Definitions of Ambient Temperature Requirements for Pigs: A Review

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Pigs, like all animals, have an ability to live in a variety of thermal environments. Although pigs can adapt to some degree to different thermal environments, there is a cost to production associated with keeping them outside their comfort zone. During cold stress, pigs consume more feed to maintain their core body temperature (the temperature of their vital internal organs). The extra feed consumed is not used for body weight gain. On the other end of the scale, heat stress will reduce feed intake in the pig; production is reduced in the case of the lactating sow because of the reduction in milk production. It is also observed that pigs, heat stressed in the growing phase, are fatter. There are many factors, which influence the thermal environment of the pig. Some of the more obvious are the temperature outside the barn and artificial heating in the barn. Others that are less obvious include stocking density in the pen, type of flooring and feed intake; however, there are many more. Most of these factors can be manipulated in some way by the producer or by the pig itself to reduce the effects of thermal stress. Although there are values in books, which indicate the optimal temperature ranges for pigs of different body weights and production phases, being able to recognize signs of cold or heat stress in your pigs is the best way to adjust the set point temperature and ventilation rate in your barn rooms.

North America Moves Toward One Market

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Focus too much on the challenging issues that have faced North American agriculture over
the past several years and you might not notice an important long-term development: the agricultural
economies of Canada, Mexico, and the United States are increasingly behaving as if they
form one market. Not only is U.S. agricultural trade with Canada and Mexico on a clear upward
trend, but firms are reorganizing their activities around continental markets for both inputs and
outputs. For example, many North American pastures and feedlots contain animals that have
lived in more than one NAFTA country, and U.S. consumers are purchasing fresh tomatoes and
peppers produced by their neighbors both to the south and to the north.
Trade liberalization under the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CFTA, implemented in
1989) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, implemented in 1994) is just
one factor behind the growing integration of North American agriculture. To encourage this
trend, decisionmakers in both government and the private sector have pursued greater institutional
and policy coordination. Structural changes within agriculture have also facilitated
integration, as have continued population growth and sustained periods of economic expansion,
which have boosted consumer demand and forced new economic arrangements within
the agricultural and processed food industries.

Genetic parameters for carcass composition and pork quality estimated in a commercial production chain

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Consumer demands regarding food of animal origin
are of growing importance. As a consequence, traits referring to meat quality are of increasing relevance
for the pork industry. Therefore, the objective of this study is to estimate genetic parameters
for carcass and meat quality traits that are
of practical relevance in combination with information
from current or intended classification systems. It was found that selection for growth rate will have adverse consequences for meat quality based on
the high unfavorable correlations found between average
daily gain and most quality traits considered. Furthermore,
selection for growth rate is negatively correlated
with (sub)primal cut yield and will therefore not
automatically lead to increased cut weights. However,
selection towards increased carcass value by increasing
(sub)primal weights with improved quality will
clearly be feasible based on the correlations that were
found between most meat quality traits and (sub)primal
cuts.

Critical checkpoints for a swine production system

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In order for a hog operation to run efficiently there needs to be an unbiased outline of essential checkpoints. Dr. Barry Kerkaert has identified six critical checkpoints that he finds deserving:

Ownership structure needs to be understood. What kind of company is it? What runs the company (e.g. – partnership, board, etc.)? Do members all share the same profit ideas?

Financials need to be checked. This includes sales, feed, labor, breeding herd replacement cost, and cash flow.

The system and logistics needs to be monitored. This includes pig flow, genetics, staff, etc.

Obviously, production needs to be checked. This includes monitoring the sow herd, grow-finish herd, and the entire farrow-to-finish system.

Different types of insurances need to be in place. This includes Business Interruption Insurance, management company insurance, and insurance on the pigs themselves. Details should be understood thoroughly.

Health and biosecurity are essential to any operation. This includes health, PRRS control, and biosecurity measures for disease prevention.

Implementing a National Traceability System – National Identification and Traceability System for the Canadian Hog Sector

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The Canadian pig industry has an excellent health status. However, it is high risk due to international travel and unprecedented international trade of animal and animal products. A national identification and traceability system could significantly reduce the impact of a crisis. Identification needs national livestock premises registry, national tattoo number classification system, swine slaughter database, and a national hog identification and movement reporting system. The registry will serve to locate each livestock premises in Canada. The tattoo number classification system should be linked with a premises location and applied to all market hogs before leaving premises for slaughter. The swine slaughter database should include swine movement information received from the packing plants and marketing boards in order to trace back to farms. The ID and movement reporting system should include all animal movement (from slaughter, auctions, etc.), trucker license, identification of animals (group ID for farm to farm movements), and is important for import/export. To implement these strategies the pig industry needs to work with the government to establish a program. The program would be mandatory for any and all producers.

How Management Promotes Disease Prevention/Control and Staff Success

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The goal of swine production companies is to achieve production targets by devising a system of raising pigs to give staff members the best opportunities to be successful. Upper management can make many decisions that will promote success in achieving health goals. Health can be protected via quarantine barn, minimizing herd additions, and proper cleaning methods. Effective vaccines exist for diseases such as erysipelas, leptospirosis, parvovirus, E. coli, and more. Barns and rooms need to be cleaned, disinfected, and dried between pig groups. This is a greater challenge in the wintertime. Proper control of ventilation (including fans and heaters) is essential for controlling disease outbreaks. Standardized procedures are essential for success (teaching, discussing, and reviewing these processes is key). With a properly built team of staff in a coordinated system, a successful hog operation can result.

Variance components and heritabilities for sow productivity traits estimated from purebred versus crossbred sows

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Genetic parameters were estimated for number of pigs born alive (NBA), adjusted litter weaning weight (ALWT), and the interval from weaning to first service (W2E) using 2002 purebred litter records and
14 583 crossbred litter records from a swine production unit with a defined great-grandparent, grandparent, and parent stock genetic system structure. Estimation of (co)variance components was carried out by REML methods. Heritability estimates from this study for NBA were 0.155, 0.146, 0.145 for the purebred, crossbred, and pooled data, respectively. Heritability estimates for ALWT were 0.162, 0.195, and 0.183 for the purebred, crossbred and pooled data, respectively. Heritability
estimates for W2E were 0.205, 0.239 and 0.202 for the purebred, crossbred and pooled data, respectively. Genetic correlations between NBA and ALWT were weak and positive for the three groups. The genetic correlation between W2E and ALWT were )0.158 for the purebred Yorkshires, 0.031 for the crossbreds and 0.051 for the pooled data. The genetic correlation between W2E and NBA was )0.027 for the purebred Yorkshires, 0.310 for the crossbreds and 0.236 for the pooled data. These
similarities suggest that pooling of purebred and crossbred data may be considered, which may potentially increase the accuracy of breeding value estimates, which would result in increased genetic progress.

Fact Sheet – Mycotoxins

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Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by a variety of moulds on several agricultural commodities under specific environmental conditions. It has been estimated that at least 25% of the grain produced each year worldwide is contaminated with mycotoxins. Canada’s indigenous mycotoxins occur mainly in cereal grains and corn, although occasionally there have been reports of contamination of other crops such as alfalfa and oilseeds, and foods such as coffee, cocoa, rice, beer and wine. As analytical techniques evolve to become more sensitive and widely available, the documentation of widespread contamination in a variety of commodities and of new mycotoxins no doubt, will increase. The toxicology of many mycotoxins, particularly those commonly encountered, has been well documented for several animal species including humans. The signs of the many mycotoxicoses are diverse, numerous and often dependent on species, sex, age, stress, reproductive and health status of the animal. They include: feed refusal and vomiting; impaired reproductive function and reduced fertility; nephrotoxicosis; neurotoxicosis; lung disease; hepatotoxicosis; cancer and death. If a livestock species that is tolerant to a particular mycotoxin is fed a contaminated diet, there is a potential for the “carry-over” of toxin into animal products, such as milk or meat, destined for human consumption. In addition, the by-products of certain food processes, have the potential for being highly contaminated with certain mycotoxins and may cause severe adverse effects if subsequently fed to a species particularly sensitive to the contaminating mycotoxin or toxins. In both these cases a certain degree of care and monitoring is required to ensure the safety of humans and animals. When contamination does occur, mould spores and mycotoxins are often concentrated in the fines and dust of grains as well as shriveled kernals. Use of masks to avoid inhalation and ingestion of dust by grain handlers is recommended. Contamination may be reduced by density segregation to remove dust and the lighter, more highly contaminated kernels. Soaking, dehulling, or high velocity air cleaning of kernels can be used to remove surface contamination. Roasting may reduce mycotoxin contamination by burning surface contaminants and removing volatile, heat labile toxins and other mould metabolites. Other approaches to reducing mycotoxin concentrations and effects on the animal are: improving the nutrient density of the feed; avoiding feeding contaminated commodities to sensitive animal species. Many countries have established regulations or guidelines to protect consumers from the harmful effects of AF in foods and feedstuffs, the maximum permissible levels vary greatly among countries as do the guidelines and/or regulations or lack thereof regarding other mycotoxins. Several international agencies currently strive to achieve universal standardization of regulatory limits for mycotoxins. This is an extremely difficult task because many factors have to be considered when deciding on regulatory standards. In addition to scientific factors, such as risk assessment (exposure and toxicological data), and analytical accuracy, economical and political factors, such as the commercial interests of each country, and the constant necessity of a sufficient food supply also play a role in the decision-making process. Nevertheless, despite these obstacles most countries within the European Union have come to a common agreement on a standardized policy for regulation of AF levels in different feedstuffs and feedstuff ingredients.

U.S.- Canadian Hog Trade Market: Integration at Work

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The United States is expected to import more than 8 million hogs from Canada in 2004, a far cry
from the 921,000 head imported just 10 years ago. Moreover, unlike 1994, hog imports this year will
likely continue to be skewed in favor of feeder pigs (see box, “Glossary of Production Terms”).
Ten years ago, 44 percent of imported Canadian hogs were feeder pigs, versus almost 70 percent in
2004, with slaughter hogs making up the balance in each case. What economic factors changed in
the past 10 years to create the demand for Canadian hogs, and, why has the trend developed
toward feeder pigs? As with most questions pertaining to agricultural issues these days, these
questions have no simple answers.

“Trouble shooting”– identifying a problem and the solution to it: An innovative approach to solving a mortality problem

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Management of dead pigs is an unpleasant part of business. In this paper, an example of problems with disposal of dead stock is considered. Assigning specific tasks to available labor can reduce the overall problem. As a manager you can assess your operation and explore alternative methods of disposal. These methods should be cost-effective, be able to work easily and throughout the year, and be user friendly. In response to problems like these, Puratone has created the Biovatorä. What this does is process carcasses into quality compost.