When it comes to different pig preweaning parameters, which ones are the most important? That is a question that has had a variety of answers over the years, and hopefully after this study we can better understand exactly how large of an effect each parameter has. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Mark Knauer about his study with over 3,000 pigs that used linear modeling to measure how much of the piglet variation was explained by a variety of different preweaning parameters.

 Meet the gu...

Much of the United States has become mycoplasma naive in the last several years, but that doesn't mean it isn't a threat for producers, especially regarding the gilt movement. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Ana Paula Poeta Silva about her work with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae identifying different sampling methods and even what to do in the case of a false positive.

Meet the guest:

Dr. Ana Paula Poeta Silva is a Ph.D. candidate at Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic and Population...

The animal welfare organization Compassion in World Farming urged farmers to safeguard farm animal welfare and limit journeys to nighttime during extreme heat events. Nick Palmer, head of Compassion in World Farming U.K., warns against the dangers of such weather.

• Drought and high temperatures are expected to continue across Europe in the upcoming weeks, and regardless of the stock density, heat stress should be avoided since it can be fatal.
• The law requires vehicles to be ventilated to kee...

Lameness is a hard-to-detect, important swine health and welfare concern that causes considerable economic losses due to additional labor, repeated treatments, euthanasia, early culling, and (re)production losses. 

• Although it’s a recurrent condition in swine production systems, identification can be unreliable due to lack of individual pig observation and standard evaluation criteria. However, in order to prevent financial losses and welfare problems, detection must be early and accurate, and...

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is updating the Swine Hemorrhagic Fevers: African and Classical Swine Fevers Integrated Surveillance Plan to reflect recent enhancements in the program. 

• The initial plan dates back to 2019 in efforts to increase preparedness, and the updates are additional measures put in place over the last year since the first detections of ASF in the western hemisphere since the 80s.
• The detections, in...

Through the Wild Hog Control Program (WHCP), the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) provides "smart" wild hog traps for landowners and managers to use in the control of wild hogs in private agricultural and forestry lands. From August 1st to 15th, they'll be accepting a new round of applications and all counties are eligible.

• The demand for the program is increasing as more landowners learn about its success and need assistance to help fight wild hogs. If the traps are ...

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures climbed on Friday. Beef prices are strong and likely to stay that way as Labor Day – and its traditional barbecue – is on its way, reported Reuters.

• Retailers will have beef going into the meat case.
• External economic forces could place pressure on beef demand, but there are going to be fewer cattle to sell.

Meanwhile, CME lean hog futures climbed on Friday too.

• Although we have seasonably higher slaughter numbers in the fall, the h...