Swine Industry Flashcards
Has the US hog inventor increased or decline in the last 5-10 years?
increased
Where does US rank in swine production?
3rd. China is #1
Has the number of hog operations increased or decreased?
decreased
Where are most swine located and why?
Iowa because of the corn and soybean
Piglet
young baby pig
gilt
young female pig
sow
mature female pig
boar
intact male
barrow
castrated male pig
farrowing
act of birthing
pork
meat from pig
Yorkshire
most recorded breed in the US, most commercial females Yorkshire and Landrace crosses, maternal breed, all white, erect ears
Duroc
Terminal breed, solid red, medium size, US
Berkshire
Terminal breed, black with white points, erect ears
Hampshire
Terminal breed, black with white belt, erect ears, US, white line behind neck and white legs
Landrace
Maternal, all white, medium floppy ears, long body, Denmark, extra vertebrae and ribs
Traditional swine production
family farm, mostly farrow-to-finish, live marketing, outdoor, two litters/year, pigs weaned at 5-6 weeks of age
Farrow-to-finish
many feeder pig producers, finishing operations in midwest
live marketing
marking choices
Continuous farrowing
multiple farrowing groups, over 200 litters per week
modern pork production
small number of large producers, total confinement buildings, environmentally controlled, continuous farrowing, early weaning at 21 days, artificial insemination, efficient
Vertical integration
the entire supply chain is controlled and owned by a single organization
Vertical integration of industry
economics for sale, packer contracts, industrialization techniques
BUT “not in my backyard” environment concerns, consumer perceptions
Manure
minimize ammonia, minimize odor, avoid pathogen release, avoid soil and groundwater contamination
general management consideration
manure, low stress handling and transportation, castration, tail docking, and sow housing
General Housing
total confinement, concrete flooring, slats that urine and manure fall through into a pit, manure stored in pit or pumped into lagoon
Seedstock Producer (cycle)
breeding/gestation, farrowing, nursey, grow/finish
Seedstock Producer
companies, sell genetics to commercial producers, private individuals only develop genetics for niche markets (show animals)
Breeding/gestation
house sows, breed, and manage until ready to farrow
Sow Housing
gestation creates, individual stall, 6.5ft long by 2.5ft wide, sow can’t turn around, movement restricted, less fighting, safer for handlers
Group Housing
larger pens, socialization, more fighting, industry is transitioning towards this type of facility
PIC
pig improvement company, seedstock
When pigs spend their entire place at one facility
farrow to finish
Farrowing Stage
move to different barn, farrow and raise piglets, greater climate control, cross-fostering
Nursey
weaned pigs, often transported to new unit, transition to feed
Nursey management
stress a big problem, avoiding stress, temperature-85 degrees first 2 weeks, drop 3 degrees per week to 70-75 degrees
How to avoid stress in the nursery
clean, dry environment, sort by size, access to water and feed all times, find sick pigs early
Grow/Finish
take pigs from nursey, raise to market weight, enter at 50-60lbs, leave at 250-300lbs
Wean/Finish
pigs weaned directly into finishing style building, enter 8-20lbs, leave 250-300lbs, less transportation, less barn cleaning, better biosecurity, increased facility costs, less efficient barn utilization, labor
Housing (market pigs)
group housing, nursey (20-30 pigs/pen), Grown-finish (30-50 pigs/pen)
Thermoneutral zone
a temperature range in which an animal doesn’t have to expand additional energy to regulate its body temperature.
40-75lbs = 70-85F
75-150lbs = 60-83F
150-250lbs = 45-80F
What does All-in, All-out mean?
all pigs enter the facility at the same time, all leave before the next groups is bought in
All-in, All-out
strict sanitation and biosecurity, increased weight gain (6-10%), decreased days to market (6-10 days), improved feed efficiency (5-7%), follow the rules to remove ALL pigs from the facility
Sow Life Cycle
Born with 14 others in a litter, weaned at 21 days with 11-13 in the litter, puberty at 5 months, breed at 8 months, gestation for 114 days (3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days), farrow at 1 year, baby wean at 21 days, rebreed 3-5 days after weaning babies, sow longevity is 4 years and 500lbs when mature
Market animal life cycle
born at 3.5lbs, weaned 21 days and 10-15lbs, nursery at 40lbs, slaughter at 270lbs and 160 days of age
Health challenges in pork production
disease is a major problem in pork production, large number of pigs in one facility, high farm density, costs the US at least $1.5 billion annually, particularly a concern in nursey pigs, stressful time, off feed
Top respiratory pathogens
PRRSV, Influenza A, and Streptococcus suis
Top intestinal pathogens
Rotavirus, E. coli, and Salmonella
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus
systemic viral pathogen, in growing pigs it presents with fever, respiratory distress, lethargy, reduced feed intake, and reduced growth, abortion and reproductive failure in females
Foreign animal disease
African swine fever, highly contagious, spread through wild pig population, devasting to Chinese pig population, US remain African swine fever free but could cost pork industry up to $50 billion
Controlling animal disease - biosecurity
keep distance between your pigs and other pigs, isolate, test, and acclimate any incoming breeding stock, don’t bring in infected pigs, control flow of people, pigs, feed, and equipment, shower-in shower-out, truck was, disinfecting equipment
