Biosecurity threats on the farm.

Bio security threats could be internal or external causes,take a look at the table and learn which threats your farm is vulnerable to and how to be safe. Read more

How to improve health status of poultry and pigs using natural methods.

Biosecurity, in-feed solutions aid in the reduced use of antibiotics in animal agriculture. Experts agree that the responsible use of antibiotics in animal production must be promoted worldwide and other methods should be employed to minimize the incidence of diseases that require antibiotic treatment. There are ways poultry and pig producers can reduce antibiotic use on their farm by focusing on practical ways to support immunity and improve biosecurity. Read more

Rescue operation to save 6,000 pigs from flooding in China .

A rescue mission to save 6,000 pigs from severe flooding district. Two farmers in Anhui province were photographed breaking down as they looked at their pigs struggling, up to their snouts in water. Their farm lies near the banks of the Yangtze River, which has overflowed after days of heavy rainfall. It appeared that the pigs would become victims of the floods, which have killed more than 100 people and caused severe property damage in communities along the river. According to local media, though, the public outcry led to the pigs being rescued. A local organisation visited the farm and managed to save the pigs, according to Anhui News. Flooding in the river basin has left 112 people dead or missing in recent days, state media said on Tuesday, with more damage feared from a typhoon expected to make landfall within days. Some 16 million people have been affected by heavy rains that have left vast areas under water near the Yangtze, China's longest river, the Beijing News cited the civil affairs ministry as saying. Water levels in Taihu Lake, close to Shanghai, are at their highest level since 1954, it said, adding the area faced a "serious" risk of flooding if a typhoon hit nearby on Friday. Flooding is common during the summer monsoon season in southern China, but rainfall has been particularly heavy this year and many areas have been lashed by torrential rains this week. China's national observatory issued an orange alert for storms across the country's south and east last week - the second highest warning in a four-tiered system. Whole villages were levelled and at least 98 killed in the eastern province of Jiangsu last month after the region was hit by a storm with hurricane-force winds and the worst tornado in half a century. Floods have also hit South Asia this week, with 33 killed in Pakistan and 25 left dead in India after unusually heavy rains. Contributed by the Telegraph

Farms and animals decimated in China flooding.

Severe flooding has decimated a region west of Shanghai, killing as many as 130 people and millions of animals while damaging $5.7 billion worth of crops, Reuters reported. The rain over the past week forced 1.3 million from their homes in Anhui. Aside from the loss of crops, the flooding reportedly killed 7,100 hogs, 215 bulls and 5.14 million fowl, according to the China News Service. The reported death toll varied. The BBC reported more than 180 dead and at least 45 missing. Dozens reportedly died in a mudslide in Guizhou Province. "Our country’s flood control work has entered a critical stage. For the next step, the state authorities will make plans based on the most adverse situation,” the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said in a statement on its website. China's State Television showed images of rescue efforts, damaged areas, and urban areas swamped by water. According to China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, rainfall since late-June has destroyed 22,000 houses and forced 726,000 to relocate in provinces including Jiangsu, Hubei, Henan and Sichuan. Water in 43 rivers has exceeded warning levels and authorities have sent workers to patrol the river dykes, said Chen Guiya, an official with the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission. China's meteorological authority renewed its orange alert for heavy rain in the south and southwest of the country on Monday. China has a four-tier color-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Contributed by Foxnews and Associated press

DRUG RESIDUE IN PIGS AND CANCER IN MAN.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has moved to revoke approval of a drug used to treat certain diseases in pigs because it could leave a cancerous residue that may affect human health. 

The drug, carbadox, is made by Teaneck, New Jersey-based Phibro Animal Health and is used to control swine dysentery and bacterial enteritis. The drug, which was approved in 1972, has also been used to promote weight gain in pigs. 

 Potential cancer risks are based on an assumed lifetime of consuming pork liver or other pork products containing carbadox residues the product is sold under the brand name Mecadox. Pork is a good source of protein ,but protein can also be found in other meat, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, eggs, processed soy products, nuts and seeds. Pork liver is used to make liverwurst, hot dogs, lunch meat and some types of sausage, the agency said.

 Mecadox has been approved and sold in the United States for more than 40 years and is a widely-used treatment for controlling bacterial diseases. The FDA said it asked Phibro for additional information about the safety of carbadox, but the company has not submitted any proof that there is a safe way to use it The FDA’s actions follow a preliminary risk assessment conducted from 2012 to 2014 which found that the lifetime cancer risk from consuming pork liver containing carbadox residue is higher than allowed under the FDA’s framework for regulating carcinogenic animal drugs. Pork producers have become more interested in carbadox recently because it does not require a veterinarian’s prescription, according to John Goihl, president of Agri-Nutrition Services Inc, a Minnesota-based firm that provides feed formulations and consulting services to manufacturers and livestock producers. Three antibiotics made by Phibro contain carbadox: Mecadox Premix 10, Banminth/Mecadox; and Mecadox/Terramycin, the FDA said. Read more at http://newsdaily.com/2016/04/fda-to-revoke-pig-drug-approval-over-human-cancer-risk-concern/#x5mS4rHu5kyKUVSd.99

AGRIBUSINESS: NUTRITIONAL DIARRHEA IN PIGLETS.

AGRIBUSINESS: NUTRITIONAL DIARRHEA IN PIGLETS. Pathogenic diarrhea are quite common and are often confused with non-pathogenic secretory diarrhea. The non-pathogenic diarrhea are caused by wrong feed formulation and feed presentation.This can easily be avoided by correct feed formulation. AGRIBUSINESS: NUTRITIONAL DIARRHEA IN PIGLETS. Pathogenic diarrhea is the most common cause of depressed performance in recently weaned piglets. The nutritional diarrhea often lead to secondary complications through pathogenic agents such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella. These are identified by proper diagnostics, require veterinary intervention to cure symptoms and eliminate the source of offending microorganisms. Nutritional diarrhea usually follow pathogenic complications, thus a combination of nutritional and medical interventions is required. Nutritional diarrhea originate from three main areas in the feeding program: 1) palatability of feed; feed that fail to initiate vigorous intake immediately post-weaning will cause hunger, this will be followed by over-eating when pigs finally associate dry feed with nourishment. The short-term starvation created is capable of reducing the digestive and immune functions of the gastrointestinal system. When the pigs over-eat after a period of malnutrition, the digestion is incomplete, resulting in excess amounts of energy and protein available for proliferation of opportunistic pathogenic microorganism such as Escherichia coli or Salmonella. 2) feed quality; feed of low quality produced using second class ingredients.This will not only discourage the development of an early appetite, but their intrinsic low digestibility result in more undigested material becoming available for bacterial proliferation in the lower gastrointestinal tract. This is why a high quality diet is essential for a successful weaning. 3)feed stuff component such as soybean meal contain anti-nutritional factors that may cause gastrointestinal inflammation. This if combined with low-feed intake and excess undigested feed will result in nutritional diarrhea.

ANTHRAX FOUND IN A PIG IN UKRAINE.

A backyard pig that was slaughtered in Chuguyiv, Ukraine, tested positive for the presence of anthrax. The State Veterinary and Phyto-sanitary Service of Ukraine, in a report submitted to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), stated that the pig’s owner had notified a veterinary officer that while he was slaughtering the pig three days earlier, he noticed the animal had an enlarged spleen. Pig had been slaughtered for consumption but no human illnesses resulted. Samples were taken from products from the animal, which tested positive for the presence of anthrax. No other animals were reported by the OIE as susceptible to anthrax. All people that had contact with products from the infected pig were evaluated by a physician, according to an April 6 report from the OIE, and none of those people were found to be infected. All of the products from the infected animal have since been destroyed. The incident marks the first time anthrax has been detected in the Ukraine since 2012, and the source of the latest infection remains uncertain. Control measures used include movement control inside the country, vaccination, disinfection, quarantine and surveillance outside the protection zone. OIE stated that it will submit weekly updates on the Ukrainian anthrax situation until it considers it to be resolved. The Ukrainian pig industry has also dealt with concerns of African swine fever (ASF) in recent weeks. The disease was found in a small backyard herd in Kirovograd, affecting 29 animals. source; WattAgnet.

Nutritional strategies to reduce emissions from pig sty's..

Pig diets contain both dietary fiber (DF) and crude protein (CP), and the way pigs ferment these ingredients has an effect on the mission of nitrogenous gases and odor from pig manure and piggeries. A study , published in the Journal Animal Feed Science and Technology, the researchers delved into solutions to adapt the diet and to reduce these gas and odor emissions from farms. Nitrogen (N) in the faeces comprises undigested dietary N and endogenous N, mainly as amino acids (AA), and microbial N, partly present in nucleic acids. So one approach to reducing ammonia emission is through dietary manipulation. The inclusion of Dietary fiber and reduction of crude protein(less than 190g/kg) in pig diets seems to be an effective nutritional strategy that may counteract the negative effects of protein fermentation in the pig gut by reducing ammonia concentration, shifting N excretion pathways in the gut and minimizing the negative impact of intensive pig production on the environment. The inclusion of soluble fiber leads to a decrease of urinary N excretion.

Diagnosis of enteric diseases in pigs( 2).

The ban on the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in farm animals has led to development of faster diagnostic techniques to facilitate proper treatment.One of such is the sock analysis;This has led to the development of what is generally known as ‘the sock method’ which consists of taking a standard sock, walking around all pens in the section to be tested, and the sock is then tested with the quantitative PCR test. The number of bacteria can be used to assess the financial impact and whether there are health-related conditions present in the animals tested. The study show considers whether sock samples and laboratory diagnostics could be used routinely as a decision tool for determining when treatment should be started in the individual batch or a pen-site test where farmers will be able to assess the level of pathogens on a daily basis – even in batches without any clinical signs of disease. A complication here is that many of the pigs which might not have clinical diarrhoea still can have a severe intestinal infection. This appears in cases of Lawsonia but also E. coli or Brachyspira species. There will therefore always be a number of pigs which, although not showing signs of diarrhoea, still need antibiotic treatment as it must be assumed that they, first of all, have reduced productivity but also reduced welfare. Several studies have tried to determine if welfare has been compromised in such pigs and there are some indications that this is the case. The best productivity and welfare are achieved by treating at batch level, this is supported by strong professional, scientific arguments for the fact that using batch medication in the water is actually the right thing to do. It has been examined that medication at pen level would be more correct, but as it turns out - all the infections are actually present at the same time in all the pens within the same room. Therefore, all pens within the same batch need treatment at the same time and nothing would be gained by medicating at pen level. Batch medication at section level is therefore the method that provides the best result. This has also been confirmed in another research project which looked at various treatment strategies and dosages. This again showed that herd medication for five days gives the best production result. Source; papers from pig progress.

Diagnosis of enteric diseases in pigs(1).

Sampling by walking: The socks will be 
analysed after having visited the batch. In Denmark, reducing antibiotic treatments in Danish pig production has been a political aim for the past 20 years. A total ban on growth promoters was issued in 1999 which led to a situation where veterinarians only prescribe antibiotics for treatment of clinical cases of disease. As a consequence of an increased total consumption, the yellow card system was issued in 2008 - where farmers who exceed a certain level of antibiotics are penalized by the public authorities. It has resulted in more focus on reducing the antibiotic consumption, through prevention but also by reducing the number of treatment days and the dosage. This increased focus on reduction of antibiotic consumption has led to diseases like diarrhoea and intestinal infections being quite widespread in Denmark, especially in weaners but also finisher pigs where treatments for diarrhoea and intestinal infections are the number one indication for treatment. This has enhanced a lot of researches and techniques for the purpose of improving diagnostics for intestinal infections and, in the end, improving the possibilities of treatment and reducing the antibiotic consumption for these diseases. It became apparent from these studies that so-called Lawsonia diarrhoea was also caused by other bacteria, including E. coli, Brachyspira species and of course Lawsonia intracellularis. In the same period, quantitative PCR tests were developed, and these were validated in research projects in order to improve the diagnostic possibilities for each practicing veterinarian. This has led to the development of what is generally known as ‘the sock method’ which consists of taking a standard sock, walking around all pens in the section to be tested, and the sock is then tested with the quantitative PCR test. The number of bacteria can be used to assess the financial impact and whether there are health-related conditions present in the animals tested. One of the major challenges as a consequence of the reduction of antibiotics is that seven days’ treatment at certain times has been reduced to mainly clinical indication of maximum five days and in many cases down to three days’ treatment. At the same time, the dosage of antibiotics has also sometimes been reduced. Based on these changes in treatment strategies, the timing of antibiotic treatments at batch level has become extremely important. There is a very big risk of targeting pigs for antibiotic treatment at the wrong time and being either too soon or too late. This phenomenon is known from practice, but also from research it has turned out that batches of pigs without signs of diarrhoea can still reveal a very large proportion of animals having intestinal infections. On the other hand, there are situations where there are actually outbreaks of clinical diarrhoea with no or a low occurrence of bacterial intestinal infections in the pigs that have diarrhoea. These situations include conditions as ‘unspecific colitis’ or the newly defined ‘low pathogen’ (LP) diarrhoea. In a present PhD study, it is considered whether sock samples and laboratory diagnostics could be used routinely as a decision tool for determining when treatment should be started in the individual batch. The first preliminary results indicate that it is possible to a certain extent, but currently this would require repeated laboratory tests in each batch of pigs, taking up a considerable amount of time and effort. There is therefore a professional reason to develop such so-called ‘pen site tests’ where farmers will be able to assess the level of pathogens on a daily basis – even in batches without any clinical signs of disease. materials from pig progress.

FERMENTED FEEDING IN PIGS FOR INTESTINAL HEALTH.

Liquid feed is a great way to ferment protein-rich, home-grown fodder such as rape seed oil meal, peas and field beans or recycle liquid co-products from the human food industry into pig feed. Liquid feed for pigs comes into two varieties. Non-fermented and fermented. Non-fermented is mainly used and is simply a matter of mixing the cereals or complete feed with water and minerals. It takes around 2-4 minutes of mixing time (sometimes up to an hour). The fermented version takes much longer to prepare, a few hours to 6-12 hours on average. The latter is of particular interest as it is known for its positive effect on intestinal health and Salmonella control. Especially in line with the pressure on using antibiotics to treat digestive disorders in pigs and the tight margins in the pig industry, fermented liquid feed is gaining interest. Denmark has been a large user of fermented feed, mainly to control Salmonella as part of their strict national control plan for Salmonella reduction in the Danish food chain. However, the use of fermented feed is not the way to go for all pig farms, It really depends on the type of farm and whether critical points can be met to make this type of feeding a successful one. Since the announcement of the ban on the use of antibiotics as antimicrobial growth promoters in the feed of pigs in 2006 the investigation towards alternative feed additives has augmented considerably. Although fermented liquid feed is not an additive, but a feeding strategy, the benefits cannot be undermined.

ALGAE; AN ALTERNATIVE TO ANTIBIOTICS.

The fight to reduce antibiotic use in farm animals because of its impact on human health is still raging on and the ban of antibiotics use in some countries have spurred research on alternatives. Additives and certain supplements have been incorporated into production all with various results.The use of prebiotics and probiotics have also been incorporated to achieve a desired healthy status coupled with growth and development. The latest series of research involves use of seaweeds and water hyacinth,the benefits and methods of incorporation have been discussed in earlier posts.There is a new angle to the use of algae(sea weeds) in production and as a biosecurity protocol.A pig farm is limiting its antibiotic use by incorporating seaweed to feed and also a means of biosecurity; Benoît and Olivier Balusson, owners of a farrow-to-finish farm in Britanny, France, have embarked on an exciting mission:how to decrease antibiotics as much as possible? The farm applies a range of strategies, some of which involve algae. Benoît and Olivier Balusson farm 1,900 sows in Britanny, an area of France which has around 80% of the country’s pigs. The farrow-to-finish unit is weaning just short of 30 pigs/sow/year which is commendable for such a large unit. Antibiotics are a big thing for Balusson farm – the farm aims to use as few as possible. Currently only 2 antibiotics can be used on the Balusson farm. Amoxycillin is sometimes injected in piglets before weaning to manage arthritis. Also, trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole can be added to the drinking water to control streptococci, if necessary. Ideally, however, antibiotic usage should be reduced further. In order to achieve that, an overarching strategy is being applied. This starts with creating the right conditions for a healthy environment, i.e. having high quality buildings with well-insulated rooms, decent building materials, healthy water as well as the availability of alternative health strategies, like e.g. vaccination. This is where the Balusson farm takes a different approach than most, as seaweed (algae) often form a key element in both their feed additives as well as hygiene products. Algae form the basis for instance for a mycotoxin binder – associating algae with clay and with other adsorbent materials, the company’s MT.x+ was created. For the Balusson farm, mycotoxin contamination is a widespread problem in cereals, so the binder is routinely added to the rations. In addition, algae-derived products also play a central role in piglet feed around weaning. At Balusson farm, this takes place at 21 days of age (on average at 6 kg). To reduce the effects of stress and to boost immunity levels, the farm provides Searup for 3 to 5 days in the weaner feed. The product, combines the action of immunomodulating Marine Sulfated Polysaccharides (MSP), vitamins and amino acids. According to the company’s website, immunomodulating MSP contribute to a better immune response thanks to the activation of specific receptors of the innate immune system. MSPs also have another function as they are observed to stimulate the secretion of protective mucin in the intestine. This forms the basis of the product Ecopiglet, which combines algae with micronised clays, all intended to reduce digestive problems. At the Balusson farm, the product is sprinkled on the heat pads from day 5. Algae also have a role to play in enhancing the farm’s hygiene status. When algae extracts are mixed with selected minerals and oils, as well as with montmorillonite, a powerful and dried and micronised clay, a very hygroscopic powder is created (marketed as Mistral). It is used in various moments on the farm. Newborn piglets get dunked in a tub of the powder at birth, to help them dry off quicker. This way they suckle faster.At weaning, when the piglets are mixed, the strategy has a role to play as the product’s aroma is perceived to be pleasant. Dusting piglets with it masks the piglets’ own smell and so reduces fighting and hence stress. After insemination, the powder is applied around the vulva to ensure optimal hygiene.Hygiene is certainly not compromised by Balusson’s take on castration – the farm doesn’t castrate. This has resulted in better production efficiency. culled from pigprogress.

PIG'S GENETIC CODE ALTERED TO TACKLE AFRICAN SWINE FEVER.

An advance in the fight against a deadly virus that affects pigs has been made by researchers who used advanced genetic techniques to produce pigs that are potentially resilient to African Swine Fever -a highly contagious disease that kills up to two-thirds of infected animals. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute have used gene-editing techniques to produce pigs that are potentially resilient to African Swine Fever. The team have changed five letters of the animals' DNA code to give them a variant of a gene that is usually carried by warthogs. It is the first time researchers have successfully swapped alleles in an animal's genetic code using gene editing. African Swine Fever is spread by ticks. When standard farmed pigs are infected, they quickly become ill and die, but warthogs and bush pigs show no disease symptoms when infected.The team used advanced genetic techniques to produce pigs that are potentially resilient to African Swine Fever -- a highly contagious disease that kills up to two-thirds of infected animals.The new pigs carry a version of a gene that is usually found in warthogs and bush pigs, which researchers believe may stop them from becoming ill from the infection. The research is focused on one of the pig genes associated with African Swine Fever Virus infection called RELA. The gene causes the immune system to overreact with devastating effects.Warthogs and bush pigs carry a different version of the RELA gene from that found in farmed pigs. Scientists believe that this variant -- known as an allele -- may dampen their immune response and explain why they are more resilient to African Swine Fever. This latest study marks the first time researchers have successfully swapped alleles in an animal's genetic code using gene editing. Source; University of Edinburgh.

Pigs susceptible to virulent ebolavirus can transmit the virus to other animals.

Canadian investigators have shown that a species of ebolavirus from Zaire that is highly virulent in humans can replicate in pigs, cause disease, and be transmitted to animals previously unexposed to the virus. The findings are published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases A species of ebolavirus from Zaire that is highly virulent in humans can replicate in pigs, cause disease, and be transmitted to animals previously unexposed to the virus. To prevent human outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, it is important to identify animal species that replicate and transmit the virus to other animals and, potentially, people. Zaire ebola virus, one of several species of the virus, has a fatality rate as high as 90 percent in humans. Antibodies to another species not associated with human disease, known as Reston ebolavirus, have been found in pig farmers in the Philippines, suggesting pigs may be able to transmit virulent ebolavirus to humans as well. Following mucosal exposure to Zaire ebolavirus, the pigs replicated the virus in high amounts, mainly in the respiratory tract. Shedding of the virus from nasal mucosa was detected for up to 14 days post-infection, and severe lung disease was observed. The study also showed that the virus was transmitted to all previously unexposed pigs co-habiting with the infected animals. The study authors suggest that domesticated pigs are susceptible to Zaire ebolavirus through mucosal infection and that the pigs' accompanying severe respiratory disease is associated with shedding of high viral loads into the environment, exposing uninfected pigs to the infection. In contrast to the systemic syndrome affecting multiple organs that often leads to shock and death in primates, they noted, the respiratory syndrome that develops in pigs could be mistaken for other porcine respiratory diseases. Source ;sciencedaily.

New virus transmission route discovered in pigs.

Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus causes serious inflammation of the brain in people and fertility problems in pigs. Mosquitoes were previously the only known transmission route. However, the virus can also be spread from pig to pig by direct contact, and this could enable it to circulate in pigs during the mosquito-free winter season. The JE virus is the main cause of serious encephalitis in people in Asia. The virus is found in large parts of Southeast Asia and is now also widespread in India. It circulates between birds and mosquitoes and between pigs and mosquitoes, and is passed to humans through mosquito bites. In children in particular, infection can lead to acute encephalitis and permanent impairment or even death. In pigs, the main effect of the virus alongside fever and encephalitis is fertility problems. The virus is closely related to the West Nile, Zika and dengue viruses. All are transmitted by mosquitoes and are flaviviruses, which cause serious illness in humans and animals. Previously, the only known transmission route for JE viruses was mosquitoes. A team of researchers from the Institute of Virology and Immunology and the University Bern at the Vetsuisse Faculty led by Dr. Meret Ricklin and Prof Artur Summerfield have now shown that JE viruses can also be passed directly from pig to pig. The study has just been published in the journal "Nature Communications."

Enzyme for wine could be antibiotic alternative for pigs.

Studies by US Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have found that a naturally occurring antimicrobial enzyme currently being used in food and beverage applications may also prove useful as an antibiotic alternative for improved feed efficiency and growth in pigs. In a recently published trial they compared the growth rates and weight gains of two groups of 600 piglets placed on one of 3 diet regimens:1)corn/soybean meal and specialty protein. 2)corn/soybean meal and specialty protein with lysozyme added, 3)same diet but containing the antibiotics chlortetracycline and tiamulin hydrogen fumarate rather than the lysozyme. The various pig groups were also kept in weaning pens that had either been disinfected or left uncleaned since the last group of animals had occupied them. The latter was done to stimulate chronic, or long-term, immune activity, including the production of cytokines, which divert nutrients away from growth in swine and result in slower weight gain. The results showed that piglets on lysozyme- or antibiotics-treated feeds grew approximately 12% faster than untreated pigs—even in uncleaned pens, suggesting that the treatments successfully ameliorated the effects of indirect immune challenge in the animals. source;Agricultural research service.

HOW TO HANDLE HEAT STRESS IN PIGS.

Heat stress affects the pig industry in tropical climates as well as temperate regions. Losses due to heat stress include nonproductive days for sows and economic losses in growing-finishing pigs. Even in mild climate conditions such as the Netherlands pigs have problems in the summer with performance losses due heat stress .This problem can be dealt with by improved nutrition. Pigs are much more sensitive to hot weather than other livestock animals – largely due to the fact that pigs hardly sweat and their lungs are relatively small compared to their body size. When pigs are exposed to heat stress, their respiration rate increases, pulse rate falls, they start panting heavily and they stop eating because this contributes to further heat production. The fact that bigger pigs are more sensitive to heat stress can be clearly seen in growth performance. Investigation of different weight classes (75, 80 and 28 kg body weight) showed a direct negative correlation on average daily gain (ADG) with increasing room temperature. While 75 kg pigs start to decrease their ADG at around 23°C, pigs weighing 25 kg can compensate up to 27°C (Langridge, Western Australia, 2014). A commonly accepted temperature range for sows in the farrowing house typically spans between 21°C and 25°C - though this is too big of a range. Nursery sows begin to show signs of heat stress starting at 22°C . The feed intake drops almost 0.5 kg/day as temperature increases to 25°C. Technical solutions to reduce heat stress are often time 
consuming and can be highly expensive, e.g. building cooled stables. A nutritional approach can prove more adaptable and quicker to implement. Based on current knowledge there are some measures we can take to improve the swine productivity during periods of heat stress. The nutritional intervention include; 1) Smaller, more frequent meals per day and/or night feeding. 2)A sufficient supply of fresh, clean water. 3)Wet the feed with water. 4)Use pelleted feed instead of mash. 5)Lower crude protein. 6) Replace starch with fat as an energy source. 7) Use less fiber. Story from materials from pig progress.

BIOTECH AND PRRSV RESISTANT PIGS.

A research involving scientists have bred Pigs resistant to a PRRSV, Using CRISPR ;(CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing method—to breed pigs resistant to infection). Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) emerged in the 1980s, and the syndrome now afflicts these hoofed animals worldwide, causing illness, death and miscarriage. It has been designated the most economically significant disease for swine, costing livestock producers in North America $600 million annually from deaths and medical treatments. Vaccinations have mostly failed to prevent the syndrome's spread, but a new approach by biologists at the University of Missouri may mark a turning point. They are one of the first teams to develop a commercial agricultural application for the revolutionary CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing method—to breed pigs resistant to infection. CRISPR/Cas9 is a gene-manipulation tool that allows scientists to make changes to DNA with razor-sharp accuracy. The tool has generated excitement in the research community because it allows rapid modification of gene function, replacing older and less efficient methods. For porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, Missouri's Randall Prather, Kristen Whitworth and Kevin Wells turned to the technique to breed three piglets that lacked a protein on cells that acts as a doorway for the virus. The edited piglets were grouped together in a pen with seven normal piglets, and then they all were inoculated with PRRSV. About five days later the normal pigs grew feverish and ill, but the genetically edited pigs did not. Despite sharing close quarters with their sick pen mates, they remained in top health throughout the 35-day study period. Blood testing also revealed that the edited animals did not produce antibodies against the virus—further evidence that they evaded infection entirely. “I expected the pigs would get the virus but not get as sick,” Prather says. “But it is just night and day. The pigs are running around with the other pigs coughing on them, but they are just fine.” This work and other recent experiments demonstrate the promise of CRISPR/Cas9 for the care of domestic animals. Late last year geneticists at the University of California, Davis, employed the new technique to breed dairy cows that do not grow horns. The study is published in the Nature Biotechnology.

SIAMPIGS NETWORK.: IMPROVING ASIAN PIGS GENETIC LINES.

SiamPigs' goal is not only to improve production performance, but also to solve endemic and chronic herd health problems. In Asia, some pig producers buy breeding stock from Europe and the US with the expectation that the imported genetics will result in a giant leap forward for their breeding programmes. In doing so, they often make false assumptions when comparing their current performance and projected farm performance. They expect to see a lift in performance, but performance figures are not straightforward phenomena. SiamPigs, established in Thailand, is a network of pig producers using improved genetics, disease tolerant and disease resistant pigs as a tool. This network works on 3 principles; 1) Disease resistance and tolerance; Under real commercial operating conditions, when animals are intensively reared and disease is a limiting factor, natural selection is allowed to do its work. Unlike animals from European or the US genetic farms that have never faced disease challenges, animals selected by SiamPigs are disease tolerant or have resistant traits, and come from its own network across Thailand. Animals that have successfully adapted and continue to be productive are recruited as seed stock for further development and use within the network. Pigs in the SiamPigs network are resistant to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App) and E. coli. The network can select disease tolerant or resistant animals that even experienced diseases but can nevertheless provide a good productivity to be used in breeding schemes . The experience in Thailand is that progeny from imported breeding stock appeared more susceptible to disease than progeny of SiamPigs. As a result, the network’s pigs need fewer drugs or antibiotics, leading to less residue in pork, hence an enhanced food safety. 2)One nucleus one farm (ON-OFF) model:The conventional model also called one nucleus-multiple farms(ON-MF), uses disease resistant pigs in combination with a closed herd system, reducing the risk of problems. The ON-OF model is a closed herd designed to replace great grandparent (GGP) breeding stock by all SiamPigs breeds. The one nucleus, multiple farms model (ON-MF), where breeding stock is imported for replacement, , despite many strategic management advantages, like within-herd gilt multiplication, good bio security measures and proper vaccination, disease outbreaks are still likely. Often it is believed that quarantine reduces the risk of disease introduction with newly imported breeding stock. Nevertheless, quarantine could also be seen as a strategic mistake which can result in increasing the potential of pathogens to reach recombination or heterosis beyond the levels that vaccination could cover. Especially when a nucleus herd continuously distributes parent stock gilts to multiplication herds and then executes quarantine measures before transferring breeding stock or parent stock gilts into the farm, such quarantine allows endemic pathogens to enhance their heterosis and thus the epidemic diseases to occur. Based on production efficiency, the ON-OF model yields an optimum performance with consistent results. It is apparent that differences in production efficiency are generally the result of disease. The more animals that are brought into the farm, the greater the contagious risk becomes, especially if the animals are brought in from various sources. The ON-OF model minimizes the frequency and number of animals brought into the farm,thus Selection is based on environment, nutrition, housing and management. This results in uniformity, the overall performance of farms within the SiamPigs network is consistent and competitive. 3)High lean sire and dam lines (GGR model) :To create a lean meat focus in both the sire as well as the dam breeding line. Breeding objectives in Europe and the US are often to focus on their market needs, i.e. to the culture of red meat and fat consumption. For example, the industrial sausage manufacturing requires lots of fat mixture rather than lean meat only. This usually happens in combination with selective breeding, focusing on achieving a high number of piglets per sow per year (PSY). The negative genetic correlation between PSY and lean meat percentage makes the end product (the pigs) suboptimal for the needs of countries importing breeding stock, e.g. those of Thailand. Often, illegally salbutamol is used in several Asian countries in an attempt to 'correct' this, as meat with a higher lean meat percentage is what is desired. The selection of terminal sires is usually not enough to effectively drive the parent stock to produce finishing pigs containing as much red meat, meeting market satisfaction. Therefore, in order to solve this problem the selective breeding of the dam line is to be targeted at 'high lean sow', which SiamPigs also has defined as selective breeding goal from the beginning. The pig production system yielding a higher red meat percentage, corresponding to Thai market needs is called the 'GGR model', in which 'G' refers to growth and and 'R' to reproduction. Pig breeds have not always been developed to be resistant to endemic pathogens – in the case of SiamPigs, those in Asia. For that reason, this network chose to focus on the selection of disease tolerant or resistant pigs and create its own network of disease prevention. The ON-OF model not only prevents infection introduced with imported breeding stock and replacement gilts but also makes disease pressure in the herd minimal. This ensures that, not only nucleus farms will have a high health, but all farms will. In addition, since the production that meets the market needs in each country on each continent are different, the swine selection goal of each country is to be determined differently and appropriately to each region's market needs as well. story culled from( pig progress.)

PIG PRODUCTIVITY WEBINAR.

RBI Agri

Log in or Register

Upcoming webinars

• Description

• Watch

Are you using a mobile device for watching a webinar?
Download the OnlineSeminar app for iOS or Android:


The app is available for mobile devices with a minimum resolution size of 1024 x 768. This requirement is usually only met by tablets, which means this app is not suitable for most mobile phones.

You would like to watch the webinar on your laptop or pc?
You probably do not have the latest version of the FlashPlugin. Please click here to install the latest version:



Another possibility is that JavaScript is turned off in your browser. Turning on JavaScript is required.

Webinar Improve Pig Productivity How to improve pig productivity? Can it be achieved by applying multi-phase feeding? Or choosing different climate solutions or perhaps looking at pig genetics? Find out ...

23 keer bekeken

Webinar Improve Pig Productivity

How to improve pig productivity? Can it be achieved by applying multi-phase feeding? Or choosing different climate solutions or perhaps looking at pig genetics? Find out more on February 9.

When aiming at the improvement of pig productivity, many solutions are usually focused on enhancing animal nutrition. After all, how could one more directly influence productivity than through feed? What is certain, however, is that there is a host of other options available as well. That is where our search begins on February 9. Pig Progress shall highlight several of these strategies in an exclusive webinar, brought to you live from Amsterdam, the Netherlands (CET 11.00 -12.00 am). The following speakers shall be sharing their views:

	1. Product Manager Pigs Ludo Bosschaerts: International, independent research has proven that multi-phase feeding produces better feed conversion ratio’s (FCR) and has a positive impact on average daily gain (ADG). A better retention of nutrients in the body has been found and a significant reduction in the production of manure, resulting in a lower expulsion of ammonium gasses into the environment. This Roxell concept results in a high return on investment.
	2. Merete Lyngbye, Master of Engineering, PhD, Director for Livestock Segment at Munters will speak about climate solutions to improve pig producers economy and environmental footprint.
	3. Benny van Haandel. Director/consultant at E-barn Solutions will give a presentation titled ‘Are our current pig genetics future proof?’ “How do new developments in various areas and markets affect the required characteristics of future top performing pigs?” ”

Hosted by Vincent ter Beek, editor of Pig Progress, the live webinar offers you the opportunity to exchange ideas with experts in real time.

Tuesday

9

February 2016

starts at 11:00 AM CET

This webinar has already occurred.

Watch the webinar

RBI Agri webinars