Dr. Dan Hurnik

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a major viral disease of swine with devastating economic consequences to the swine industry.1,2 Pigs of all ages are susceptible to PRRS virus, with highly variable clinical manifestations in different age groups of infected pigs, ranging from abortion, anorexia, and pyrexia in pregnant sows to respiratory signs, high mortality, and poor grow ...

DNA analysis has evolved in roles such as forensic medicine, and paternity genetics in the past years and more recently its capabilities have been challenged as a traceback mechanism within the meat production industry. In Ireland IdentiGEN's DNA TraceBackTM technology was able to detect wrongly-advertised South American beef product as Irish beef, and some non-beef products as beef 1. The Europea ...

AbstractThis paper will attempt to demonstrate the current status and direction of traceability systems in the pork production industry in Canada, with particular emphasis on what it will mean for Canadian pork producers. Traceability by definition is the ability to trace pork through the production chain. Traceability gives the production chain transparency, and transparency allows customers to u ...

In recent years, the use of in-feed growth promoting antibiotics has come under some criticism because of the potential risk of bacteria acquiring resistance to specific antibiotics and the detrimental effects that this may have on human health. This has led to the banning of the use of some antibiotics for swine by the European Union (EU). This leads one wonder if similar bans could be imposed in ...

It is widely recognized that a large variation in productivity and profitability exists between farms in a country, and similarly, between countries in a global economy.   Some profitability variables are due to cost of inputs and management and these are controllable by producers; other factors  are not so easily predicted or controlled, for example: 65% of income variation is esti ...