Effects of dietary supplementation with different forms of flax in late-gestation and lactation on fatty acid profiles in sows and their piglets

Posted in: Production by admin on January 1, 2009 | No Comments

The goals of the present study were 1) to establish detailed fatty acid profiles in the plasma of pregnant sows before and after dietary supplementation with flax and in carcasses and brains of neonatal piglets as well as in sow milk in early and late lactation, and 2) to demonstrate the differential effects of feeding flax as seed, meal, or oil on these fatty acid profiles. It was found that flax is an important agricultural product and could be used to alter the fatty acid profiles of sows and their piglets. Feeding flax as seed or oil to sows during the last third of gestation increases PUFA and n-3 fatty acids and decreases the n-6/n-3 ratio in milk and blood of sows and in carcasses of newborn piglets. Increased n-3 fatty acids and decreased n-6/n-3 ratio were also present in the brain of piglets from sows fed FS or FSO. Such a change in fatty acid profile was not present when flax was provided as meal, indicating that it is linked to the oil component of the diet.

For more information the full article can be found at http://jas.fass.org/

Feed Alternatives Not A Quick Nutritional Fix

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Dietary energy levels must be monitored closely, even as the industry moves to increased use of alternative ingredients.

Will additional straw bedding in buildings housing cattle and pigs reduce ammonia emissions?

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Buildings housing livestock are the second largest source of ammonia (NH3) emissions from UK agriculture. In the UK c. 42% of NH3 emissions from buildings are from those in which cattle and pigs are bedded on straw. Additional straw may reduce NH3 emission by reducing airflow across surfaces soiled by urine, and by immobilization of ammonium–N.

The object of this study was to quantify the effects of increasing straw use on NH3 emission from buildings housing cattle or pigs. The extra straw was applied in increments of up to 100%, either over the entire floor (broadcast) or targeted to the areas where most excreta were deposited. An increase of 33% straw, broadcast over the entire floor, reduced NH3
emission from cattle by 50%, but greater addition did not give any further significant reduction. However, for pigs only the broadcast addition of 100% more straw reduced NH3 emission and then by only c. 20%.

Targeted use of an additional 33% straw reduced emission from cattle by 22%, compared with broadcasting the same quantity of straw, but further additions of targeted straw use did not increase abatement. When the straw was targeted in the pig buildings there was no benefit from using additional straw. Thus optimum results may be obtained from an addition of 33% extra straw, targeted to the soiled areas for cattle, but 100% extra straw broadcast over the whole floor for pigs.

For more information the full article can be found at  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/15375110

Prevalence of Mycoplasma suis in slaughter pigs, with correlation of PCR results to hematological findings

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This study examined the prevalence of M. suis in post-weaning pigs by employing a quantitative real-time LightCycler PCR. The study showed that M. suis infections are often under-diagnosed in pig husbandry and can therefore lead to considerable economic profit losses in pig husbandry. Furthermore, our study has shown that the LightCycler PCR could be an appropriate tool for a sufficiently coherent identification of M. suis in latent carrier animals in view of introducing effective treatment and disease control measures.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03781135

Breeding programme for Piétrain pigs in Bavaria with an estimation of genetic trends and effective population size

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The objective of this paper is to analyze the current population structure, performance testing and breeding scheme of the Bavarian Piétrain as a basis for further optimization studies of the breeding programme. Also current breeding programme, genetic trends and effective population size were estimated. It was found that the Bavarian Piétrain population, its effective population size and the performance testing capacity on station are large. Thus, there is great potential to achieve substantial and sustained breeding progress in the future. The breeding scheme and performance testing leave, however, room for improvement.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci

Genetic correlations and expected response for intramuscular fat content in a Duroc pig line

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The aims of this study were to estimate the genetic correlation of intramuscular fat (IMF) content with economic traits in a Duroc line used for producing high valued cured retail cuts and also to experimentally assess whether selection for body weight at restrained backfat depth is a good strategy for improving IMF content in this line. The opportunity was taken to examine the consistency of the model used for predicting the IMF breeding values and the expected selection response for IMF under different scenarios. The results from this study indicate that IMF can only be efficiently selected if it is systematically recorded. The pig lines aimed at producing elite cured products are the best candidates where investments in this kind of recording systems may pay off.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci

Comparing the epidemiological and economic effects of control strategies against classical swine fever in Denmark

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The objective of this study was to explore the epidemiological and economic consequences of different control strategies against CSF under typical Danish conditions with respect to herd demographics and geography. Another objective was to investigate the effect of extra biosecurity measures on farms. Based on this simulation study, it is concluded that the strategy consisting of the minimum control measures required by the EU plus depopulation of contact herds is the most effective among the evaluated strategies with respect to limiting the size, duration and cost of the epidemic. However, regarding the number of culled animals, the vaccination-to-live strategies appear to be more effective. Epidemics become larger and last longer if the index case is a nucleus herd. This implies that biosecurity in nucleus herds is extremely important to avoid transmission of CSF to these herds. Simulations showed that the size and duration of a Danish CSF epidemic will be moderate in most cases. However, for some iterations, long-lasting and large epidemics were observed. Irrespective of the size and duration, an epidemic is expected to be very costly due to
export losses.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01675877

When Do Legislators Pass on Pork? The Role of Political Parties in Determining Legislator Effort

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Most explanations of large interjurisdictional variations in policy outcomes in democracies are institutional
(e.g., the electoral rules of the game), informational (what citizens know about the effects of politician actions on their welfare), and societal (e.g., the extent of social polarization). Our evidence underlines the importance of a generally neglected factor: variations in voter attachment to political parties. These results have implications for several lines of research and for policy. The evidence indicates that evaluations of constituency development funds in nascent democracies of Africa and East Asia should take into account their effect on the development of programmatic political parties. On the one hand, the results here suggest that they will have less of an impact when voters are attached to political parties.On the other hand, they raise the possibility—although one that requires much more
investigation—that CDFs could slow the emergence of programmatic political parties.

Advanced swine manure treatment and utilization in Brazil

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Animal production that has been central to public discussions in Brazil because of the large amount of waste generated by swine operations and its potential impact on air, soil, and water resources. The aim of this paper is to present some recent advances in swine manure management research and practices in Brazil, and assessing their technical and economic performances. It was found that because of environmental concerns for the disposal of large amounts of swine manure generated under animal confinement, Brazilian swine producers have several technological challenges.
These challenges depend on several factors, like soil/plant support capacity, land availability, and producers investment capacity for adoption of advanced manure treatment technologies. The development of new advanced manure treatment technologies that can solve several environmental problems linked to manure disposal,
are compatible with the new reality of Brazilian’s industrial swine production, which has emerged as a major competitor in the international market. With the adoption of advanced technologies like enhancement of solid–liquid separation using flocculants and treatment processes (SMTS), economical considerations need to be done, particularly in Brazil and other developing countries that do not have government subsidies like the Europe Union or United States.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09608524

Difference in severity of porcine circovirus type two-induced pathological lesions between Landrace and Pietrain pigs

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The objective of this study was to determine if a differenceexists in porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2)susceptibility between Landrace and Pietrain pigs under experimental conditions. The results indicate that a genetic difference exists between these two breeds of pigs in susceptibility to PCV2-associated lesions. 

For more information the full article can be found at http://jas.fass.org/