Efforts are underway in Canada to develop an ASF-Free Compartments strategy allowing farms to market hogs in the event of an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak.
Herd closures to eliminate porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) are on the increase due in part to the virulent variant identified as PRRS 1-4-4 L1C.
A couple of puzzling cases of diarrhea in baby pigs that didn’t test positive for the usual culprits were recently identified through genome sequencing as a porcine...
From the person doing the power washing to the owner of the farm business, everyone involved in a pork-production system plays a vital role in keeping the operation...
Hog farmers and veterinarians no longer have to accept the poorer performance that results from M. hyo infection. Whether the decision is to control or eliminate M....
US producers and veterinarians have seen an influx of different types of influenza viruses in the last 10 to 15 years, and that is a major reason why influenza is more...
For replacement gilts to be successful, the farm needs a well-established, well-managed and continually maintained plan, said Joel Sparks, DVM, with AMVC in Audubon,...
Victor Cortese, DVM, PhD, drew on his decades of field experience and expertise in immunology to offer tips for optimizing immunity in swine herds in the face of IAV-S.
Getting pigs off to a good start is both an art and science, and even under the best of circumstances it can be challenging. It’s even more difficult this year due to...
Most, if not all, pigs harbor some strains of Strep suis. Lately, challenges by the bacteria appear to be on the rise, but that could be interpreted as a positive.
Influenza A virus in swine (IAV-S) is increasingly challenging for US producers, primarily because the epidemiology of IAV-S involves a highly diverse pool of viruses.
Gilts entering a farrowing room face some big demands for animals still maturing while supporting their first litters. Skipping a breeding cycle can let these sows put...
A hog operation’s biosecurity plan needs regular attention to prevent lapses that can lead to a devastating outbreak. How do you make biosecurity a priority and...
The cause of high sow-mortality rates may be tough to determine, but producers can take steps to address the problems and lower rates, according to Randy Jones, DVM,...
Pigs can contract influenza anytime during the year but more influenza circulates in the fall and winter months. That’s why producers should prepare ahead of the...
Influenza-A virus of swine (IAV-S) is a thorn in the side of US pork producers, and it’s a difficult thorn to remove. If the virus were more pathogenic, veterinarians...
The upward trendline of sow mortality needs to be addressed. But until farms have a clearer understanding of why a gilt or sow leaves the breeding herd, progress will...
When breeding animals die, are culled prematurely, or need to be humanely euthanized, there are direct costs involved with the outcome, but the indirect costs are less...
Pablo Moreno, DVM, Swine Veterinary and Production International Service LLC, recently spoke with Pig Health Today about implementing best biosecurity practices.
Environmentally controlled hog facilities eliminated most swine parasites. But Ascaris suum (roundworm) continues to persevere on some conventional farms and frequently...
Water doesn’t get the attention it deserves because it is abundant, easy to access and inexpensive, but that will change in the future, said John Patience, PhD,...
The sow herd is the engine that drives a hog farm’s downstream productivity. But since the 1990s, sow mortality has been on the rise across the country.
Keeping sow mortality rates in check is critical to a farm’s productivity and cost structure. Yet in recent years, the US pork industry has seen sow mortality rise.
Jeff Feder, DVM, with Swine Vet Center, has spent 15 years fine-tuning filtration systems in client hog barns. Today, Feder has records to prove air filtration does...
Seasonal infertility continues to be a widespread problem for sow herds across the US. And if you don’t have a problem with seasonal infertility, it may mean you are...
The pork industry has had a tremendous number of innovations over the years, said Joe Connor, DVM. Connor, who serves as a consultant within Carthage Veterinary...
A special report from Pig Health Today, “Integrated Flu Management: New Strategies for Control,” reports on key presentations by experts in influenza A virus in...
Pig health and performance begin with the sow, which is why it’s critical for caregivers and production managers to evaluate each sow’s health, body condition,...
Biosecurity has become the all-inclusive protector of swine herd health. But even with all the biosecurity research, protocols and training, disease outbreaks occur...
In fall 2019, a client called Four Star Veterinary Service clinic in Mexico, IN, and reported the loss of a lot of sows. Daniel Gascho, DVM, had several ideas of what...
In Part 2 of this two-part series, Ryan Strobel, DVM, and Chris Sievers, DVM, with the Swine Vet Center, St. Peter, Minnesota, share implementation strategies to lower...
The “Five Freedoms” have been the foundation for establishing sound animal welfare practices since they were developed in 1965. Now, more than 50 years later,...
Nothing in his lifetime could have prepared Paul Yeske, veterinarian at Swine Vet Center, for the painful fallout from COVID-19 that hit the clinic and its clients.
Biosecurity protocols are critical to keeping the US hog herd healthy, and one of the regular tasks is to disinfect a wide range of supplies entering the farm, but how...
Pain management for pigs has always been a challenge, partly because it’s difficult to measure levels of pain and partly because there are no FDA-approved drugs...
US pork producers should strive to produce influenza-negative pigs if they want to see the benefits of increased productivity, reduced secondary infections and...
The farrowing room is a demanding place — one that needs to accommodate the divergent needs of a 500+-pound sow and her 10, 15 or 20 piglets weighing anywhere from...
Bacterial pathogens like Streptococcus suis and Haemophilus parasuis continue to cause major issues for growing and adult pigs. Dr. Brad Leuwerke offers some good...
Sow mortality has been on the rise in the US pork industry, reaching upwards of 15% in many sow-production systems, said Ashley Johnson, DVM, technical services...
The summer months can be difficult for pigs — and producers. Pigs typically don’t grow as fast and feed efficiency often takes a hit. Much of the downturn is linked...
Producers need to recognize there will always be health challenges when raising pigs without antibiotics. The goal is to resolve those challenges as they arise.
Classical education emphasizes the need for industries to adopt new technologies to keep up with external demands and constantly changing economic environments.
US producers have robust export markets and a lower cost of production than many other countries, but Joe Connor, DVM, says cost of production could be even lower.
Pre-wean mortality continues to be a challenge to producers across the industry as genetic improvements allow sows to be more prolific and achieve higher total born.
Looking to help the U.S. pork industry raise the bar for performance and reverse the surge in sow mortality rates, Zoetis has introduced Individual Sow Care.
Sow mortality rates in the US have increased dramatically in recent years and now average about 15%. Pig Health Today talked with six experts about the alarming trend...
Identifying the source of wean-to-finish mortality can be a challenge, since factors affecting that stage of production may have originated earlier — on the sow farm,...
Taking care of every single pig seems like a daunting task when producers have hundreds or thousands of pigs under their care. Still, the rewards are well worth the...
Producers know if a pig has good gut health in the nursery, it’s more likely to get off to a good start in the grow-finish barn. But with increased pressure on...
A pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a dramatic, easy-to-identify event within the farrowing room. The difficult part is figuring out the cause and applying a solution.
For Mary Battrell, DVM, a swine veterinarian for Smithfield Foods, animal welfare is the connection between animal health, well-being and performance; and optimizing...
Encouraging staff to have more direct involvement with managing and handling sows can have positive impacts on herd welfare and mortality rates, say scientists.
The US pork industry has a good track record for using antibiotics responsibly, but how should it be graded for its efforts? By volume? Types of antibiotics used? ...
Today’s swine veterinarians are great multitaskers by necessity, said Deborah Murray, DVM, veterinary services manager, with New Fashion Pork, Jackson, Minnesota, at...
Biosecurity is one of those on-farm topics that gets a lot of time and attention, but it can easily fall apart in the day-to-day reality of managing pigs.
A critical part of humane animal care on pig farms is responsible and timely euthanasia. However, identifying individuals for the job, training them and having a plan...
In recent years, producers have focused on pigs per sow per year and number of pigs weaned to maximize profits, but increased litter size puts pressure on sow...
When it comes to sow productivity, culling and mortality issues, “the simple answer is there’s no simple answer,” John Deen, DVM, University of Minnesota swine...
The US pork industry has demonstrated high standards for animal welfare, but there is still much to learn about mitigating pain — not only during processing, but...
Some retailers and foodservice companies are asking for animals that have never received antibiotics (“no antibiotics ever” or NAE), but that request fails to...
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,...
After 37 years of swine veterinary practice, John Baker, DVM, Boonville, Indiana, sees producers and veterinarians entering a new era in antibiotic management — one...
What is “cell-mediated immunity” and how does it affect vaccine performance? Are two PCV2 genotypes necessarily better than one? And what does a monster from Greek...
Producers looking to raise pigs with little or no antibiotics should consider nutritional strategies that help pigs build more immunity, according to Mike Tokach, PhD.
When you give someone something to read, the expressed competency level is about 10%. When you talk to them on the phone, it’s only 20%. But if that person sees a...
An employee-training program focused on online training followed by tracked, in-barn verification experiences helped a start-up farm achieve top piglet-survival rates,...