The opinion of the bloggers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of PigProgress.net or Reed Business. Comments welcome.
Latest Blogs (51-60 of 249)
Cost/ benefit analysis – Salmonella control in slaughter pigs
EFSA have published an excellent analysis of the costs for reducing Salmonella in slaughter pigs and the benefits or savings in reducing salmonella cases in man – whoops there are none.
The year 2050
There is no escape. The year 2050 has become sort of a magic number. It's the new, hot focus point for agricultural projections.
Causes of liveweight and probe variations at slaughter – a checklist
Last time I described the ‘profit box’ concept and how useful it was in identifying some of the main causes of liveweight and probe variations at slaughterweight. So what are these causes?
Issues with Zinc Oxide
It is hardly necessary to reiterate the benefits of using zinc oxide in piglet diets: not only diarrhoea is contained, but also, growth performance is enhanced, and this is possible at a very reasonable cost, with a high degree of repeatability. Thus, zinc oxide (at high doses reaching up to 3000 ppm Zn) is a common ingredient in many piglet diets worldwide, or at least in those countries where it is (still) allowed. But, like many other things, zinc oxide does not come free of problems.
A genetic approach to disease prevention
For almost every animal disease that has been intensively and carefully investigated, evidence has been found for host genetic variation. Some animals are more resistant or more tolerant to the disease than others. Knowledge of these genetic differences and marking them could make disease control more efficient in the future.
Recurrent issues with additives
A good part of my daily workload as a consulting nutritionist is reviewing feed formulas. Although the nutrient specifications matrix and ingredient minimum-maximum section
appears to be of highest concern to nutritionists, when it comes to additives, the highest
interest is shown by the ‘boss’, being either the CEO or the pig producer personally. Below is a brief description of what I believe many pig formulas ‘suffer’ from when it comes to additives.
IPVS 2010 Vancouver, Canada – What a spectacular event
Vancouver lived up to its reputation of being one of the most stunning cities in the world. It was magnificent, a wonderful venue for the IPVS Congress. The next one will be in 2012 on the island of Jeju, off S.W. Korea and famous for honeymooners. Cancun in Mexico was chosen for 2014, over strong opposition from Dublin and Madrid. Scientifically, there was an extensive programme with 6 concurrent sessions going on at any one time, so a limited overview of some of the topics that were of personal interest are described.
SPACE: French animal production, trends and 2010 forecasts
With the agricultural show SPACE coming up early September, it is time to zoom in on France. Except for sheep, production prices in France for all animals have decreased in 2009. On average, agricultural incomes dropped by 30.4% for French professional farms, the worst situation being registered for dairy farmers (-49.5% income).*
Clostridium difficile shedding in piglets investigated
A longitudinal study of Clostridium difficile colonization in piglets was performed on a conventional swine farm in Ontario, Canada.
Managing Variation at Slaughter by using a 'Profit Box'
“ Some variation is largely unavoidable - but manageable!” (Dr. John Patience, 2008).
This last year I seem to have visited more farms than usual where this problem was raised. The problem of variation in shipping weights resulted in under-occupied pens holding up the re-occupation of the finishing building with new pigs. I’m sure you have noticed it, but housing costs as a percentage of real-term total costs (outside inflation) of raising a finishing pig have nearly doubled in the past 20 years, especially for new-builds. Empty pens waste capital resources.
