The first chapters include 'Pig meat and carcass qualities' and 'Growth and body composition changes in pigs.' There is a strong and well-illustrated section on 'Reproduction' by Cheryl Ashworth of SAC Aberdeen; 'Pig behaviour and welfare' and an extensive chapter on 'Development and improvement of pigs by genetic selection' by one of the editors, Colin Whittemore. Veterinarian, John Carr, wrote the chapter on 'The maintenance of health' which is full of his usual practical on-farm advice and would be very helpful to producers to identify the more common diseases and their management.

Chapters 8-15 deal in great detail with feeding the pig. Energy values of feedstuffs, proteins and amino acids, fats and oils, minerals and vitamins and their requirements for maintenance, growth and reproduction, diet formulation and feed optimisation are all included. There is a novel section on 'Product marketing' by Jaume Coma of Vall Companys, a major integrator in Spain, a chapter on 'Production performance monitoring' and a complex one on 'Simulation modelling' to test the production hypotheses. The importance of water and the environment has also not been neglected.

The editors and contributors have performed an outstanding task in compiling this book and in the conclusion is stated 'If the science is found good and the production practices found effective, it will not be through the implementation of rules, but through the understanding of the forces - economic and biological - which impinge upon pig production.' The editors have successfully brought science and practice together in this book.

Book details:

Hardback - 704 pages - in 20 chapters - 12 contributors
Publishing date: 4th January 2006
ISBN: 1405124482
Price: 399.50

Publisher:
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
9600 Garsington Road
Oxford OX4 2DQ
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 1865 776868
Fax +44 (0) 1865 714591
Available on line @ www.blackwellpublishing.com