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Corn DDGS is a high-value ingredient in swine diets: Part 10

By Dr. Jerry Shurson, University of Minnesota Department of Animal Science © 2019 Feedstuffs. Reprinted with permission from Vol. 91, No. 03, March 4, 2019

A variety of commercial feeder designs are used in commercial swine operations that have various advantages and disadvantages.

Bergstrom et al. (2012) evaluated using conventional dry feeders compared with wet-dry feeders and various feeder adjustment openings on growth performance and carcass characteristics of growing pigs. Results from this study showed that pigs fed using the wet-dry feeders had greater average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), hot carcass weight and carcass backfat thickness than pigs fed using dry feeders. They also observed that the wet-dry feeder was more sensitive to differences in feeder adjustments compared with conventional dry feeders.

In a subsequent study, Bergstrom et al. (2014) compared growth performance and carcass characteristics of growing/finishing pigs fed diets containing 20…
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Organizing Farm Transition Requires a Team Effort

By Jason Ertl, UMN Extension Educator - Ag Production Systems in Nocollet & Sibley Counties
Originally printed in The LAND - February 14/December 21, 2019

Farming in the Midwest has long been considered a family affair.  The farm families of the past who homesteaded the land faced many challenges, but managed to tame the terrain to uncover a fertile landscape suitable for future success and prosperity in crop and livestock production.  Fast forward to today’s farmers, who face a different set of challenges, but share the same mentality of instilling a passion for agriculture and building up a business viable to pass down to future generations.
According to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture, the average age of a farmer in the United States is 58.3 years old.  As the average age of farmers reaches closer and closer to retirement, more and more families are going to need to think about the future of their operation and the businesses they’ve built.  With the hectic holiday se…
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Snow Loads on Buildings

The excessive amount of ice and snow this past month has livestock owners concerned about snow load and potential roof collapse. The design roof snow load for residential buildings in MN is set by state statutes and is 42 pounds per square foot (psf) in northern MN and 35 psf in southern MN. However, many agricultural buildings are built using a 20 psf snow load which would be expected to handle six feet of dry, fluffy snow or one foot of wet, heavy snow.

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Microbiome studies in swine systems: Challenges and opportunities (Part 1)

Reprinted as posted on Swine in Minnesota blog. Report written by Dr. Andres Gomez, University of Minnesota Department of Animal Science

Key Points
Microbiome and more specifically the bacteria residing in the gut play multiple roles related with nutrition and health.The study of swine gut bacteria is still in its early stages, and the field contains many possibilities exciting possibilities.Funding and microbiome classification are two of the most important barriers to overcome in order to gain insight into the complex field of swine gut bacteria.Continue Reading.
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Microbiome studies in swine systems: Challenges and opportunities (Part 2)

Reprinted as posted on Swine in Minnesota blog. Report written by Dr. Andres Gomez, University of Minnesota Department of Animal Science

Key Points

Due to the nature of microbiome it cannot be studied separated from other relevant information and should be studied together with metabolomics, genomics, immunity and nutrition.Development of models at different levels are needed to evaluate the effect on microbiome of different strategies and to evaluate the impact of microbiome changes on the pig gut health.Continue Reading.
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