Feeding the Hypor Sow and Gilt in Gestation
The feeding program for breeding pigs, and the type of diets used, have a major impact on many aspects of performance from farrowing rate and litter size to piglet weaning weight and sow health. In their breeding program, Hypor R&D takes into consideration...

Evaluating Breeds of Swine for Crossbreeding Programs
Archie C. Clutter (Assistant Professor, Animal Science), David S. Buchanan (Professor, Animal Science) and William G. Luce (Extension Swine Specialist), explain crossbreeding, heterosis and the effects on performance and carcass traits in this Fact Sheet...

50 More Years of Breeding Excellence
Dr Grant Walling, Research and Genetics Director for JSR Genetics, looked into his crystal ball and gave his predictions concerning genetic progress in the next five decades. He gave the presentation at the company's 19th Annual Technical Conference,...

Brave New Farm: GE Food Animals in the USA
Imagine a new kind of food farm: animals that flourish on infertile lands, eat less but grow faster; there are no fears of disease or environmental side-effects on these farms and the animals produce meat that is lean, safe and nutritious. Think of all...

Thinking About Genetic Costs?
Production costs for three commercial breeding strategies are compared by Ronald O. Bates, State Swine Specialist at Michigan State University and published in MSU Pork Quarterly (volume 13, number 2)

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.

Selection for Piglet Vitality Pays Off
Breeding effort since 2002 shows more piglets and less mortality, writes Jackie Linden, ThePigSite Editor.

Animal Cloning and Implications for the Food Chain
This report examines the potential issues involved with cloning animals for commercial industry, prepared for COI, on behalf of their client, The Food Standards Agency.

Effects of Nutrition During Gilt Development on Lifetime Productivity of Sows of Two Profile Maternal Lines
Differences in litter performance between genetic lines do not appear to be due to gilt management. Dietary energy restriction during the gilt development period positively affects litter weaning weight. By Phillip S. Miller, Rodger K. Johnson, Roman...

Genetic Gains - FCR Should Be The Focus
By Jane Jordan, ThePigSite Editor. As feed costs continue to rise pig producers are trying to squeeze every scrap of growth and performance from their herds - which is not easy given the many variables involved in producing a quality carcases.

Bridging the Gap Between Genetic Potential and On-Farm Performance in Commercial Pigs
By Aedmund J. McClure, Courtesy of Alltech Inc. Commercial hybrid pigs as found on farms throughout the world today have a much improved potential for growth and a much better ability to convert feed to liveweight gain than their counterparts in the late...

Cutting FCR: the key to survival
If pig producers are to survive, they must quickly adapt to a demanding new challenge according to Dr Grant Walling, Director of Research and Genetics at JSR Genetics.

Raising Your Herd’s Genetic Status, Without Risking Its Health
By Dr Grant Walling, Research and Development Director JSR Genetics and Janet M Owen, Veterinary Pig Specialist, Garth Partnership. A pig producer receives significant advice from many sources. Much of it comes from the supply industry - feed companies,...

PMWS and the Benefits of Changing Breed
By Dr GrantWalling, and Stuart Cartwright, JSR Genetics. Many farms unfortunately now have practical experience of Postweaning multisystemicwasting syndrome (PMWS).

CT Scans Used To Spot Pigs With The X Factor
By Dr. Grant Walling, JSR Genetics. Selection by pig geneticists has traditionally focused on traits relatively easy to measure on the live animal, for example growth rate.

What’s new in damline liquid genetics?
By Caroline Blaken, PIC Technical Sales Support - PIC’s new high-throughput marker discovery programme has resulted in a pipeline of thousands of genetic markers for evaluation within PIC’s breeding programme.

Advanced Computing Systems
By Dr Grant Walling, JSR Genetics - The philosophy of 18th Century agriculturalist Robert Bakewell was to ‘breed from the best’, a strategy with which even modern day genetics companies will still be able to identify.

What the Commercial Pork Producer needs to know about Genetic Improvement
By Dr. Todd See, Swine Genetics Specialist, North Carolina State University - The Commercial Pork Producer’s role in genetics is generally to take the end result of a genetic improvement program and manage animals in a manner to maximize expression of...

Evaluating Growth, Loin Muscle Area, and Backfat Accretion During Summer and Winter for Finishing Pigs in Bedded Hoop and Confinement Buildings
By Joel Morrical, graduate research assistant; Mark Honeyman, professor of animal science; Clint Schwab, graduate research assistant; Jay Harmon, professor of ag and biosystems engineering and Tom Baas, associate professor of animal science. This article...

Making Progress Through Research
By Kees de Lange, University of Guelph - This article is from a collection of the scientific papers presented at the 2006 London Swine Conference.

Is there a genetic basis for seasonal infertility in the pig?
By Julian Wiseman, University of Nottingham School of Biosciences & Grant Walling, JSR Genetics Ltd - Seasonal breeding is a common phenomenon in a large number of wild animal species, including the wild boar, which is a short-day breeder.

Customised Genetics - A Case History
With processors’ specifications becoming more and more specialized, US-based Andrew Coates, PIC’s Technical Services Director for Genetics, describes how a custom selection index can be designed to deliver to the most exacting contracts.

Impact of genetic selection on management
By J.A.B. Robinson and M.M. Buhr, University of Guelph - Boars in an artificial insemination centre have been selected for their superior genetic potential, with ‘superior’ being defined as having traits the customer wants transmitted to his herd.