Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics on Wheat Middling Fed Pigs
By Eduardo Beltranena, Hagen Schulze, Raelene Petracek and Alison Orr - This article from the Prairie Swine Center looks at how the dietary inclusion of specific feed enzymes can offer the potential of further increasing the nutrient availability of wheat...

Snapshot of MBM Regulations from various Jurisdictions
Ontario Pork Newsletter - The world's first case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) was diagnosed in Britain in 1986 by Britain's Central Veterinary Laboratory. The exact cause of BSE continues to be debated, but it is known that it is associated...

Feeding Finishing Pigs - The importance of regular meal times
By Nick Bird, FarmEx - This article looks at the effect irregular and missed feeding times has on the production of finishing pigs. As far as can be determined, every missed meal is lost growth. Lost growth means feeding a pig to keep it alive, but it's...

Zinc: Nutritional and Pharmacological Roles
By Larry L. Berger, Ph.D. University of Illinois. This article provides an update for nutrition professionals on the current understanding of both the physiological and pharmacological roles of zinc in animal diets.

The Performance of Growing-Finishing Pigs Fed Diets with Reduced Crude Protein
By John F. Patience, A. Denise Beaulieu, Ruurd T. Zijlstra, Doug A. Gillis and James Usry, Prairie Swine Centre Inc. - Successful formulation of low protein diets increases our flexibility in formulating practical diets, provides us with another tool...

The Importance of Feed and Feeding the Lactating Sow
By Brian Andries - This article is from Prairie Swine Center and looks at how maintaining high levels of feed intake during lactation will not only benefit the litter currently on the sow but subsequent litters as well as improve the sows overall pro...

Lysine for Early Weaned Pigs
By Eduardo Beltranena, John F. Patience, Alison Orr and Claire Jardine - The rapid changes occurring in the management of the weaned pig, concurrent with rapidly increasing expectations of animal performance, suggest that diet formulations acceptable...

Feeding Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Pigs
By Ronald O. Ball and Sönke Möhn, Swine Research and Technology Centre, University of Alberta - This paper, presented at the January 2003 Banff Pork Seminars, discusses how the Kyoto agreement affects pork producers.

N-3 Fatty Acids In Sow Diets
By Theo Van Kempen, Swine Nutrition Specialist, North Carolina State University - Omega-3 fatty acids have received considerable attention in recent years in both human and pet nutrition. Infant formulas are now supplemented with such fatty acids for...

Improving pork quality through Magnesium supplementation
By Brent Frederick and Dr Eric van Heugten, Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University - Two-thirds of a pig's body magnesium is located in bone. The remaining third is disbursed in soft tissue and extracelluar fluid. Using dietary magnesium...

Phosphorus in Swine Diets
By Dr Eric van Heugten, Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University - Several studies focusing on phosphorus in swine diets were presented at this year's national animal science meetings. Researchers from Iowa State University, T. Stahly and...

Antimicrobial Resistance – A Threat to Sustainable Agriculture
By Christopher Teale, Veterinary Laboratory Agency - This paper gives an overview of some of the challenges which antimicrobial (antibiotic) resistance is likely to pose for UK agriculture over the coming decades.

How Much Fusarium-Contaminated Grain Can I Feed My Pigs?
By Jim House, Department of Animal Science, University Of Manitoba - This article looks at the impacts of fusarium infection in feed in the swine industry. The report gives a brief background and strategies that have been pursued in dealing with the issue,...

The European ban on growth-promoting antibiotics and emerging consequences for human and animal health
By Mark Casewell, Ian Phillips, University of London; Christian Friis, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen; Enric Marco, B & M Consulting, Barcelona, Spain and Paul McMullin, Poultry Health Services Ltd, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, ...

Using higher energy diets to improve weaned pig performance
By Crystal Levesque, M.Sc., John F. Patience, Ph.D., Ruurd Zijlstra, Ph.D. and Eduardo Beltranena, Ph.D. - The weaning period is often associated with problems such as low feed consumption and reduced growth rate. Management of the weaned pig requires...

Feed Intake - A Checklist of Nutritional, Environmental and Management Strategies to Achieve Success
By D. L. Whittington, C.M. Nyachoti, J.F. Patience, H. W. Gonyou1, R.T. Zijlstra1 and S.P. Lemay. Feed Intake (FI) is among the most elusive of challenges stockpeople face to monitor and influence. This production-limiting problem is multi-faceted, farm...

General guidelines on liquid feeding for pigs
By the UK's Meat and Livestock Commission - This article looks at the potential advantages of liquid feeding for pigs, and looks at the reasons to liquid feed, controlled fermentation, restricted or ad lib, ingredients, considerations, hygiene and...

Impact of combining a low protein diet and oil sprinkling on odour and dust
By Michel Payeur, Stéphane P. Lemay Ph.D., Ruurd T. Zijlstra Ph.D., Stéphane Godbout, Ph.D., Liliane Chénard M.Sc., Ernie M. Barber Ph.D. Claude Laguë Ph.D. and Shala K. Christianson M.Sc. Odour from intensive swine operations are a significant limiting...

Lessons from the Danish Ban on Feed-Grade Antibiotics
By Dermot J. Hayes and Helen H. Jensen, Iowa State University - McDonald's Corporation recently adopted a policy that prohibits its direct suppliers from using medically important antibiotics as growth promotants in food animals after 2004. This article...

Strategies for the prudent use of antibiotics
By Australian Pork - Antibiotics are important for animal health, welfare, food safety and the environment. However, they need to be used judiciously to avoid the development of resistance in pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria of the pig. This document...

Growth Promoters: Replacing Antimicrobials
By Livestock Knowledge Transfer, UK - This article looks at the alternatives to antimicrobials and the strategy for replacing them.

The Feeding Strategy for Slaughter Pigs
By Livestock Knowledge Transfer, UK - This article is the third in the series from "Getting the best from your pigs" and looks at the nutritional requirements to maximise lean growth.

Feeding your Breeding Gilts
By Livestock Knowledge Transfer, UK - This article is the sixth in the series from "Getting the best from your pigs" and looks at the best practice feeding strategy for breeding gilts.