Drawing on the collective studies noted, ISU researchers and a commercial pork integrator teamed up to take a
closer look at the factors associated with fatigued, injured and dead pigs during transport to a processing facility.
Factors contributing to transport losses, such as pig density in trailers (pig weight/transport square feet), sort
from the barn, season, temperature, management and others, were studied. It was found that there are many ways to reduce transport losses. 1) Periodically check the transport losses from your hog operation and/or sites 2) Be sure your truck drivers are certified under the Transport Quality Assurance to ensure they understand and follow the guidelines. 3) Calculate the usable square footage of the transport trailer and develop a loading plan for the number
of pigs being transported. 3) Check ventilation in the trailer to ensure it is appropriate for current weather conditions. 4) Develop written standard operating procedures and checklists for loading and transporting pigs.