Supply Management and the Ontario Pork Industry
The supply management system and its advantages and disadvantages are described by a group from the University of Guelph. Their paper was presented at the Ontario Pork meeting in September 2009.

Dam Parity Affects Litter Performance and Passive Immunity
Litter performance and passive immunity may be affected by dam parity, concluded Erin E. Carney and co-authors in their paper published in the 2009 Nebraska Swine Report.

Chinese Industry Needs to Modernise and Industrialise
Pig meat production in China, the world's largest meat producer, is growing and in particular the country is seeing a growth in branded products, writes ThePigSite Senior Editor, Chris Harris.

Update on New Piglet Diarrhoea in Europe
Recent reports about a possible new threat of piglet diarrhoea in Denmark and France have sparked concern in the EU pig industry. Jackie Linden, editor of ThePigSite, reviews the information currently available.

Nebraska Study Shows DDGS, Beta-Agonist Do Not Affect Growing-Finishing Pigs
Growth performance of growing-finishing castrates was not affected by increasing dietary distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS; 0 to 40 per cent) or supplementing ractopamine, according to Roman Moreno and co-authors in their paper published in...

Nutrition During Gilt Development and Genetic Line Affect Reproduction
Twenty-five per cent energy restriction during development delays sexual maturity of gilts but has no effect on reproductive rate to parity 1 of those reaching sexual maturity, according to Rodger K. Johnson and co-authors in a paper published in the...

Banff Pork Seminar 2009
The 38th Banff Pork Seminar 2009 was held in Banff, Canada, in January 2009. The proceedings comprises five plenary papers plus break-out sessions and abstracts.

Economy of Adding Fibrous Feedstuffs to Sow Gestation Diets
Producers may be able to improve the profitability of their operation by using fibrous feed ingredients in sow gestation diets, according to a paper presented by by Duane E. Reese and Allen Prosch in the 2009 Nebraska Swine Report.

Varying Concentrations of DDGS in Diets for Growing-Finishing Pigs
Growth performance of growing-finishing pigs was maintained as dietary corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) inclusion increased from 0 to 15 per cent, according to R. Moreno and co-authors in a paper published in the 2009 Nebraska Swine ...

Nebraska Swine Report 2009
The Nebraska Swine Report for 2009 comprises nine papers covering nutrition, health and genetics.

New Feed Strategies Discussed by European Pig Producers
This year's European Pig Producers' (EPP) Congress was held in the city of Graz in Austria in June. The focus of the conference was meeting new challenges. Jackie Linden, editor of ThePigSite, summarises the session on new feed strategies.

Minnesota Pork Congress 2009
The Minnesota Pork Congress 2009 Producer Education Seminars were held on 21 to 22 January 2009.

Effective Ventilation 1
Harry Huffman of Huffman Engineering explained to delegates at the 2009 London Swine Conference about the importance of good air quality in pig houses, how to achieve it and how to avoid common mistakes.

Benchmarking and Tools to Maximise Profit
At this year's London Swine Conference, Greg Bilbrey of Agri Stats Inc. explained the benefits of benchmarking to optimise the business.

Pork Production Versus Consumer Demands
"With the high production costs in Canada, what can we do to build a long term competitive industry?" asked Mario Lapierre of Génétiporc Inc. at the London Swine Conference 2009.

Latest Vaccine Research from PCVD Forum
As part of its ongoing commitment to research and development into PCV2, Merial held its inaugural PCVD Forum in Athens where 350 pig veterinarians from across Europe exchanged information and views on Porcine Circovirus-associated diseases (PCVD).

Variability of Water Flow Rates and the Impact on Therapy Using Tetracycline Powder
The results presented at the 28th Centralia Swine Update by Glen Almond and colleagues at North Carolina State University indicate that medicating pigs with tetracycline in the drinking water is problematical and ineffective.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
Despite the finding of MRSA in pigs and pork in Canada, the potential role on human health is unclear, according to Dr Scott Weese of the University of Guelph, speaking at the 28th Centralia Swine Research Update.

Fine Tuning Nursery Management to Optimise Production Costs
Peter Wilcock of AB Agri Ltd in the UK explains the main areas of management that should be looked at to improve nursery performance and optimise lifetime production costs. He presented his paper at the London Swine Conference 2009.

Support for On-farm Renewable Energy Schemes
The US has set some tough targets for renewable fuels and energy over the coming years, writes ThePigSite senior editor, Chris Harris.

Managing Highly Prolific Sows
Guy-Pierre Martineau of France's National Veterinary School and Brigitte Badouard of IFIP Institut du Porc shared their experiences of managing hyperprolific sows with delegates at the London Swine Conference 2009.

Clostridial Diseases in Pigs and Public Health Concerns
C. difficile from pigs might be a serious public health concern and needs to be further investigated, according to R. Friendship, J. Gallant, K. Warriner and S. Weese of the University of Guelph. They presented a written paper at the 28th Centralia...

London Swine Conference 2009 Proceedings
The 9th London Swine Conference was held at London, Ontario, on 1 to 2 April 2009 under the banner 'Tools of the Trade'.