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Prairie Swine Centre is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan
Prairie Swine Centre is grateful for the assistance of the George Morris Centre in developing the economics portion of Pork Insight.
Financial support for the Enterprise Model Project and Pork Insight has been provided by:
Transition to Antibiotic-Free Production: On Farm Management Strategies
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Production by student on July 17, 2018
Author: Greg Wideman, DVM
Reference: Banff Pork Seminar Proceedings 2018
Summary: Antimicrobial-free is growing in demand as concern for the interplay between antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance is expressed. As a result, South West Vets’ has made it their objective to best equip their clients to raise antibiotic free pigs.
Good data management and performance monitoring systems include:
- Simple and up to date
- Accurate
- Web-based, which allows for the entire production team to access
- Time period closeouts
- Ability to follow “treated” and “program” pigs
- Allowing for accurate bench marking when necessary
Essential for an antibiotic free system is the elimination and control of critical diseases. As well, weaning age is an important factor influencing the success of antibiotic free production. It has been demonstrated to manage specific diseases in older weaned pigs.
Daily management that harbors positive results in an antibiotic free system includes:
- Colostrum to mitigate early infections
- Effective fostering protocols that reduced horizontal disease transmission
- Processing hygiene
- Iron utilization and monitoring to ensure thrifty pigs are weaned
- Transport and auditing
- Individual pig treatment
- Water quality monitoring and treatment
In addition to all of this, a key factor that can strongly influence the success of an antibiotic free practice is communication.
Transition to Antibiotic-Free Production