Nerem: Shift focus to responsible antibiotic use, not arbitrary reductions
Jan 16, 2019Susan Spiegel
Some retailers and foodservice companies are asking for animals that have never received antibiotics (“no antibiotics ever” or NAE), but that request fails to recognize that animals — like...
Yeske: Multiple factors contributing to rising sow-mortality rates
Jan 14, 2019Susan Spiegel
The spike in sow-mortality rates in recent years has everyone in the US pork industry searching for answers. Don’t expect any simple solutions, however.
Roundtable: Industry structure, culture, wild boars team up to intensify ASF threat in China
Jan 09, 2019Susan Spiegel
The discovery of African swine fever (ASF) in China’s wild boar population in late 2018 adds a new dimension to the already ominous disease threat — one that could possibly leave the Chinese to...
Enriching sow environment and diet improves sow welfare, early piglet survival
Jan 08, 2019Susan Spiegel
New research confirms that environmental stress during gestation can influence piglet health and mortality after birth.
Streptococcus suis leads SHIC’s Swine Bacterial Disease Matrix list
Jan 07, 2019Susan Spiegel
Viruses tend to get first priority when it comes to monitoring swine diseases and herd health, but bacteria can wreak just as much havoc.
Knock, knock: Swine veterinarian shares experiences from VFD audit
Jan 02, 2019Susan Spiegel
When Peter Schneider, DVM, heard FDA auditors were at the door to see the operation’s VFDs, he remembers feeling a little nervous.
PED — live with it or eliminate it?
Dec 26, 2018Susan Spiegel
The porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus that devastated the US swine industry several years ago continues to persist, causing fewer pig deaths but curtailing pig growth.
Tyson VP: ‘Antibiotic issue is far from black and white’
Dec 19, 2018Susan Spiegel
Producer and consumer choice are equally important when it comes to producing quality pork products — and it’s important not to put limits on either of them, according to Kent Harrison, vice...
Veterinarian: ‘Take PED seriously and get it cleaned up’
Dec 18, 2018Susan Spiegel
After a few years of limited activity, PED remained quiet in southwest Minnesota until last spring, when four sow farms in southwest Minnesota broke with the disease.
Communication key to consumer acceptance of modern pig production
Dec 12, 2018Susan Spiegel
The pig industry needs to be more open about intensive production systems if consumers are to be more accepting of modern pig production, a new study confirms.
