Seems like a simple question â the person who pays the bills is the one we work for, isnât it? Why as I get older do I seem to struggle so much with the simple questions? Maybe it is just a feeble mind or too many hours of windshield time, but the simple stuff never seems so simple any more. All this pondering has led me to an answer that is not so simple, but puts our profession, if we can implement it, in a position to thrive and if we canât, merely as a line-item cost in the food-production chain.
Monthly Archives: March 2013
5th European Symposium of Porcine Health Management
The Pig Veterinary Society (PVS) of the United Kingdom has great pleasure in inviting our European colleagues to join us for the 5th European Symposium of Porcine Health Management 2013 that will be held in Edinburgh.
AASV Operation Main Street (OMS) Training Opportunity at World Pork Expo
In 2011 the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) and the National Pork Board partnered to train veterinarians as OMS speakers with a goal to schedule a speaker at all 28 schools of veterinary medicine with messages about the swine industry. Since then we have trained 41 veterinarians and scheduled speakers at 24 of the 28 schools reaching more than 5,000 students through the OMS program.
AASV Annual Meeting Video
The first of the 2013 AASV Annual Meeting presentations is now available to watch online. Dr. Craig Rowles gave the Howard Dunne Memorial Lecture, “Perspective, passion, and the purpose-inspired practice.” AASV members may view videos from keynote and general sessions of the AASV Annual Meeting going back to 2005 at https://www.aasv.org/members/only/video/
The National Pork Board’s Meimann and Wegner to Retire April 1
Jim Meimann, senior vice president for governance and operations for the National Pork Board, and Mike Wegner, vice president of communications for the National Pork Board, will retire April 1.
Solidarity against Antimicrobial Resistance
National, regional and global experts and stakeholders in the field of pharmacology, epidemiology, animal health and human health, gathered for the three-day OIE Global Conference on the Responsible and Prudent Use of Antimicrobial Agents for Animals to discuss the current situation on antimicrobial use worldwide and antimicrobial resistance. The Conference was organised in close collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
To Promote Animal Welfare on Modern Farms, 12 Veterinarians from 10 States Host Film Crews
In new YouTube videos, swine veterinarians Dr. Matthew Turner of North Carolina and Dr. Tara Donovan of Wisconsin join veterinarians and farmers from across the country in speaking out for responsible livestock farming by hosting a film crew to document their work. They are among 12 veterinarians who demonstrate modern animal wellness practices on dozens of U.S. farms and ranches in the YouTube reality series “Veterinarians On Call,” http://www.youtube.com/vetsoncall.
Pork Producers Pass Resolution Supporting Traceability
Pork producers representing the National Pork Board and the National Pork Producers Council recently approved similar resolutions calling on packers to begin requiring, as a condition of sale, all market breeding swine to be individually identified with USDAâs approved official premises identification number (PIN) tag bearing the standardized Premises Identification Number traceable to the sending premises. The AASV also supported this effort. The use of official PIN tags will allow producers a mechanism to distinguish their market breeding swine within a comingled group in market channels, thereby enhancing pre-market traceability.
Piglet Birth Weight and Litter Uniformity: Effects of Weaning-to-Pregnancy Interval and Body Condition Changes in Sows of Different Parities and Crossbred Lines
Piglet birth weight and litter uniformity were studied in sows of different parities and crossbred lines in relation to 1) the weaning-to-pregnancy interval (WPI); and 2) sow body condition changes (in BW and backfat thickness) during lactation and gestation in sows with a short WPI (= 7d). At the IPG research farm, individual piglet birth weights and sow body condition (BW and backfat thickness at farrowing and weaning) were measured of 949 TOPIGS20 and 889 TOPIGS40 sows with > 4 total born piglets, inseminated between 2003 and 2011. In all analyses, mean piglet birth weight and birth weight SD and CV were corrected for total number born. Total number born was higher in sows with a WPI of 8 to 21d (+ 1.2 piglets; n = 72) and >21d (+ 0.7 piglets; n = 182) compared with sows with a WPI = 7d (P < 0.01; n = 1,584). Mean piglet birth weight was not affected by WPI. Birth weight SD (- 23 g) and CV (- 1.7%) were lower in sows with a WPI > 21d compared with sows with a WPI = 7d (P < 0.01). Effects of WPI were independent of sow parity. Effects of body condition changes in sows with a WPI = 7d were studied separately in TOPIGS20 sows inseminated between 2006 and 2011 (n = 808) and in TOPIGS40 sows inseminated between 2003 and 2008 (n = 747). Sow body condition loss during lactation was not related with subsequent total number born or mean piglet birth weight. Only in TOPIGS20 sows, more BW loss during lactation was related with higher subsequent birth weight SD (� = 0.83 g/kg, P < 0.01; � = 1.62 g/%, P < 0.01), and more backfat loss during lactation was related with higher subsequent birth weight SD (� = 5.11 g/mm, P < 0.01) and CV (� = 0.36 %/mm, P < 0.01), independent of sow parity. Sow BW increase during gestation was negatively related with total number born (TOPIGS20: � = - 0.06 and - 0.05 piglet/kg BW increase for parity 2 (P < 0.01) and 3 and 4 ( P < 0.01), respectively; TOPIGS40: � = - 0.04 piglet/kg BW increase (P < 0.01) independent of sow parity). Sow BW increase during gestation was positively related with birth weight SD (TOPIGS20: � = 0.63 g/kg BW increase (P = 0.01) independent of sow parity). Sow body condition increase during gestation was not related with mean piglet birth weight. To conclude, this study shows that litter uniformity is compromised by severe sow body condition loss during lactation and improved in sows with a prolonged WPI. These effects are likely related with (insufficient) restoration of follicle development.
2013 International PRRS Symposium – Abstract Deadline
The 2013 International PRRS Symposium is scheduled May 20 â 22 in Beijing, China. The deadline for abstract submission is March 31, 2013. Additional information is available online at http://www.prrssymposium.org.