2018 Leman Conference features ‘science-based solutions’ for pork production

Nearly a thousand swine veterinarians, producers and industry leaders from the US and 20 other countries are expected to attend the 2018 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, Sept. 15-18.

Organized by the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine, the annual 4-day conference offers scientific and practical information on a broad range of swine health and production topics.

“We try to put on a program that has value to a broad audience including veterinarians and producers,” program chair Montse Torremorell, DVM, PhD, associate professor at the University of Minnesota, told Pig Health Today.

“The aim of the conference is to bring science-based solutions to swine production and medicine. The conference keeps growing.”

Bringing science to the farm

The conference-planning committee solicits input from a diverse group of people in the industry to identify the hot topics that need to be covered at the meeting.

“We try to bring the best science and make it very applicable to the producer or to the veterinarian,” Torremorell said.

“We try to bring the latest diagnostics on various transcontinental diseases, emerging diseases, endemic diseases, PRRS and influenza. On the production side, the issues include lifetime sow productivity, and sow and piglet mortality.”

The conference also delves into public health issues. including the use of antibiotics in swine. A session on antimicrobial use and antibiotic resistance is scheduled for this year’s conference.

Sow productivity workshop

The University of Alberta conducts a pre-conference workshop dealing with sow productivity. “They’ve been a very good partner for many years and the workshop is very well attended with a diverse audience,” Torremorell said. This year’s program centers on sow productivity.

Other pre-conference programs are available on Saturday and Sunday.

For more information on the Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, click here.