Phase-Feeding: Do Fewer Phases Compromise Growth Performance in Grow-Finish?

This is our Friday rubric: every week a new Science Page from the Bob Morrison’s Swine Health Monitoring Project. The previous editions of the science page are available on our website.

This week, Dr. Mariana Menegat for Kansas State Univeristy shares her latest results when evaluating the optimal number of phases in feeding growing pigs.

Key Points

Fewer dietary phases, i.e. from 4 to 3 or 2 phases, with lysine levels set close to the requirements does not compromise growth performance of grow-finish pigs.

Antimicrobial use in wean to market pigs in the United States

Today, we are sharing a publication from Drs. Davies and Singer regarding antimicrobial use in wean-to-market pigs in the United States based on self-reported data from swine producers and veterinarians. This work is published in Zoonoses and Public Health in open access.

Impacts

Demonstrates the feasibility of obtaining data on antimicrobial use in the United States swine industry through sharing of proprietary records within industry.
Provides the first substantial description of antimicrobial use in United States swine beyond annual sales and distribution data.
Indicates that specific metrics of antibiotic use that focus on conditions within individual industries will be most useful to advance stewardship.

Investigating PEDv Infections and Lessons to Improve Biosecurity in Finishing Pigs

This is our Friday rubric: every week a new Science Page from the Bob Morrison’s Swine Health Monitoring Project. The previous editions of the science page are available on our website.

This week, we are reporting a collaborative work between the MSHMP team and Dr. Donna Drebes from Seaboard Foods regarding PEDv infections in finishing sites and its impact on biosecurity.

PRRSv ORF5 difference from VR2332 by herd type

This week, the MSHMP team assessed differences in ORF5 sequences compared to VR2332 based on the type of farm, the sequence was collected at.

Key points

Breeding herd sequences differ 8%-16% while in other herd types they differ 1%-15% from VR2332 at the ORF5 level.
The larger nucleotide identity (%) range compared to VR2332 in growing pigs suggests a higher viral diversity within this group.

Focusing on the grow/finish stages of production to better control PRRS, the new challenge of the swine industry?

Should we redirect our research efforts to focus on PRRS prevention and control in growing and finishing pigs? This was the call for action made by Dr. Montse Torremorell, Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota when she opened the special session “Grow/finish phase of production: What are we learning and implications for making progress on PRRS control.” sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim during the North American PRRS Symposium this past weekend in Chicago. Torremorell argued that if the swine industry wants to advance regional PRRS control, more emphasis needs to put on preventing and controlling PRRS in growing pigs.