WEEK 10: Swine

Question 1

Pig Scientific Name

Answer 1

Sus scrofa domesticus

Question 2

Special Pig Terms

Answer 2

Male: Boar
Female: Sow
giving birth verb: Farrowing
Young Female: Gilt
Castrated Male: Barrow

Question 3

How much of the world’s pork does the US produce?

Answer 3

9%, while only have <7% of the world’s hogs

NOTE: China produces the most global pork

Question 4

Swine’s purpose in agriculture

Answer 4

Swine serve to convert excess grain and hq by-product feeds into meat

NOTE: Swine are the dominant meat-producing species globally

Question 5

How were hogs handled in the early days?

Answer 5

They mostly ran free and fended for themselves, in the fall there would be roundups where pigs would be gathered and slaughtered

Question 6

Historical Perspective (Pigs)

Answer 6

> 1493 Columbus brings hogs to the Western hemisphere
1500s Hernando DeSoto brings pigs to North America, Florida area
1600s Colonists have meatpacking plants and export salt and lard

NOTE: Lard was more important than meat in early days

Question 7

Where is Porkopolis?

Answer 7

Cincinatti, Ohio

It was the first pork-packing center in the mid 1800s

Question 8

Historical Perspective Pt 2 (Pigs)

Answer 8

By 1860, Chicago was the new center of activity for pork.

Hogs were shipped by railroad from across the country

Chicago - “Hog Butcher for the world”

Question 9

What happened to the hog industry after World War 1?

Answer 9

Hog production and marketing decentralized.

Slaughter facilities were built near animal production areas - grain belt

Lard fell off, Hogs now bred to be leaner

Question 10

How many primary types of swine operation are there?

Answer 10

5

Question 11

What type of operation consists of a breeding herd, which produces early-weaned pigs at
10–15 lbs ?

Answer 11

Farrow-To-Wean Operation

Question 12

In what type of operation are feeder pigs grown to market weight?

Answer 12

Finishing Operation

Question 13

What type of operation both maintains a breeding herd and grows pigs to market weight on the same farm?

Answer 13

Farrow-to-Finish Operation

Question 14

What type of operation is similar to farrow-to-finish, except their product is primarily
breeding boars and gilts or show pigs?

Answer 14

Purebred or Seedstock Operations

Question 15

What are Integrated Corporate Operations?

Answer 15

Can generally be described as farrow-to-finish, often have their
own seed-stock production
* The various phases of the operation are usually located on
different sites

Question 16

Where are most hog operations located in the US today?

Answer 16

CORN BELT!

Iowa has 25% of the nation’s pigs, 74% if you include its border states

Question 17

What factors influence the location of the swine industry?

Answer 17

1. Availability of feed
2. State regulations, state restrictions on facilities, and waste disposal
   options
3. Technological advances of the industry
4. transportation infrastructure
5. Labor availability
   6.Fossil fuel availability

Question 18

Why is Progress in swine genetics easier to make than with other species?

Answer 18

1. They have hella offspring per litter to choose from
2. Fairly short generation interval bc pigs mature quickly

Question 19

What are the three categories of hog breeds in the US?

Answer 19

1. LARD TYPE
   >Bred to be fat as hell
2. BACON TYPE
   >Bred to be long and lean for bacon
3. MEAT TYPE
   >Intermediate type, more muscular than bacon type and leaner than lard type

Today’s hogs are meat-type hogs

Question 20

What’s the best carcass breed for pigs?

Answer 20

Hampshire

Question 21

Reproductive Management 1 - Gilts and Sows

Answer 21

> Gilts are brought into breeding herds frequently to replace culled sows and bred at 7 months of age
Sows are managed for milk production and rebreeding

> Heat synchronization: 3-7 days after weaning, sows come into heat again

Question 22

Signs of Estrus in Sows

Answer 22

1. Swollen vulva
2. Standing heat
3. Popping their ears

Question 23

Farrowing Complications

Answer 23

> Entangled afterbirth
Bleeding navels
Inability to nurse in a timely manner

Question 24

Reproductive Management 2- Boars

Answer 24

Boars get breeding soundness exams, sexually active by 7 months of age

Artificial Insemination is difficult w pigs because storing semen is hard. Industry uses fresh shit most of the time

Question 25

T/F Pigs are monogastric omnivores

Answer 25

TRUE. So are chickens

Question 26

How are pigs fed?

Answer 26

Pigs get concentrated feeds - most production stages are all about optimizing growth

Growing/Finishing pigs are generally fed ad libitum

Question 27

T/F Pigs should be segregated by age as a part of herd health management

Answer 27

True

Question 28

Swine Health Challenges

Answer 28

Scours (Diarrhea)
Respiratory Disease
Gastric Ulcers