The magical ingredient of VIV Asia

If there is a place where the global financial crisis does not seem to exist, where would it be? The Thai capital of Bangkok might probably make a good example. Last week's VIV Asia show was as vibrant as ever.
16 Mar 2009 - 0 comment(s) - Read more »

Journées de la Recherche Porcine

On February 3 and 4, the French research community gathered in Gare de Lyon under the auspice of INRA to discuss the latest swine research findings. This meeting, called ‘Journées de la Recherche Porcine’ is an annual event.
03 Mar 2009 - 2 comment(s) - Read more »

Perimeter biosecurity

I've been asked to forecast what a pig farm perimeter might look like a couple of decades into the future. Starting from a a excellent suggestion by the PIC company that it should be divided into 'clean' and 'dirty' sectors, I have taken things somewhat further.
24 Feb 2009 - 8 comment(s) - Read more »

Nut so good

A few weeks ago I received a question from one the Pig Progress readers. She asked me if she could feed her backyard potbellied pigs some leftover peanuts and peanut butter. My first reaction was: of course! Why not?
16 Feb 2009 - 2 comment(s) - Read more »

Announcing – IPVS 2010 in Vancouver

Canada will host the 21st International Pig Veterinary Society (IPVS) Congress in Vancouver, British Columbia, July 18-21, 2010. This is the first time the IPVS Congress will be held in Canada and we are planning to have it follow in the footsteps of previous congresses and be yet another invigorating event.
10 Feb 2009 - 0 comment(s) - Read more »

Low protein diets

I have been often asked whether pig formulas should be formulated with the minimum or maximum crude protein concentration possible. Assuming cost is about the same, I have always favoured low-protein diets. Nevertheless, this should not be taken as a universal statement, because there are conditions, mainly economical, under which a low-protein diet is not profitable. But, let’s see first, why low-protein diets are beneficial from a biological point of view and how this translates into more money for the producer!
02 Feb 2009 - 1 comment(s) - Read more »

Agriculture in 2017

Somewhat later in the year, you will most probably find similar blogs to this one, called 'Agriculture in 2018'. I daresay that these blogs might be slightly less positive than this one. Why?
27 Jan 2009 - 0 comment(s) - Read more »

REO and RoI – What’s the difference?

I know – boring old economics! But please read on, as so many of you get the two mixed up, including dare I say it – several economists! REO (Return on Extra Outlay) is a much more useful term than RoI (Return on Investment). One sees RoI being used constantly - usually in the wrong way – when REO would be far more appropriate.
20 Jan 2009 - 0 comment(s) - Read more »

Feed Microbiology 101

I am not aware of any college in the USA or Europe offering such course, but in my opinion, they ought to because of the enhanced importance this topic is discussed with in technical and regulatory circles. Simply knowing that feed and ingredients are contaminated or not is no longer good enough as we need both quantitative and qualitative means of measuring the microbiological load of these materials.
12 Jan 2009 - 0 comment(s) - Read more »

Medication via liquid feeds – a follow up

Following my original weblog on medicating liquid feeds, it appears the Dutch have adopted a pragmatic approach and have come up with a voluntary code for testing the stability of VMPs (Veterinary Medicinal Products) in liquid feed, which can then go on their IKP (pig meat producers) list for use.
06 Jan 2009 - 0 comment(s) - Read more »