As we all know, pigs, just like humans, are susceptible to stress. Too much stress on a pig can cause it to grow poorly and have more health complications. In today’s episode, I talk with Andrea Lutman about her work measuring stress factors in piglets at weaning, and working to define resilience in pig populations.
Meet the guest:
Andrea Luttman is a 4th year Ph.D. candidate and USDA NIFA pre-doctoral fellow in the Genetics & Genome Sciences program at Michigan State University studyin...
In a broad spectrum, we all know what welfare is. However, how can we measure it in our animal facilities? And once we have established what the weak points are, how can we improve them? In this episode, I talk with Dr. Antonio Velarde about the parameters and causes of welfare concerns in swine facilities, the best ways to provide enrichment, and how to minimize stress in order to improve pig welfare.
What you’ll learn:
- What welfare means
- Welfare measurements
- Tail biting and tail ...
Although this isn’t a weird variation of the “Where’s Waldo” game, it’s the same principle (kinda)! A Mississippi State College of Forest Resources graduate student has conducted a study of feral swine, and his work has focused on developing a prioritization tool for the control of the animals across the Southeast’s 108 national wildlife refuges.
- So far, he’s found that the current status of wild pigs at the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge is somewhere between light and m...
What a golden opportunity – quite literally!! A doctoral candidate in the Michigan State University (MSU) Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering is researching DNA-based gold nanoparticle biosensors to detect swine fever viruses.
- These biosensors can be used to rapidly detect bacteria and viruses, which can help save lives and improve biosecurity – thankfully!
Learn more about the study and the scientist leading it here.
🎙The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the Biden-Harris Administration is investing $73 million in 21 grant projects through the first round of the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP)!
- MPPEP aims at expanding meat and poultry processing capacity, increasing competition, supporting producer income, strengthening the food supply chain, and creating lower costs for working families along with more jobs and economic opportunities in rura...
The National Swine Resource and Research Center of the University of Missouri is currently the go-to source for genetically modified pigs for universities across the US. But most importantly, the translational medicine studies conducted there may impact human health all over the world!
🫀 It's the same for humans and pigs – what the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve…
Translational medicine is when therapies and treatments that are successful in genetically modified pigs may be s...
🧠 The greatest and most brilliant minds in the swine industry and everything they have to offer is available you at a single event. But seats won’t be open for long!
- At SwineTalks, the webconference of the swine industry, you’ll find talks on the latest innovations, breakthroughs, and trends in your area – through an online and fully participative experience on the Metaverse! A true transformation and revolution in your career and a new way of thinking await you!
💪The first step tow...