Multi-Site Pig Production
by Professor D.L. ("Hank") Harris
Hardback 232 pages List price: US$69.95 UK£45.00
Published by Iowa State University ISBN 0-8138-2699-3
Content list & publisher info
Ordering information (in new window):
USA & international Canada UK & EuropeHaving been indirectly involved in medicated early weaning back in the late seventies, as tiamulin in combination with trimethoprim/sulpha were the first medications to be used to eliminate key pig pathogens to enable the establishment of new breeding herds, it was of great interest to see this original program develop over the years. Multisite production or isowean now accounts for nearly 50% of the US pig production and it is a tribute to the author and the technique that it has been adapted and applied to so many commercial producers rather than just the more specialised breeding company.
The three-site system of breeding/farrowing, nursery and finishing, with each group housed in a separate building, ideally in a separate locus distant from each other, to prevent or control disease spread, is well described. Variations on the theme to accommodate existing farm practices and systems, including single and multi-sourcing and single and multi-loci are examined in detail. The effects on production improvement are attributed to less disease and the immune system not having to fight so hard against pathogens or environmental microbes and endotoxin challenge. Some diseases however, such as Streptococcus suis type 2 and Haemophilus parasuis, may be worse under the isowean system, especially if the immunosuppressive PRRSV and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae compound the problem. Control of the common diseases is also covered.
Apart from veterinary and management issues of running a unit, there is a major chapter on the financial aspects "Policy decisions and opportunities for owners and/or senior management". What system to invest in and what will be the likely financial returns are discussed and examples given. This would broaden the book’s appeal to non-veterinary audiences as well.
Overall, an excellent book, written in a deceptively easy style, which leads the reader into a series of complex issues but is full of information and practical experience.
D.G.S. Burch