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.
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...
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.
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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.
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? ...
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...
Organized by the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine, the annual 4-day Allen D. Leman Swine Conference offers scientific and practical...
A growing number of Seneca Valley virus (SVV) outbreaks wastes the time and money of people who investigate suspected foreign animal-disease outbreaks.
Teaming up to share ideas and troubleshoot swine-health issues can be good for pork producers and the industry, said Joel Nerem, DVM, a swine veterinarian with...
With so much attention being placed on antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance, animal agriculture can sometimes feel as if it’s the only target. However, human...
Although antibiotics provide a treatment option for Streptococcus suis — a common, widespread bacterium in swine — long-term management hinges on an effective...
Planning, paperwork and prevention are the priorities on hog farms in response to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) expanded veterinary feed directive (VFD),...
Ross Kiehne, DVM, practices what he calls “precision animal health.” “I’m only going to provide the vaccine or antibiotic that’s right for the pig at that...
Taking time to walk the pens, make eye contact with each pig and pull the sick ones for individual care seems to conflict with inherent efficiencies associated with...
Pigs are “very cool” animals — they’re all curious and very friendly from the time they’re baby pigs to sows and boars, explains Tara Donovan, DVM, company...
Watching 21-day old piglets that just left their mothers being placed in a nursery barn takes a special “sixth” sense to understand what they’re feeling.
Ness farm pigs get dessert before dinner. The Ness’ production system uses a liquid byproduct from an ice cream manufacturer to supply fat and energy to their pigs’...
Today the term factory farm is used very widely, and most people think machines are making pigs, notes Seth Krantz, DVM, company veterinarian for Tosh Farms.