COOL is a Hot Problem

Posted in: Production by admin on January 1, 2007 | No Comments

Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) is to be put into practice in the United States by October 1, 2008. This is likely to have major negative ramifications for the Canadian cattle and hog industries. In 2006 the US was the destination for over 14 million Canadian hogs in either live or meat form. The fact that the purpose of Country of Origin Labeling is to deter or reduce Canadian imports, helps to focus attention on the importance and threat of this legislation. Essentially, under the original version of COOL that was proposed in 2002, the law required that all fresh pork and beef sold at retail in the US be labeled as to the country of its origin. For a product to be labeled as product of the United States, it would need to be produced from an animal that was born, raised and processed in the United States. All other permutations and combinations would need to be put on the label. For example, if a pork chop came from a hog that was born in Canada, but finished and killed in the US, the label would need to say: born in Canada, raised and processed in the United States. Needless to say this would involve multiple labels, which will increase costs through the chain. COOL was passed as part of the 2002 Farm Bill. Significant battles since that time have delayed the implementation of COOL for livestock and meat twice. The current effective date for implementation is October 2008. In 2003 and 2004, when COOL first raised its head, the George Morris Centre did a great deal of research on behalf of hog industry organizations, like Manitoba Pork, regarding the impacts of the legislation. The bottom line of the research was that US packers would need to segregate, sort, control and account for Canadian livestock that they purchase. They would also need to segregate and label the meat from these animals separately from other meats. The George Morris Centre research concluded that COOL is nothing less than a non-tariff barrier to trade. COOL would impede livestock imports. That, of course, is exactly what its proponents, mostly US cattle producers, intended when they pushed for the legislation. Canadian livestock producers are not alone in facing negative consequences resulting from COOL. US cattle feeders, hog finishers, packers and retailers will all be worse off as a result of COOL. Not only will they face higher, non-productive costs, but also they depend on Canadian livestock for their packing plants, feedlots and finishing barns. The latest version of COOL is far from perfect. The bottom line is that COOL remains a source of uncertainty and risk for Canadian hog producers at a time of mounting uncertainty and risk in most other areas of their businesses.

Factors critical for successful vaccination against classical swine fever in endemic areas

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Study finds coccidia parasite on 70 percent of farms tested

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As pork producers moved away from concrete floors in the farrowing room, many assumed that coccidia,
a protozoan parasite which typically causes mild diarrhea in piglets at one to three weeks of age, had disappeared or diminished in importance. Not so. In a study conducted on 50 Ontario farms from May to August 2006, researchers found coccidia oocysts in feces from piglets aged from seven to 21 days on 70 per cent of the farms. Litters with coccidia were four times more likely to have diarrhea. Even in litters without diarrhea, coccidia were detected in 24 per cent of fecal samples. While the infection may cause reduced growth rates, it seldom results in serious illness or death.

AI and its Influence on Production Efficiency

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AI in pigs is by no means a new technique. Methods for semen collection and processing, and for sow insemination had been devised during the 1930’s on the State Farms in Russia (Milovanov, 1934) although there was little commercial application of this system in the years that followed. In 1956 AI was re-introduced to the pig industry by Chris Polge (1956) who highlighted the benefits of a process which facilitated more widespread use of an individual superior boar than would be possible through natural service; a system which offered all producers, regardless of herd size, access to the best boars available. At that early stage, advantages offered by AI included livestock improvement, disease control, facilitation of cross-breeding programmes, convenience and economics (Reed, 1969).
The pig industry then followed a laborious and sometimes painful period learning curve as a system was developed which could ensure consistently high levels of fertility at all levels of production. Behind these efforts was the driving force of enhanced efficiency and product quality so essential to the ongoing development and success of the industry. By the 1980 s a workable system was in place; although further improvements were still required, AI could be applied to all levels ofproduction, including the commercial herd (Reed, 1982).

Breeding Safer Corn

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Fusarium graminearum is a fungus which infects feed
corn, causing a disease known as gibberella ear rot.
It contaminates the grain by releasing mycotoxins, such
as deoxynivalenol, which cause a wide array of ailments
when eaten by pigs, including vomiting, feed refusal and
decreased weight gain. By spring 2007, Pauls and his colleagues hope to have
mapped genes expressed in infected corn tissues, and identified
corn genes similar to those differentially expressed
between resistant and susceptible wheat and barley varieties.
Wheat and barley are affected by the same fungus. They
also plan to have tested genes associated with ferulic acid
synthesis for their association with Fusarium resistance.

Development and validation of a method for simultaneous analysis of the boar taint compounds indole, skatole and androstenone in pig fat using liquid chromatography–multiple mass spectrometry

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The present paper describes the development of a methodology for rapid and effective simultaneous extraction of boar taint compounds from pig fat tissue. The applicability of a single LC–MSn method as a specific detection method for both indolic compounds and a steroidic compound was evaluated. The results showed that the simultaneous determination of ID, SK and AEON in back fat matrix was enabled combining minimised sample handling with a high specific mass spectrometric detection technique. However, as simultaneous analysis of structurally different indolic compounds and a steroid was assessed, future research will specifically address improvement of the extraction procedure.

A Growth-Maturation System That Enhances the Meiotic and Developmental Competence of Porcine Oocytes Isolated from Small Follicles

Posted in: Ontario Pork, Pork Insight Articles, Production by admin on June 28, 2006 | No Comments

In livestock, most of the follicles on the ovarian surface are small follicles. A procedure that supports the in vitro growth and maturation of these small follicle-derived oocytes may offer a new source of useable oocytes for both biotechnological and fundamental research purposes. The objective of the current study was to test the hypothesis that providing a more growth-supporting and less maturation-promoting environment during the first phase of small follicle-derived oocyte maturation may improve oocyte competence for meiosis and embryo development upon activation. In our small follicle-derived oocyte growth-maturation system (SGM group), cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) from small follicles (1–3 mm) were first cultured in oocyte growth medium for 24 h, then in oocyte maturation medium for 20 h. As controls, COCs from small (SM group) and large (LM group) follicles were cultured using a conventional in vitro maturation (IVM) approach in which they were directly cultured in oocytematurationmedium. At 24 h of culture, the percentage of small follicle-derived oocytes that underwent germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) in the SGM group was comparable to that of large follicle-derived oocytes (LM group) but was significantly higher than that of the SM group (P <0.05). At 44 h of culture, compared to 36% in the SM group, 55% of the SGM group oocytes reached metaphase II (MII; P <0.05). In addition, the level of cyclin B in oocytes of the SGMgroup was comparable to that of oocytes from LM group and was significantly higher than that of oocytes from the SM group (P <0.05).When activated and in vitro fertilized (IVF), 7.3 and 9.0 times more parthenogenetic and IVF embryos developed to blastocyst stage in the SGMgroup than in the SMgroup (P < 0.05). ThemRNA expression levels of three developmentally important genes—DNA-methyltransferase 1, Pou domain class 5 transcription factor 1, and Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2—in embryos of the SGM group were comparable to those of embryos developed from the LMgroup, whereas they were significantly lower in those of the SM group (P < 0.05). Our data suggest that the oocyte growthmaturation system facilitates the final stage of oocyte growth and thus resulted in better oocyte nuclear, cytoplasmic maturation, and developmental competency compared with the conventional direct oocyte maturation system.

Challenges and Opportunities to Pork Production Around the World: the North Carolina Perspective

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Production by admin on April 5, 2006 | No Comments

An overview of the points covered in a talk given by Monte McCaw at the 2006 London Swine Conference.

Different Approaches to Handling Circovirus

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Porcine Circovirus type 2 (PCV2) causes post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), which causes clinical signs usually in pigs 7-15 weeks of age. The 2004-2005 outbreak in eastern Canada affected older hogs, though. This outbreak may also be caused by a novel strain of PCV2. PCV2 is necessary for causing PMWS, but other co-factors are involved as well. These can include the presence of other diseases, immune functioning, and production practises. Most commercial pigs have low levels of PCV2 and remain healthy; those that do develop PMWS have very high levels of PCV2. Keeping PCV2 levels below the threshold could prevent PMWS. Vaccines are currently not available, but are being developed.

Reproductive Innovations for Swine Production: Future Impacts of Gender Pre-Selection, Embryo Transfer and Cloning

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Gender pre-selected sperm that have been sorted using flow cytometric sorting are becoming widely used in the cattle industry, but the swine industry has been slower to adopt the technology. This is partially because swine require a greater number of spermatozoa for fertilization. In early gender selection research, physical and mechanical methods have been shown to be largely inefficient. Several machines using flow cytometry sorting have recently been shown to be effective by confirmation with fluorescent staining, counting microsatellite DNA probe, and PCR. They have also proved efficient at gender selection through producing in vivo and in vitro litters. Gender selection is not yet commercially viable due to the special insemination techniques needed (AI requires too many sperm), and further developments needed for sperm sorters.

Embryonic transfer has successfully been done with swine, but is not widely used due to the necessary surgical procedures used to retrieve and sometimes place the embryos. Non-surgical embryo placement has been attempted for decades, and usually have low farrowing rates and litter sizes. However, farrowing rates of up to 70% have been achieved when a Spirette and inner catheter are used. Non-surgical embryo placement requires specific training, although new technology may make it a more viable option in the future. Cloning is another aspect of reproductive technology that may be more widely utilized in the future. Cloning requires an excellent embryonic source, precise procedures, and a sterile environment. Cloning may be used to recreate top performing animals, for use in experimental models, to genetically modify genes for specific traits, and for health-care related applications.