group housing – Swine in Minnesota

Featured abstracts of 27th International Pig Veterinary Society Congress – Leipzig Germany, June 4-7, 2024 – Part 1

The International Pig Veterinary Society (IPVS) is an association of pig health and production specialists founded in 1967. Since 1972, congresses have been held every other year. Recently, the 27^th IPVS Congress was held in Leipzig, Germany. The 28^th Congress is scheduled for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 2026, and the 29^th Congress is scheduled for Minneapolis, United States in 2028. The objectives of the IPVS are 1) the holding of international congresses for the exchange of knowledge related to pig health and production; and 2) the promotion of the formation of Pig Veterinary Societies in all pig-producing countries and the promotion of cooperation between such societies. We have selected some examples of the work presented at the recent IPVS and share them with you on this and next week’s science page.

Prop 12 compliance – A podcast episode on early field experience

Thank you for your interest in this archived blog post. The link below may not work anymore, but you can access older episodes of “At the Meeting” at the podcast’s website!

With several successful California Prop 12 certifications behind her, Dr. Cara Haden from Pipestone Veterinary Services has important insights about the compliance process. She shares with the At The Meeting team how important detailed documentation is to the Prop 12 certification process.

Impact of Enrichment on the Behavior of Sows Housed in Groups

Drs. Ventura and Zhitnitskiy, faculty members in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resources and the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota recently published a new article regarding the influence of point-source enrichment on the behavior of gestating sows housed in groups. The article is available in open-access on the Frontiers in Animal Science website.

Key Points

Most common observed behaviors were sows being inactive (73%), followed by sham-chewing (16%). Enrichment use made up only 1% of observations.
Number of observed interactions with enrichment decreased sharply on the second day.
Low-parity sows, moderately-lame sows, and sham-chewing sows interacted more with the enrichment.
No increase in adverse effects (agonistic behaviors, sham-chewing) was observed.

Science Page: Effects of gestation pens versus stalls and wet versus dry feed on air contaminants in swine production (Part 1)

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 sharing part of a scientific paper from faculty in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, regarding the effect of gestation pens versus group housing and dry versus wet feed on air contaminants. This week we are sharing the first half of the results, join us next week to read the second part.

Keypoints:

Pollutant levels increased as ventilation rates decreased during the cold months.
Pen housing lead to higher levels of NH3, respirable dust, and endotoxin when compared to stalls.

Objective

Evolving production practices in the swine industry may alter the working environment. This research project characterized the influence of stall versus pen gestation housing on air contaminant concentrations.

Methods

Eight-hour time-weighted ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, respirable dust, respirable endotoxin, and carbon dioxide concentrations and temperature were measured
regularly at stationary locations throughout a year in a facility with parallel gestation stall and open pen housing. Hazard indices were calculated using ammonia,
hydrogen sulfide, and endotoxin concentrations and relevant occupational exposure limits.

Results

Due to reductions in ventilation rates as outdoor temperatures decreased, season affected pollutant levels more than other factors. Concentrations were greater during the
winter than summer (Figure 1). Ammonia, dust, and endotoxin were 25%, 43%, and 67% higher, respectively, on average, in the room with gestation pens than in the room with stalls. While individual contaminant concentrations were generally below regulatory limits, hazard index calculations suggest that the effects of combined exposures on respiratory health may pose a risk to farm workers. Additionally, elevated levels of respirable endotoxin and hydrogen sulfide were detected during power washing.

Conclusions

Ventilation changes in response to seasonal requirements influenced air contaminant concentrations more than production practices, especially housing type.

You can also read the full article on the journal’s website.