Michael Ellis

INTRODUCTIONSubstantial increases in litter size have occurred in commercial swine production over recent years which have been accompanied by increases in pre-weaning piglet mortality. The number of piglets born alive to sows on U.S. units currently averages approximately 13.5; this number has increased by approximately three piglets over recent years (PigChamp, 2004, 2020). Pre-weaning mort ...

IntroductionIn the pork industry, the trend towards producing lean carcasses is still occurring, concurrently with a demand from certain specific markets for pork products with high intramuscular fat (IMF) in an attempt to ensure palatability.  A positive effect of IMF content on the eating quality of pork has been reported by a number of authors (Castell, 1994; Fernandes et al., 1999; Brewer ...

Introduction. Variation in live weight in growing pigs causes a number of problems for producers and results in significant economic loss. However, it is important to bear in mind that biological variation exists for a reason. It is the foundation of natural and artificial selection and as such is the basis for genetic improvement in performance traits. In addition, even if we could minimize all o ...

IntroductionSlaughter weights (SLW) for swine in the United States have been increasing steadily over recent years and currently average approximately 112 kg for slaughter barrows and gilts (Morgan et al., 1994). The potential advantages of producing heavier pigs are widely recognized by the slaughter/processing industry, and this sector would like to increase sl ...

INTRODUCTIONDead and nonambulatory pigs at the processing plant are a multifactorial problem that can be influenced by pig, facility design, people, management, transportation, processing plant, and environmental factors (Anderson et al., 2002; Ellis et al., 2003; Ellis and Ritter, 2005a), and these losses represent multiple challenges for the entire US ...

INTRODUCTIONRactopamine hydrochloride (RAC) is an orally active β-adrenergic agonist that is incorporated into feed rations of finishing swine. Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of RAC in improving ADG, feed efficiency, carcass weight, and dressing percentage, and its negligible effects on meat quality (Watkins et al., 1990; Stites et ...