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Swine management
Pig production is the systematic rearing of pig breeds on scientifically based management principles for economic benefit. The main objectives of pig production are to provide consumers with pig meat and related products and to generate income for farmers.
Pig production plays a significant role in the livestock industry, providing an important source of protein and other valuable products. The systematic approach to pig rearing ensures that the pigs are healthy and well-cared for, which in turn leads to better quality products and higher yields. The focus on scientific principles and efficient management helps to reduce waste and increase profitability for farmers.
A swine producer who masters the art of good management has excellent profit opportunities. This is especially true with disease prevention and control. A healthy herd of good-growing, quality breeding animals — adequately fed and housed — provides maximum profit opportunities for the owner who does not over-spend for facilities and/or feed.
A new tool is now available to Ohio pork producers to help them better manage the environment in their livestock facilities, potentially improving production and boosting overall savings. Ohio State University Extension has designed a ventilation trailer, complete with all the bells and whistles found in typical mechanically ventilated livestock buildings that simulates various ventilation system scenarios. The idea is to aid producers in fine-tuning their swine building ventilation...
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Feet and leg unsoundness is an on-going concern for the swine industry, and has been back in the spotlight lately with concerns expressed by show pig exhibitors debating the issue of feeding Paylean TM . This article reviews causes of structural unsoundness and offers suggestions for improving it. Some of the information is available in more detail in Pork Industry Handbook 101, which also contains several excellent diagrams that illustrate conformation differences. Structural...
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The Chair of the VIDO Swine Technical Group suggests producers need to be aware of the strengths and weakness of the various systems before making the switch to housing gestating sows in groups. Most North America sows are housed in gestation stalls during pregnancy. In the European Union use of gestation stalls must be discontinued by 2013 and in North America both Smithfield Foods and Maple Leaf Foods are phasing out gestation stalls over the next decade. "Turning...
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Water is an essential nutrient in pork production. Research reveals how we can manage this resource for best results and minimal cost. 1. Do a water audit. Wasted water costs money to pump and to dispose of in slurry. The average usage is 78L per sow (farrow to finish farm), however actual usage has been reported as low as 65L/sow and as high as 120L/sow, a variation of as much as 50% from the mean! 2. Water requirements have been found to be...
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Computer systems specialist, David Dobson, has been appointed by Farmex — the Reading-based high-tech company — to research methods which could revolutionise the way piggery systems are controlled and monitored. David, who gained a First Class honours degree in computer science at the University of the West of England, will be looking into wireless communication methods in a two-year, £100,00, project which has attracted almost 70 per cent government funding. The biggest problem...
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Research at the University of Manitoba's National Centre for Livestock and the Environment shows the longevity of sows housed on straw tends to be better than that of sows housed on partially slatted concrete floors. Scientists at the National Centre for Livestock and the Environment are comparing the conventional partially slatted concrete floors to an alternative straw based system, looking at animal behavior, health and production performance. Department of Animal Science head...
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Geneticists at JSR, the UK's leading pig genetics company, are uniting with top research scientists at The University of Guelph, Ontario and representatives from major abattoirs, to tackle the persistent problem of boar taint. Utilizing the most advanced gene marker technology, the multi-talented team is aiming to identify the genes responsible for high levels of androstenone and skatole - the two compounds that cause boar taint - enabling them to accelerate the 'low taint' selection...
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Our thanks to the author and Conference Organisers, a Committee consisting of both University and Industry colleagues. The full paper will appear in the Conference Proceedings ('Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition - 2007', edited by Phil Garnsworthy and Julian Wiseman) published by Nottingham University Press in the autumn of 2007 www.nup.com ...
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Our thanks to the author and Conference Organisers, a Committee consisting of both University and Industry colleagues. The full paper will appear in the Conference Proceedings ('Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition - 2007', edited by Phil Garnsworthy and Julian Wiseman) published by Nottingham University Press in the autumn of 2007 www.nup.com ...
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Our thanks to the author and Conference Organisers, a Committee consisting of both University and Industry colleagues. The full paper will appear in the Conference Proceedings ('Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition - 2007', edited by Phil Garnsworthy and Julian Wiseman) published by Nottingham University Press in the autumn of 2007 www.nup.com ...
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New infrastructure being purchased on behalf of the University of Manitoba will allow the institution to expand its capabilities and capacities for swine research. On September 7, the federal government announced it will provide almost $200,000 to Manitoba Pork Council for the purchase of new equipment to be installed at the National Centre for Livestock and the Environment (NCLE) at Glenlea. The funding will cover the purchase new electronic sow feeders for tracking feed...
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An innovative electronic sow feeding system for group-housed sows has been given the thumbs-up by US pig producers. The positive feedback came from an expert panel of judges who reviewed the systems in the new products portfolio presented at this year's World Pork Expo 2007 in Des Moines, Iowa. In more than 100 countries, the name Big Dutchman stands for innovation, quality and future-oriented know-how. And this was confirmed by the panel who reviewed new products for top US-journal...
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Simple and economical retrofitting of exhaust air chimneys. Especially in regions with a high livestock density, farm expansions often receive a building permission only on the condition that the installation of an efficient exhaust air cleaning system is planned. This is often required for the new building, sometimes for any existing buildings and quite often even for all buildings on the farm. The following problem might arise: traditional exhaust air cleaning systems with more...
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Europe has had to live with increasingly stringent constraints on piggery system outputs for several years. The introduction of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) directive in the UK in January 2007 is an example of the government taking the lead on environmental management of piggery operations. Governmental regulation on the outputs of piggery systems in Australia was also thought to be the next stage of control. An example of this was to be the introduction of...
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European market leader in everyday livestock equipment The company Schippers celebrates its 40th anniversary at the end of this year. In 1967 Martien Schippers laid down the basis of the company as it currently exists. During the last 40 years the company has grown to be the biggest player in the field of day-to-day livestock farming equipment. The current organization has developed into a very professional company with 170 employees, active in...
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The Croatian town of Belje located in the border triangle of Hungary, Croatia and Serbia, is looking back on a tradition of more than 100 years in pig management. The special trait of local pig managers is that they go for innovations. The Croatian company Agrokor d.d.* has continued this tradition by constructing two ultra-modern sow management farms each for a number of 1,400 sows. For the housing equipment Agrokor d.d. has chosen the German equipment supplier Big Dutchman as their...
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Open day in Nordhorn, Germany Alfons uit het Broek decided on expanding his operation by constructing a pig house with 2,000 finishing places. The inauguration of the new house will be celebrated on 3 July with an open day from 10pm till 4pm. Interested pig producers, relatives and friends from both sides of the German-Dutch border are welcome to inspect the brand new building and its equipment. A visit will be especially worthwhile for farmers who are planning to...
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Nedap continues its roll out of Nedap Velos throughout all parts of Europe by installing the first Czech installation, end of May 2007, on a 350 sow unit. By implementing the sow management based on Nedap electronic identification, this farm has enabled itself to combine the existing low-cost building with high level of sow management and low labor requirements. Every pregnant sow is automatically and continuously provided with the accurate amount of feed and checked for heath....
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Leading pig genetics company JSR have enlisted the services of Independent Production Consultant Paul Wright - and his exclusive Checkmate® software - to help ensure genetic potential translates into optimum on-farm profitability.
Checkmate, a physical and financial monitoring programme designed specifically for the pig production industry, accurately estimates the profit potential of any given unit. Most importantly, it also formulates a detailed, yet concise, regime focussed on maximising...
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Two, state-of-the-art sow facilities have been officially opened by Croatia's ministry of agriculture. Both of the 1,400-sow farms have been constructed in partnership with Big Dutchman, who have supplied and installed the housing and equipment. The Croatian town of Belje, located in the border triangle of Hungary, Croatia and Serbia, is looking back on a tradition of more than 100 years in pig management. The key skill of local pig managers here, is that they like innovation....
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