Large Groups for Grower-Finisher Pigs, Feeding and Social Behaviour
By Thusith S. Samarakone and Harold W. Gonyou and published by the Prairie Swine Center - Most studies on feeding and social behaviours of pigs have been conducted on groups of fewer than 40 pigs/group. However, these group sizes are much smaller than...

Top Quality Pork: A Priority For Every Link In The Chain
By JSR Genetics - Quality pork, yielding additional revenue, can only be achieved through integrated production systems involving - and rewarding - all links of the pork chain. All components in the chain must cooperate to produce quality pork. For example,...

Effects of Ractopamine HCl on E. coli and Salmonella In Vitro and on Intestinal Populations and Fecal Shedding in Sheep and Pigs
By Edrington TS, Callaway TR, Smith DJ, Genovese KJ, Anderson RC and Nisbet DJ, USDA's Agricultural Research Service - The effects of the beta-agonist ractopamine, approved for use in finishing swine and cattle to improve carcass quality and performance,...

Combustion Ash Can Serve As A Mineral Supplement In Swine Diets
By Eric van Heugten, Swine Nutrition Specialist, North Carolina State University - Environmental concerns surrounding the disposal of swine waste have prompted investigation of combustion or thermal decomposition methods for management of these wastes....

Basic Pig Husbandry - Gilts and Sows
By Graeme Taylor and Greg Roese, Livestock Officers Pigs, Intensive Industries Development, Tamworth - This Primefact is one of five articles providing an overview of basic pig husbandry, covering boars, gilts and sows, the litter, weaners and grower...

First Quarter Summary of Meats
By John Lawrence - First quarter 2006 was a disappointing quarter for cattle and hog producers. Seasonally, we expect cattle prices to be stable to higher during the quarter and hog prices typically are stable as well.

Nebraska Swine Report 2006 : The Case Against Evening-Up Litters Until Weaning
By Duane E. Reese, extension swine specialist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Barbara E. Straw, extension veterinarian, Michigan State University - A literature review on the effect of fostering or moving individual piglets from one litter to another...

Prospects for Agricultural Markets and income 2005 - 2012 for EU-25
By the European Commission - Concrete measures to improve the protection and welfare of animals over the next five years are outlined in a new Action Plan on the protection and welfare of animals, adopted by the Commission today. The Action Plan aims...

Pork Central Hog Market Thoughts for April 1st 2006
By Al Prosch, Nebraska University Pork Central Coordinator - Expectations that the March Hogs and Pigs Report show modest expansion of the US sow herd (average expectation was about 101%) left the April futures markets trading in a narrow range from $57.00...

Impact of Repeated Out-Of-Feed Events and Fineness of Grind on Grow-Finish Performance
By Michael C. Brumm, Extension Swine Specialist and Sheryl L. Colgan, Research Technologist - Out-of-feed events are a growing problem in nursery and grow-finish facilities due to issues associated with feed delivery to bulk bins and bridging of feed...

Variation in Feed Quality: What To Do When It Declines
By Ruurd T. Zijlstra, Augustine Owusu-Asiedu, Emma J. Clowes, and John F. Patience and published by the Prairie Swine Center - Feed ingredients, such as barley and wheat, vary substantially in quality. If the variation in ingredient quality is ignored,...

OUTLOOK: Ethanol, Animals and Animal Feed
By Amanda Barth, University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences - The growth of ethanol production would seem to have positive benefits for cattle feeders, and perhaps the dairy industry, said a Purdue University Extension...

Use of Distillers Dried Grains With Solubles (DDGS) in Swine Diets
By Bob Thaler, extension swine specialist - More and more ethanol co-products are available for livestock feed because of the rapid growth of the ethanol industry in South Dakota. The three main co-products are Distillers Grains, Solubles, and Distillers...

Value and use of ‘new generation’ distiller’s dried grains with solubles in swine diets
By Jerry Shurson, Mindy Spiehs, Jennifer Wilson and Mark Whitney, Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota - Corn distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is a co-product produced by dry mill ethanol plants as a result of fermenting...

Feeding pigs in the tropics
Feeding pigs in the tropics - By Rena Pérez and published by the FAO - Pork is the largest source of meat at the world level, and considering that, due to religious beliefs, pork is not produced and consumed in many countries, its relative importance...

Organic Acids as Potential Alternatives to Antibiotic Growth Promoters for Pigs
By Zdzislaw Mroz, Wageningen University and presented at the 2005 Banff Pork Seminar - In the context of phasing-out antibiotics for growth promotion and prophylactics against enteric diseases in pigs within the EU, a particular interest is now paid...

Micro-Organisms as Feed Additives - Probiotics
By Ortwin Simon and presented at the 2005 Banff Pork Seminar - For many decades antibiotics (so called growth promoters) have been used as feed additives in various species of farm animals, to reduce the frequency of diarrhoea under certain condition...

Influence of Ultimate pH on Meat Quality and Consumer Purchasing Decisions
By Ronald Klont, PIC’s Northern European Pork Chain Manager - Ronald Klont defines the relationships between ultimate pH and four of the five meat quality attributes that impact consumer purchasing decisions - taste, appearance and juiciness.

Assessing The Results Of The EU Ban On Antibiotic Feed Additives
By Hector Cervantes, DVM, MS, Dip. ACPV, Manager, Poultry Technical Services, Phibro Animal Health Corp. - The European Union (EU) banned the use of avoparcin, a widely used antibiotic feed additive in food-producing animals in 1997. The ban was carried...

Nebraska Swine Report 2005 : Out-of-Feed Events in Grow-Finish Pigs
By Brian Richert, Purdue University; Jeremy Marchant-Forde and Ruth Marchant-Forde, USDA-ARS Research Associates, Purdue University and Mike Brumm, University of Nebraska - In theory, bulk bins and automated feed delivery systems assure an uninterrupted...

Feeding Small Grains to Swine
By Zebblin Sullivan, Animal Science, Iowa State University; Mark Honeyman, Professor, Department of Animal Science; Lance Gibson, Associate Professor, Department of Agronomy; Jean McGuire, Editor, Educational Materials and Marketing Services and Micki...

Searching for Alternatives to Antibiotic Growth Promoters
By the North Carolina State University - The use of antibiotics for growth promotion in swine feeds has come under serious scrutiny in the last few years due to concerns about their potential effects on antibiotic resistance in humans. This has led to...

The use of meat and bone meal as organic farming fertiliser
By Prof. Dr. Dr. Ewald Schnug, Federal Agricultural Research Centre (FAL), Institute for Plant Nutrition and Soil Science - Meat and bone meal (MBM) contains mineral elements essential for all organisms, typically 6-8% Nitrogen (N) and 5-6% Phosphorus...