Swine Extension

Reprinted as posted on Swine in Minnesota blog . Adapted from December 14, 2020 Bob Morrison’s Swine Health Monitoring Project Friday rubric. Dr. Albert Canturri from Torremorell’s lab recently shared results from a study looking at udder skin wipes and piglet nasal wipes to detect swine influenza. Key Points Various wipe types can be used to sample influenza A virus (IAV) from the udder skin of lactating sows. Although differences between wipe types were not seen, wipes that were wet provided a better detection rate than dry wipes. Furthermore, wiping the nose of 5 piglets within a litter resulted in higher litter detection rates than sampling the udder directly. This indicates that within litter prevalence is a driver for IAV detection using wipes. Future steps are needed to assess differences in virus isolation among sampling procedures. Continue reading about udder skin wipes and piglet nasal wipes to detect swine influenza.

By Megan Roberts, Ag Business Management Extension Educator After months and months of negotiations, Congress passed a new COVID-19 relief bill as part of a larger end-of-year federal appropriations bill. The bill, H.R. 133 , known as the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAC), 2021, was passed in a late night legislative session on December 21, 2020. The president then signed the bill into law on December 28, 2020. The law notably changes the tax treatment of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) with just a few days left in the calendar year. Other parameters of the law of importance to farmers and other small business owners include a second round of PPP loans, new funding for targeted Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) advances, an infusion of new dollars to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and continuation of several COVID-19 related employee tax credits. Not connected directly to business finances, but likely relevant to many reading this post, the law also ...

In a short video, Extension manure management specialist, Melissa Wilson gives an update on her manure sidedressing research project.  Wilson tested whether sidedressing liquid swine manure into standing corn is a viable practice in Minnesota. Watch the video.

By Diane DeWitte, Swine Extension Educator Originally printed in The LAND – as November 13/November 20, 2020 Swine & U column As African Swine Fever (ASF) spreads around the globe, pork industry and its partners all pulling together to prevent the entry of ASF into US pig herds. African Swine Fever is one of three Foreign Animal Diseases (FAD) that US livestock producers and partners are working to exclude from the United States; another is Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), which would infect not just pigs, but cattle, sheep, goats, deer and bison. FMD was eradicated from the US in 1929. The third FAD being watched is Classical Swine Fever (CSF) which many of us know as Hog Cholera, a disease also eradicated in the US in 1978. Across the country, plans are in place establishing emergency FAD preparedness in livestock. Currently, Secure Food Supply plans have been developed for milk, poultry, beef and pork. The purpose of the Secure Food Supply plan is to provide livestock produce...

By Jason Ertl, Ag Production Systems Extension Educator in Nicollet and Sibley countiesOriginally printed in The LAND – as December 11/December 18, 2020 Swine & U column Fall 2020 was a prime example of the drastic temperature changes we can expect to experience in the upper midwest. On multiple occasions, parts of Minnesota went from significant accumulations of snow to above 60 degree F high temperatures in less than a week’s time. It’s seemingly harder and harder to find anything resembling “normal” in the world today, and that sentiment extends to weather patterns. With this in mind, transporters will need to take necessary steps in order to protect pigs from the elements, prevent stress and bring them safely to their destination, especially as we move into winter months and colder temperatures. Many factors are taken into consideration when planning to move pigs from one location to another, ranging from contract obligations, available space, or farm employee/transporter s...

Is it your New Year resolution to stay current with new research and management techniques in the pork industry? If so, then PorkBridge and SowBridge are programs for you as they allow people raising and working with pigs to increase their knowledge and skills without needing to leave the comfort of their home or farm office. Both programs are distant education programs coming by a presentation viewed on a computer with live presentations delivered by teleconference from topic experts at a scheduled time or via a recording if unable to participate during the scheduled time. The difference in the two programs is the audience they are aimed at. PorkBridge is for those who own, manage or work in swine grow-finish facilities. Six sessions are offered generally on the first Thursday of every other month throughout the year starting February 2021. All sessions start at 11:15 a.m. Central Time and last a maximum of 60 minutes, which includes time for questions. Cost is $100 for the series...

You are invited to the Women in Ag Network’s 6th Annual Conference, a day of learning and networking for women involved in Agriculture. This year’s theme is “Building Bridges, Cultivating Connections”. This year’s conference will be held virtually on Wednesday, Feb. 3 from 9 a.m. – 3:45 p.m. Highlights of the conference include: Keynote speaker: Michele Payn, CSP and Principal of Cause Matters Corp. which connects people and science of food and farming. Three diverse breakout session tracks: Bridging the Gap with Social Media, Cultivating Management Best Practices, and Connecting Farmers and Consumers through Marketing. Panel discussion, “Direct Marketing: Taking it to the Next Level” featuring women who have taken marketing of their agriculture ventures to a completely new level.

Congratulations to the following swine faculty and educators from the Swine Extension Team who have had their work published recently. Davies, P . & Singer, R. S. (2020). Antimicrobial use in wean to market pigs in the United States assessed via voluntary sharing of proprietary data. Zoonoses and Public Health, 67(S1): 6-21. Doi: 10.1111/zph.12760. Nirmala, J., Alves, G., Vilalta, C., Yang, M., Rendahl, A., Olson, B. & Torremorell, M. (2021). Evaluation of viral RNA extraction methods to detect porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome and influenza A viruses from used commercial HVAC air filters from swine farms. Journal of Aerosol Science, 151: 105624. Doi: 10.1016/j.jaerosci.2020.105624. Wu. J. M., Zhao, Y., Wang, X., Kong, L.C., Johnston, L. J. , Lu, L., & Ma, X. (2020). Dietary nutrients shape gut microbes and intestinal mucosa via epigenetic modifications. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. Doi: 10.1080/10408398.2020.1828813.

  In this podcast swine Extension educators Sarah Schieck Boelke and Diane DeWitte discuss transporting pigs in cold weather. Included in their discussion is unfit pigs for transport, loading density, proper setup of the trailer, and knowing current driving conditions. Listen to episode 21 podcast   (recorded December 29, 2020)  Transport Quality Assurance reference mentioned in the podcast can be found on the National Pork Board's website .