Farmscape for October 30, 2024

Two research projects approved through the Swine Health Information Center's Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program will focus on reducing the risk of swine transport vehicle contamination at hog processing plants and at deadstock disposal sites.
The Swine Health Information Center’s Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program, funded in collaboration with the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and Pork Checkoff, has approved funding for research intended to help improve transport vehicle biosecurity where the transport trailer interfaces with the harvest facility and at the deadstock disposal site.
SHIC Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton says two projects will be conducted by the University of Minnesota.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:
The first project is quantifying trailer contamination rates at the harvest plant interface.
The goal of this project is to gather and analyze data on viral contamination rates in trailers and this will be looking at a 12-month period over time at the plant interface.
It's going to assess the rates of PED, PRRS and Senaca Valey Virus and the goal is to understand what are the epidemiology factors related to trailers and unloading for the ability to either increase or decrease contamination rates, to understand what happens at that interface and then determine what are things that we can do to mitigate those risks.
The second project is going to be assessing viral contamination of mortality disposal structures at wean to harvest farms.
It's going to describe what the current procedures are for disposal and assess viral contamination in the environment around those containers but also to assess what is happening at these disposal structures such as compost and dead box and to detect and test what could be a decontamination strategy.
Again, the goal is to help identify risks and to develop a strategy to mitigate those risks.

Dr. Becton says the two projects will be conducted over a 12 month span to take into account seasonal changes and how those changes can drive the risk of disease introduction.
Information on this work can be found at swinehealth.org.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Farmscape for November 4, 2024

An animal science professor with Colorado State University suggests, when it comes to health and welfare, aggression and animal handling, genetics is a key factor to consider.
"Pig Handling and Welfare" will highlight day one of Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2024, set for tomorrow and Wednesday Saskatoon.
Dr. Temple Grandin, an animal science professor with Colorado State University, says, while animal handling has improved dramatically over the past 40 years, one factor that plays a role is genetics.

Quote-Dr. Temple Grandin-Colorado State University:
I'm getting more and more concerned about both pigs and cattle that have things like foot and leg confirmation issues which makes them lame and that's going to make them difficult to handle.
There are some pigs and some cattle that have really bad foot and leg confirmation and it makes the animal lame.
Where we're having a problem is with some of the babies.
Right now, in cattle there's problems in certain parts of North America with congestive heart failure and lameness that's conformational, that's genetic and that's just pushing for meat traits.
It's gotten worse in the last 10 years in cattle.
Hopefully that's not happening to the pigs but I think foot and leg conformation is something that needs to be considered in any of these animals because we tend to indiscriminately breed for meat traits, you often end up breeding for bad feet and legs.
Some lines of lean pigs are very nasty about fighting and that’s not going to work in group housing.
You have to get the right pig.
I just read some research which I'm a bit concerned about where you get a pig that's really gentle, her piglets aren't as robust and strong.
That's not good, so you've got to find the right balance of genetics where we get a sow that doesn't fight a whole lot but she still breeds strong robust piglets.

For full details on Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2024 can be found at SaskPork.com.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Farmscape for November 5, 2024

The Saskatchewan Research Chair in Feed Processing Technology says the biggest challenge with including high levels of pea starch in swine rations is the issue of flow.
An increased use of pea protein in products such as artificial meats and protein bars has resulted in an increased availability of pea starch for use as a lower cost energy source in swine rations.
However, the small particle size of pea starch raises concerns over the possibility of ulcers in pigs and it has a tendency to plug up feeding systems.
Dr. Rex Newkirk, an associate professor with the University of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Research Chair in Feed Processing Technology responsible for the Canadian Feed Research Centre, says researchers have included pea starch in rations at up to 40 percent with no impact on performance but the flow issue is a limiting factor.

Quote-Dr. Rex Newkirk-University of Saskatchewan:
Pea starch, because of the process it goes through, is an exceedingly fine material.
It kind of flows like water when it flows so what that means from a practical handling perspective is pea starch by itself flows like water.
Put pea starch in a mash diet and it basically sets up in a way that it doesn't move as a mass.
For us that's been the major handling issue is, how do you get this material to handle through the plant, what form can it be in so it can be more easily managed.
From a growth perspective, we've fed up to 40 percent and didn't see any impact on growth so I'm fine with it from a growth perspective but, from a handling perspective, especially if you're feeding a mash diet, I'd probably stick to 10 percent or less.
We've done 20 percent and it was OK but I think there was already signs that you could get hanging up in the bin and stuff so my recommendation would be 10 percent inclusion in a mash diet.
If it's a pelleted diet, I think you have more room.
You could get to 20 percent as long as it will handle through your plant and into the pellet mill well.
Or you could even go higher levels, as long as the flow within your plant getting to the pellet mill is fine.
That's usually where we find some issues.
If we get too high levels, the conveyance systems don't work the way they should.
My recommendation would be 10 percent in a mash diet and 20 percent in a pelleted diet.

Dr. Newkirk says various options for addressing the flow issue are being explored including pelleting, extrusion and using canola meal as a compatible source of protein.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Farmscape for November 6, 2024

Research conducted by Iowa State University shows tongue tip fluids collected from stillborn and dead piglets can be used to accurately detect the presence of the virus responsible for PRRS.
With the goal of improving the diagnostic value of tongue tips for PRRS surveillance, an Iowa State University study funded through the Swine Health Information Center, evaluated four different sample collection protocols across 597 tongue tips from stillborn and dead piglets.
SHIC Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton says this is a relatively easy to use type of sample that's being assessed to determine its accuracy for detecting disease in swine.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:
The key findings really showed that virus isolation of PRRS can be done from tongue tip fluids.
This is important because, up until this time, it had not been proven that this could happen so verifying that the virus isolation can be done is important because that helps to specifically determine if live virus is present in samples that are collected, not just the presence of the RNA.
It's also important because it does provide a way to evaluate different sample protocols and then determine which of those really are the best suited for the best diagnostic outcomes.
Those things are very important, especially when we're looking at newer sample types to provide veterinarians and producers a way to have confidence in utilization of these alternative sample types.
This information will be utilized and shared both with producers and veterinarians because a lot of times people are looking at what are different ways that are relatively labour friendly to be able to collect samples to assess disease status on their farms and tongue tip fluids were one of those samples that was identified as needing investigation so it was important to have research on this to be able to come up with production protocols that can be used for this sample type.

Dr. Becton acknowledges diagnostic tests can be costly so you want to optimize the diagnostic results from the samples submitted to the lab by understanding the protocols to follow when collecting those samples.
Full results of the study can be found at swinehealth.org.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Farmscape for November 7, 2024

Animal health officials are responding to the first case of a pig in the United States testing positive for high path H5N1 avian influenza.
On October 30th USDA confirmed that the first detection in a pig of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza had occurred on a small backyard mixed farm in Oregon that housed poultry, swine, sheep and goats.
Swine Health Information Center Executive Director Dr. Megan Niederwerder notes the investigation was triggered when birds on the farm started showing clinical signs of infection.

Quote-Dr. Megan Niederwerder-Swine Health Information Center:
We know that H5N1 is a specific highly pathogenic avian influenza strain that has really increased with regards to circulation over the last two years.
This is primarily maintained in migratory waterfowl but the virus has spilled over into other mammalian species such as seals and sea lions as well as domestic livestock including dairy cattle, first detected in March of 2024 and now in the first pig in October of 2024.
These pigs that were housed on this farm, there were five pigs, none of these animals were intended for the commercial food supply.
Pork continues to be safe for consumption.
There is no concern about the safety of the nation's pork supply as a result of this finding.
The other aspect of this detection is that none of the pigs that were housed on the operation, including the one that was found to be infected, had any clinical signs.
They were completely healthy so this could indicate a low pathogenicity in pigs.
We're still learning about that.
Only a single pig has been shown to be infected so there's a lot to learn about the potential risk to the swine industry.

Dr. Niederwerder encourages pork producers to review their biosecurity procedures focussing on areas where workers or equipment may be exposed to both dairy farms and pig farms or poultry farms and pig farms.
To keep up to date on the situation visit swinehealth.org.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium Audio Special for November 7, 2024

Ken Engele, the Manager of Knowledge Transfer with the Prairie Swine Centre, discusses “Taking Care of Basics-Measuring On-Farm Best Management Practices.”
Runs 6:31
https://fsaudio.farmscape.com/2024/11/engele-241105.mp3

Dr. Temple Grandin, an Animal Science Professor with Colorado State University, facilitates “A Discussion on Pig Handling and Welfare.”
Runs 13:08
https://fsaudio.farmscape.com/2024/11/grandin-241105.mp3

Dr. Martyna Lagoda, a Post Doctoral Fellow with the University of Saskatchewan, discusses “Advancing swine welfare practices to empower your industry: Outcomes and future directions from the NSERC Chair in Swine Welfare.”
Runs 8:00
https://fsaudio.farmscape.com/2024/11/lagoda-241105.mp3

Dr. Raj Sharma, a Post Doctoral Research Fellow with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln “Enhancing the future of pork production with new technology.”
Runs 10:25
https://fsaudio.farmscape.com/2024/11/sharma-241105.mp3

Dr. Brad Chappell, the Director of Veterinary Services with Topigs Norsvin Canada, discusses “Biosecurity-Back to Basics.”
Runs 5:01
https://fsaudio.farmscape.com/2024/11/chappell-241105.mp3

Dr. Bobbie Lundquist, the Emergency Preparedness Director with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, discusses “ASF Preparedness,, Zoning and Zoning Arrangements.”
Runs 9:08
https://fsaudio.farmscape.com/2024/11/lundquist-241105.mp3

Stephen Heckbert, the Executive Director of the Canadian Pork Council, discusses “Changes to Canada’s Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs.”
Runs 9:54
https://fsaudio.farmscape.com/2024/11/heckbert-241106.mp3

Kevin Grier, with Kevin Grier Marketing and Consulting, discusses “the Competitive Status of the Canadian Pork Industry.”
Runs 5:07
https://fsaudio.farmscape.com/2024/11/grier-241106.mp3

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, a professor with Dalhousie University, discusses “Navigating the Maze: Agri-Food Trends and their Impact on the Pork Industry.”
Runs 9:14
https://fsaudio.farmscape.com/2024/11/charlebois-241106.mp3

       *Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

Farmscape for November 12, 2024

A Guelph based hog market analyst is forecasting a modest increase in Canadian pork production in 2025 and higher prices.
“The Competitive Status of the Canadian Pork Industry,” was the topic of a keynote address last week at Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2024 in Saskatoon.
Kevin Grier, with Kevin Grier Market Analysis and Consulting, says Canada is the sixth largest pork producer in the world but the fourth largest exporter so, as the old saying goes, it punches above its weight.

Quote-Kevin Grier-Kevin Grier Market Analysis and Consulting:
In terms of the outlook for 2025 I'm expecting, based on the last Hogs and Pigs Report, to have a modest increase in production in 2025.
We have less beef because of where we are at in the cattle cycle and we're going to have less beef next year and the year after that so pork should be able to make competitive gains in the meat case or on the menu at restaurants so, in some respects, the pork industry is probably hoping that pork can gain market share at the expense of beef.
We still will be aggressive exporters and I'm hoping to see, for the sake of the industry, improved demand in 2025 because of the beef situation so we should have more production.
But, probably and hopefully for the sake of producers, we should see an increased price in 2025 compared to 2024.
Again, part of our keys is the fact that we are a low-cost producer at the farm level.
According to data from InterPIG, Canada is always among the lowest cost producers in the world, a little bit higher cost than Brazil or the United States, but always right there among the most competitive in terms of producer production costs.
We may not be a low-cost producer at the packer level but we compete in other ways, through increased quality specifications, service, that sort of thing so from the farm to the packer we are competitive industry and that's how we compete, on costs but also on service and quality.

Grier invites any interested to contact him at kevingrier.com to request a three-month trial subscription to his Canadian Pork Market Report.
For more visit Farmscape.Ca.
Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is produced on behalf of North America’s pork producers

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