.
Missouri Pork Association Hosts Swine Healthy Symposium
Missouri Pork Association is hosting its eighth-annual Swine Health Symposium on July 28 at the Pork Place on the Missouri State Fairgrounds. The event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and will include several educational speakers, a pulled pork luncheon and a trade show of event sponsors. Attendance is free to the first 200 applicants.
Topics to be covered include Show Me Secure Pork – Foreign Animal Disease Preparations, Nitrogen Foam Euthanasia, Mass Mortality and Siting for Burial, Herd Health without Antibiotics and Zinc, Financial Health, and several others. The Missouri Veterinary Medical Board is offering three Continuing Education Credits for veterinarians who attend the Symposium.
Visit mopork.com/education/missouri-swine-health-symposium/ to view the full agenda and register for the event. Registration is required.
Topigs Norsvin Appoints New General Manager
Topigs Norsvin is pleased to announce the appointment of Ilias Beneas as general manager for Topigs Norsvin Hellas. Beneas currently serves as a marketing and sales manager for Zoetis in Greece and the other countries Topigs Norsvin Hellas is active in, according to a company release.
Beneas will officially assume his new position on August 23, taking over for George Nicolaou, who worked for Topigs Norsvin for over 11 years and is leaving due to family reasons.
Beneas has extensive experience in the pork industry, the release said. Before becoming marketing and sales manager for Zoetis, he worked for a feed additives company that specialized in pigs.
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