Swine Extension

By Diane DeWitte, UMN Extension swine educatorOriginally printed in The LAND - as September 13, 2024, Swine & U column I’ve recently spent time traveling across ag country including the Midwestern and Northeastern US and agricultural areas in Canada. It’s always interesting to see crop progress in far-flung areas, and to get excited as equipment begins to roll in spots where early planting occurred. With the movement of today’s large imposing farm machinery, the importance of ag safety rises to the top of mind. Each September the Iowa-based National Education Center of Agricultural Safety (NECAS) recognizes a safety week. In 2024 the National Farm Safety & Health Week is September 16 - 20, with the theme “Don’t Learn Safety by Accident” HISTORY The National Farm Safety & Health Week website provides this background about the safety week and current data related to ag health incidents. The 2022 data for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the agricultural

Reprinted as posted on Swine in Minnesota blog September 10, 2024 There is a new publication from a collaboration with our colleagues at the School of Public Health and the College of Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota. In this study, Drs. Sampedro, Urriola, Van de Ligt, Schroeder and Shurson estimated the maximal viral load of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea and African Swine Fever that could be found in spray-dried porcine plasma to still achieve a virus-free batch (no infectious viral particle) for three different batch sizes (10, 15 and 20 tons). They also quantified the impact of different treatments such as spray-drying, UV and extended storage in decreasing viral loads to meet the thresholds. Highlights The SDPP production process has been validated to inactivate PEDV and ASFV (8.4–11.1 mean log reduction). Under the current conditions, the model estimated that an inactivation level (log-kill) of 7.0, 7.2 and 7.3 logs must be achieved to manufa

Time is nearing the end to host a Certified Swine Sample Collector (CSSC) through the grant funding the University of Minnesota Extension swine team has obtained from the National Pork Board. The grant is to provide logistical and financial support in coordination of CSSC training at several locations around the state.   For more information and to inquire about scheduling a CSSC training for your farm, contact UMN Extension Swine Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke (email: schi0466@umn.edu or phone: 320-235-0726 ext. 2004). The suggested maximum number of participants for one training session is 12 people so if a farm system would like to train a group of people, it is suggested a herd veterinarian for the farm do the training, but UMN Extension swine members assist the veterinarian with the logistics and financial support for the training. Training before an outbreak and ensuring samplers are prepared to submit samples correctly and properly will ensure disease surveillance and permitted

A message from MN Department of Agriculture (MDA) The MDA offers safety tips for those maintaining equipment and applying and transporting NH3. Many farmers and custom applicators will soon apply anhydrous ammonia (NH3) after harvest. Even with a rush against time and the weather, safety should never be compromised. Accidents involving NH3 have proven how dangerous and deadly the fertilizer can be when not handled properly. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) offers the following tips to farmers, fertilizer dealers and custom applicators on how to safely field apply NH3: Always wear NH3-rated goggles and gloves. Never wear contact lenses. Be sure to have a clean and accessible emergency water supply of at least 5 gallons available. Exercise caution when making connections and disconnections of transfer lines, treating them as if they always contain NH3. Stand upwind when connecting, disconnecting, bleeding lines, or transferring NH3. Also, close, bleed, disconnect and secure

The USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture was released earlier this year. The UMN Extension livestock team created infographics highlighting Minnesota-specific facts for the given species we work with. 

By Diane DeWitte, UMN Extension swine educatorOriginally printed in The LAND - as August 2, 2024, Swine & U column In late March, USDA APHIS confirmed the H5N1 influenza (Influenza A) virus in dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas. This specific virus had previously devastated poultry as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) or “High-Path”. While HPAI is fatal to chickens, turkeys and cats, in dairy cattle it causes reduced milk production with recovery and very few cow deaths. A recent white paper from UMN Extension and the UMN College of Veterinary Medicine notes that dairy cattle testing shows high loads of the virus in raw milk; in addition, nasal swab, lung tissue and urine samples have also tested positive indicating that they may play a role in transmission. Several human cases of H5 influenza have been officially reported in 2024 and are associated with direct contact with either infected dairy cattle or poultry. At the time of this publication, these cases have been mild

A message from MN Department of Agriculture (MDA) Applications for a new grant to help beginning Minnesota farmers purchase equipment and infrastructure through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) will open later this month. Farmers will be able to apply for up to $20,000 to reimburse costs associated with purchasing farm equipment or paying for farm infrastructure development, such as investments in water access, irrigation, fencing, electricity, walk-in coolers, livestock buildings, greenhouses and other similar structures. Applicants may request funding at two levels: Up to $5,000 for a mini-grant Up to $20,000 for a full grant Visit the MDA website for more information, including downloading the RFP and registering to join one of the following online public information sessions: Tuesday, October 1 at noon Wednesday, October 2 at 7:30 p.m. Language interpretation will be available at these sessions for Spanish, Hmong and Somali. The MDA expects to award a total of $800,0

A message from MN Department of Agriculture (MDA) The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is now accepting applications for grants to support innovative sustainability-focused research or demonstration projects on Minnesota farms. Applications are due December 12. The Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant funds projects that explore the energy efficiency, environmental benefit, and profitability of sustainable ag techniques, from the production through marketing processes. Minnesota farmers or individuals from organizations including agricultural cooperatives, educational institutions, nonprofits, tribal governments and local units of government (such as Soil and Water Conservation Districts) are eligible to apply. Eligible projects must test and demonstrate on-farm practices that will benefit a broad range of farmers. Past grants have explored topics such as cover crops and crop rotation; conservation tillage; pest manag

A few in-person Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA+) and Transport Quality Assurance (TQA) certification sessions are scheduled for this year. The sessions in 2024 include the following dates and locations: Nov. 5 - Mankato, MN - MN Pork Board Office, 151 St. Andrews Ct., Ste 810 Dec. 17 - Preston, MN - Fillmore County Office Building, 902 Houston St. NW PQA+ certification is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon and TQA from 1 to 4 p.m. at all locations unless noted otherwise. Pre-registration is required by contacting Colleen at Minnesota Pork Board at colleen@mnpork.com or by calling 507-345-8814. If you need to renew your PQA+ or TQA certification and a date listed above does not accommodate your schedule, or if your farm has a large group of employees needing certification, please contact Colleen Carey at the Minnesota Pork Board office at 507-345-8814 or colleen@mnpork.com to schedule an alternative time for training. Classes are provided by the University of Minnesota Extension and Minn

Congratulations to the following swine faculty and educators from the swine Extension team who have had their work published recently. Archer, C., Hilbrands, A., Mote, B. E., Schmidt, T. B., Johnston, L. J. & Li, Y. Z. (2024). Influence of litter origin on performance and tail biting in growing-finishing pigs . Journal of Animal Science, 102(Suppl. 2), Abstract. 209. Doi: 10.1093/jas/skae102.005. Sampedro, F., Urriola, P. E. , van de Ligt, J. L. G., Schroeder, D. C., & Shurson, G. C. (2024). Quantitative risk assessment model of the presence of porcine epidemic diarrhea and African swine fever viruses in spray-dried porcine plasma. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 11, Article Number 1371774. Doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1371774. Shurson, G. C. , Chen, T., & Dou, Z. X. (2024). Food waste upcycling via livestock to address multiple sustainability objectives. Resources Conservation and Recycling, 209, Article Number 107809, doi: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107809.

September Sept. 4: SowBridge program - “Sow foot care” Sept. 18 - 19: MN Nutrition Conference , Mankato, MN Sept 21 - 24: Allen D. Leman Conference , St. Paul, MN October Oct. 2: SowBridge program - “Replacement gilt management & selection for group vs gestation” November Nov. 5: PQA+ & TQA certification, Mankato, MN Nov. 6: SowBridge program - “P1 Sow Development” December Dec. 4: SowBridge program - “Managing nurse sows”Dec. 17: PQA+ & TQA certification, Preston, MN Dec. 17: PQA+ & TQA certification, Preston, MN January 2025 Jan. 8: SowBridge program - “Sow shoulder wounds: causes & treatment” February 2025 Feb. 11 - 12: Minnesota Pork Congress , Mankato, MN