Asia's rising cases of IBD make it a truly 'global disease'.

Asia's rising cases of IBD make it a truly 'global disease' Asia's developing nations are facing increasing rates of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), similar to those witnessed in the West over the last century.

Pig health: all you need to know about pigs.

Find out all there is to know about pig health using Pig Progress’ unique Pig Health Tool. This tool was created with the assistance of: Dr David Taylor, Emeritus Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Glasgow University, Scotland, United Kingdom

Pig behaviour linked to sanitary conditions and diets.

Pig behaviour linked to sanitary conditions and diets. There is a connection between damaging behaviour in pigs, sanitary conditions and diet formulations. How exactly, was presented by Dutch researchers recently. The researchers, attached to Wageningen University, the Netherlands and De Heus Animal Nutrition, published their outcomes recently in an article in Plos One. Reducing crude protein levels in pigs. The scientists described that the tendency to reduce crude protein levels in pig diets to increase protein efficiency may also increase the occurrence of damaging behaviours such as ear and tail biting. This, they said, is particularly for pigs kept under sub-optimal health conditions. The researchers studied 576 tail-docked growing-finishing entire male pigs in 64 pens, subjected to low vs. high sanitary conditions, and fed a normal crude protein diet vs a low crude protein diet (80% of normal crude protein diet) ad libitum, with a basal amino acid profile or supplemented amino acid profile with extra threonine, tryptophan and methionine. Vaccination and antibiotics for pigs The high sanitary condition pigs were vaccinated in the first 9 weeks of life and received antibiotics at arrival of experimental farm at 10 weeks, after which they were kept in a disinfected part of the farm with a strict hygiene protocol. The low sanitary condition pigs were kept on the same farm in non-disinfected pens to which manure from another pig farm was introduced fortnightly.

Poor health as a risk factor for tail biting ln pigs.

Poor health as a risk factor for tail biting in pigs. Tail biting is detrimental to animal welfare and has a negative impact on producer economy. We know that tail biting is a multifactorial problem with nutrition, feeding routines, pen design, pig density and the availability of manipulable material all influencing the net risk of a tail biting outbreak. Poor health has also been considered an important risk factor, but with less supporting evidence. Newer research within the EU collaborative project FareWellDock supports earlier findings and anecdotal reports that health does indeed influence the behaviour of pigs, and provides new knowledge about possible mechanisms. Up to now, the evidence pointing towards sickness increasing the likelihood of tail biting outbreaks has come from expert opinion and experience, epidemiological studies, case control studies and clinical reports. Farms with health problems are considered to have a higher risk of a tail biting outbreak and the risk of tail biting damage on farms with rectal prolapse and respiratory disease has been found to be increased. Clinical reports have stated that deworming and vaccination against Lawsonia intracellularis reduced tail biting while both leg disorders and respiratory inflammation were highly correlated with tail damage. These reports clearly show that there is an association between sickness and tail biting, but because tail biting may also lead to inflammation due to bacteria entering the wound, it is difficult to know what came first: poor health or a damaged tail. The issue is also further complicated by the fact that some risk factors for tail biting may also influence health.

Pig slaughtering and processing in a pig abattoir.

The abattoir should be situated in well drained area with a good gradient to allow easy run off of waste.

The abattoir should be easily accessible with good roads, electricity and close proximity to market.A generator is a necessity in the abattoir,with good supply of portable water.

 The abattoir should be fitted with overhead rails which have water hose and sprinklers to wash carcass at every slaughtering stage.

The walls are tilled to allow easy cleaning and disinfection, the floor is made of cement or concrete so that its easy to wash and disinfect


. Raising pigs for profit can be more profitable if a mini abattoir or slaughter house is incorporated in the production chain.

Agribusiness : How to turn your tomato business to a money farm.

Agribusiness : How to turn your tomato business to a money farm. Tomatoes are healthy fruits with massive health benefits as they are rich in lycopene, a carotenoid with antioxidant properties, which is responsible for the deep red color of tomatoes. Fresh raw tomatoes are an excellent source of potassium, vitamin C, and some B-complex vitamins, tomatoes are also low in calories as 100 grams of tomatoes have around 18 calories. Agribusiness : How to turn your tomato business to a money farm. Tomatoes can be processed to paste,puree and ketchup alongside other products. The tomato market is large and a lot needs to be done to prevent the losses currently experienced from farm to market. Investors in the chain can actually tap into value addition in the form of processing the fruit into other products that are also equally beneficial in terms of health and wealth. Tomato business. Tomatoes can be used fresh and raw or processed into other products to prolong shelf-life and increase profit. Here are a few tips for a startup in tomato business. Tomato ketchup : this is by far the most common form of processing,with various brands adding specific ingredients to make their products unique.Ketchup is commonly used with snacks and ready-to-eat foods,the chicken and chips delicacy is not complete without it. Agribusiness : How to turn your tomato business to a money farm. Tomato paste: this is easy and most convenient for working mums, the tomatoes are cut up and processed into ready to use paste. There is another value addition with the tomato paste,it could actually be blended with pepper and some salt to produce a tomapep product. This is a handy ingredient for homes,eateries,school cafeterias and definitely a travel companion when camping out. How to make tomato ketchup;

How to can tomatoes the easy way.

How to can tomatoes the easy way. Canning tomatoes is a method of preservation as well as value addition to prolong shelf-life and increase sales.