Swine Extension

In the podcast Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Lauren Servick from Minnesota Pork about the on-farm sustainability reports available through National Pork Board. Lauren answers the question of why farmers should do the reports and how they can get started. Listen to the podcast: z.umn.edu/PodcastEpisode29   (Recorded May 4, 2022) Learn more about the information shared in the podcast Visit National Pork Board's Sustainability webpage to learn more about the On-Farm Sustainability Reports and to get started on your farm's report. The 2021 Pork Industry Sustainability can be found on the Pork Cares webpage as well as the goals and metrics of the Pork Industry's Sustainability initiative.

By Yuzhi Li, UMN Associate Professor, Swine Behavior and Welfare  Managing intestinal parasites in organic pigs continues to be a challenge for organic producers since there is a lack of organically approved options for controlling parasites. The WCROC swine research team recently investigated three species of parasites in pigs in an effort to develop treatment suggestions for organic producers. Read more

The 2022 Midwest Farm Energy Conference is scheduled for June 15 - 16 at the West Central Research & Outreach Center , Morris, MN. The conference will include: Reducing carbon intensity of production agriculture Green hydrogen and ammonia Agrivoltaics for grazing cattle Robotic weed control Other conference activities include: “Ride and Drive” various electric vehicles and equipment Panel on the future role of green hydrogen in agriculture Opportunity to network with energy experts and professionals Check out the conference agenda for further details. To attend the full conference is $80, single day is $50. Read for further details and to register .

By Diane DeWitte, UMN Extension swine educator Originally printed in The LAND as April 29/May 6, 2022 Swine & U column . Spring’s here and for some swine producers, moving manure is an important step as the crop gets planted. UMN Extension Nutrient Management Specialist Melissa Wilson provides good information for farmers who need to make both nutrient management decisions and who may need to get manure out of the way. When is the best time to apply manure? That depends on the logistics of each farm, weather, and soil conditions. It is also influenced by what risks you are willing to take. Those risks include: losing nutrients if the manure is applied too early running out of storage for the manure reducing time for nutrients to release if the manure is applied too late having a wet and/or cold spring which could delay manure application and then planting. As producers consider planting season activities, they’re encouraged to take a look at potential Spring or Summer applicatio

By Diane DeWitte, UMN Extension swine educator Originally printed in The LAND as April 1/April 8, 2022 Swine & U column . March is the month in which the American Farm Bureau Federation recognizes National Ag Safety Awareness Program (ASAP) week. ASAP week was created to bring awareness to safety and health issues facing the agriculture industry. The U.S. Agricultural Safety and Health Centers have joined American Farm Bureau Federation to keep farm workers safe and healthy by recognizing common farm hazards with the theme “Prepare. Prevent. Protect.” Part of the 2022 ASAP recognition is a focus on safety around livestock, including livestock handling and transportation. Stressed livestock are more likely to injure themselves, their handlers and are more difficult to work with. Providing stockmanship training for workers handling livestock is key to preventing injuries. Stockmanship is a practice which promotes positive animal handling and is important for both animal and caret

Minnesota has committed to participating in U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) and are encouraging all swine producers to enroll their production and packing site(s) in the program. U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) is modeled after the very successful National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) that has been in place since 1935. US SHIP is intended to provide a national program for certifying health status and is initially focused on African Swine Fever (ASF) and Classical Swine Fever (CSF). Read more

Dr. Montserrat Torremorell was named the 2022 recipient of the Outstanding Swine Academic of the Year award. The award is given to an AASV (American Association of Swine Veterinarians) member employed in academia who has demonstrated excellence in teaching, research and service to the swine veterinary profession. The award was presented for the first time this year. Read more

PQA+ Advisors are the folks who work directly with producers to educate them on the PQA+ program and will help producers obtain PQA+ certification and PQA+ site status at their respective production sites. Two PQA+ Advisor training dates are planned for NEW advisors or those that let their PQA+ Advisor status lapse: June 23 – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Minnesota Pork Board Office, 151 Saint Andrews Ct. Ste. 810, Mankato, MN. Register here . July 26 - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., AmericInn, 1406 E Lyon St., Marshall. Register here . These PQA+ Advisor training sessions are for NEW advisors or those PQA+ Advisors that let their status lapse and are unable to renew online. Individuals wishing to attend the training session must meet the qualifications to become a Certified PQA+ Advisor. Qualifications include: Be a veterinarian, Extension specialist, or ag educator (for the purposes of PQA Plus, the definition of an ag educator is a person who spends full time in adult education or at least 50% time in pr

An evening PQA (Pork Quality Assurance) Plus certification training is planned for June 9 in Mankato, MN. Time: 6 – 9 p.m. Location: MN Pork Board Office, 151 Saint Andrews Ct. Ste. 810, Mankato, MN Pre-registration is required to Colleen at MN Pork Board at colleen@mnpork.com or call 1-800-537-7675.

Congratulations to the following swine faculty and educators from the Swine Extension Team who have had their work published recently. Lozinski, B. A., Frederick, B., Li, Y. Z., Saqui-Salces, M., Shurson, G. C., Urriola, P. E., Wilson, M. L., & Johnston, L. J. (2022). Effects of water quality on growth performance and health of nursery pigs. Translational Animal Science, 6(1), txac002. Doi  https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txac002