Fuel for the Fire: Livestock Inputs and GHG Emissions
The effects of livestock farming on climate change is an ever-expanding issue for the meat industry. At the forefront of consumer concerns is the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Consequently, in a bid to tackle the problem, ongoing research attempts...

Monitoring Sows Bred by Seven Days
There is a reason to consider the use of proportions in more detail and in more applications, write John Deen DVM PhD (Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota) and Sukumarannair S. Anil DVM PhD (Research Asssociate at the University of Min...

Meat Per Tonne of Feed - Become a Convert!
Respected pig consultant, John Gadd, explains why producers should adjust their future thinking to the amount of meat produced per tonne of feed, rather than a simple feed conversion ratio for JSR Genetics.

NADIS/BPEX Commentary - Vices
Pig veterinarian, Mark White, describes the results of a survey carried out by vets into the vices they come across on finisher pig farms. Tail-biting was the most widespread behavioural problem observed. Its prevalence was not particularly associated...

Establishing the Weaned Piglet
Establishing piglets early to reduce pen variation is the key message from the BPEX Knowledge Transfer Farm Case Study 5. Successful changes were adjustments to the feeding regime, the addition of bite drinkers and additional lighting.

Controlling Stillbirth Losses
Hypor offers solutions to this global problem, including tips on management and supervision at farrowing.

Heavier Pigs Born, Heavier Pigs Weaned
Heavier piglets at birth maintain their weight advantage to weaning and beyond. This article from Alpharma in the series Defining Sow Productivity explains why this is so and highlights ways to achieve it in a publication entitled Birth and...

Defining Sow Productivity: Breeding Issues
This article is a transcript of a teleconference between five pig veterinary specialists organised by Alpharma. The topics covered include seasonal infertility, reducing sow mortality, gilt acclimation, segregation of parity 1 sows, better birth and weaning...

Defining Sow Productivity: Diseases Contributing to Poor Productivity and Profits
This article is a transcript of a teleconference between five pig veterinary specialists organised by Alpharma. The topics covered include PRRSV and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae; Clostridium perfringens type A; and circovirus (PCV2)-associated...

Optimise Parity Distribution
From Farms.com. Stephanie Rutten of the University of Minnesota explains the benefits of optimisation-based sow replacement programmes, and how to manage such a strategy.

NADIS Pig Health Bulletin - Savaging of Piglets
Mark White, BVSc DPM, recommends ways to minimise the savaging of piglets by gilts and sows in the September 2008 issue of NADIS Health Bulletin.

A Closer Look at US CAFOs and the Data Void
Animal feeding operations in the United States have shot up by 230 per cent in the last twenty years. Larger farms inevitably lead to more waste and possibly, pollution. Whilst trying to measure just how serious the issue has become, the Environmental...

Colostrum: Food for Life
An article from BPEX in the series Action for Productivity. Its targets are to optimise colostrum production by the sow; to make sure that piglets suckle within 6 hours of birth; and to ensure that every piglet gets a fair share of the colostrum...

The Effect of Biofilms in Pig Production
From DuPont Animal Health Solutions. Jake Waddilove, MA, VetMB, MRCVS, explains why the removal of biofilms is a vital stage in biosecurity for healthy pigs.

Ageing and the Impact on Meat Quality
From BPEX Pork Chain Unit. Ageing is the natural process of meat tenderisation after rigor mortis. This is due to the action of muscle enzymes which break down some of the protein structures that 'hold the meat together'. Ageing has been demonstrated...

Carcass Quality: Maximize Returns, Minimize Losses
By Jaydee Smith, Swine Production Systems Program Lead at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). Key points to watch out for on-farm as well as pre- and post-transportation of the pigs.

Pumping Pits - You Need a Safety Plan
Planning ahead can help save time and lives when it comes to manure pit safety, according to Ohio State University (OSU) Extension safety experts.

Loading and Unloading Pigs
By BPEX. Loading and unloading can be the most stressful part of the journey for pigs. Handling and moving animals appropriately will make the process easier, minimise stress levels for pigs and stockman and reduce the risk of injury.

Research Paves the Way for Improved Animal Health and Productivity
Understanding how inherited characteristics relate to specific genomes will eventually allow researchers to develop tools that can be used to guide animal breeding, selection and management decisions, writes Laura McGinnis and colleagues at the ARS.

Is There an Optimum Production System?
This paper by Michael C. Brumm of Brumm Swine Consultancy is from a presentation given to the London Swine Conference in Ontario.

Profitable Antibiotic-Free Pork Production
By Darwin Kohler, DVM; James Schneider, PhD and Chad Bierman, MS, Babcock Genetics, Inc., Rochester, Minnesota, as published in the North Carolina University, Swine News Volume 31 No 6.

Pew Commission Finds Industrial Scale Farm Animal Production Poses "Unacceptable" Risks
The current industrial farm animal production (IFAP) system often poses unacceptable risks to public health, the environment and the welfare of the animals themselves, according to an extensive 2½-year examination conducted by the Pew Commission on Industrial...

CAFOs Uncovered - The Untold Costs of Confined Animal Feeding Operations
The Union of Concerned Scientists looks into the costs of confined animal feeding operations.