Swine Extension

  Episode 48: Precision and accuracy of the doser in electronic sow feeders  is now available on our Minnesota Swine & U podcast channel. In the podcast, Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Samuel Berrio, who is a current graduate student in the University of Minnesota's Department of Animal Science studying Animal Science with an emphasis in Swine Nutrition. Samuel’s research involved evaluating the precision and accuracy of the doser in electronic sow feeders. Listen to episode 48 podcast (~ 16 minutes, recorded March 16, 2026). Learn more about research featured in the podcast Abstract published in Journal of Animal Science, Volume 104, Issue Supplement 3. doi: 10.1093/jas/skag107.050 .

Episode 47: Formaldehyde-based feed sanitizers in sow feed is now available on our Minnesota Swine & U podcast channel. In the podcast, Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Sara Williams, who recently completed her master's of science degree in Animal Science with an emphasis in Swine Nutrition from the University of Minnesota's Department of Animal Science. Sara’s MS research involved formaldehyde-based feed sanitizers in sow feed to reduce pathogens. Her research gives some promising results on this topic. Listen to episode 47 podcast (~12 Minutes; recorded August 13, 2025). Learn more about formaldehyde-based feed sanitizers in sow feed featured in the podcast Abstract published in Journal of Animal Science, Volume 103, Issue Supplement 1. doi: 10.1093/jas/skaf102.313 .

Episode 43: Feeding hybrid rye to organic growing-finishing pigs  is now available on our Minnesota Swine & U podcast channel. In the podcast, Extension Swine Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Gabriella Lima who recently finished her Master of Science degree from the Department of Animal Science. Gabriella speaks about a research project she worked on. The research project was very comprehensive in what it all looked at, but specifically, Gabriella looked at the effects of growth performance and carcass characteristics when feeding hybrid rye to organically raised growing-finishing pigs. Gabriella does briefly share the other aspects of the research project that were studied by others, but didn’t share those results. Listen to the podcast https://z.umn.edu/Episode43Podcast (~16 minutes; recorded November 5, 2024 Learn more about research featured in the podcast Abstract published in the Journal of Animal Science , volume 102, Issue Supplement 2, Pages 58-59. DOI: http...

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...

As details become available, they will be posted on the conference website .  

  In the podcast Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with current University of Minnesota graduate student Edward Yang about his Ph.D. research. Edward’s Ph.D. research is looking at how feeding programs can affect the sustainability of pork production. Listen to the podcast: z.umn.edu/PodcastEpisode30  (recorded July 1, 2022) Learn more about research featured in the podcast Published in Journal of Animal Science , Volume 100, Supplement 2, Abstract 72 Published in Journal of Animal Science , Volume 100, Supplement 2, Abstract 264

Jerry Shurson, animal science professor in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences at the University of Minnesota discusses the concept of upcycling and how food waste could be used in animal feed on the Feed Strategy podcast. Listen to the podcast.

Recently UMN Swine Professor Jerry Shurson was the featured speaker on two separate Feedstuff 365 webinars. What a waste?! - In this webinar, Shurson discussed the sustainability of food animal production systems through the recycling of food waste streams into animal feed. New perspectives for evaluating risk of African Swine Fever virus contamination in feed - In this webinar, Shurson provides an understanding of the potential risks of African Swine Fever virus contamination in various global feed ingredient supply chains and provides recommendations for addressing the challenges identified.

In the podcast Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with current University of Minnesota graduate student Kelsey Hammers about a research project she helped with by analyzing the data. The research studied the effects of supplemental water source on growth and performance of grow-finish pigs. Listen to the podcast: z.umn.edu/PodcastEpisode26   (recorded August 5, 2021) Learn more about research featured in the podcast Published in Journal of Animal Science , Volume 99, Issue Supplement 1, May 2021, Pages 64-65.

 Recently the U.S. Soybean Export Council released a publication on the benefits and applications of using soybean oil in swine and poultry diets. The publication titled, Manufacturing Quality Feeds with U.S. Crude Degummed Soybean Oil: Advantages, Benefits and Applications was written by Dr. Jerry Shurson, Professor of Animal Nutrition in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Shurson is world-renowned for his team’s research on assessing the nutritional value of feed fats and oils for swine and poultry, as well as the effects of lipid oxidation on animal health and performance. This new publication is available in both English and Spanish , so be sure to check them out.

By Jason Ertl, Ag Production Systems Extension Educator in Nicollet and Sibley counties Originally printed in THE LAND - December 13/December 20, 2019 It’s no secret that crop producers in the upper Midwest faced numerous climatic challenges this past year. Snowstorms well into April led to a wet spring and delayed planting, and as we inched closer to harvest season, the question on everyone’s mind was whether or not the crop had reached physiological maturity. This concern became especially evident in the region’s corn crop, as late planted and those perpetually wet fields resulted in some higher harvest moistures and lighter test weights. When other harvest complications are added into the mix, such as LP shortages or weather-related delays, the risks related to grain quality and contamination become of greater importance. Since nearly 60-70 percent of the US crop is destined for feed, the implications of decreased feed quality could influence a large number of livestock produce...

Sarah Schieck, swine Extension educator talks to recent University of Minnesota Animal Science graduate student Julia Holen about research she did as part of her master’s degree. Specifically, this research compared digestibility of polysaccharide-complexed zinc and inorganic zinc in diets for gestating and lactating sows. The research highlighted in this podcast was funded by QualiTech and completed at the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris, MN. Listen to the podcast: z.umn.edu/PodcastEpisode14   recorded August 14, 2019 Learn more about research featured in the podcast Published in Journal of Animal Science

By Dr. Jerry Shurson and Amanda Palowski, University of Minnesota Department of Animal Science © 2019 Feedstuffs. Reprinted with permission from Vol. 91, No. 06, June 3, 2019 Although the majority of swine diets containing dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS) in the midwestern U.S. are fed in meal form, when these diets must be pelleted, the dietary inclusion rate of DDGS is often restricted due to concerns of reduced pellet quality and pellet mill throughput. As a result, the ability of feed manufacturers and pork producers to capture greater economic value from using higher dietary inclusion rates may be diminished because of constraints imposed on DDGS to meet desired pellet quality and production efficiencies in commercial feed mills. Pelleting is the most common thermal processing method used in manufacturing swine feeds (Miller, 2012) and provides the advantages of improved feed conversion (due to reduced feed wastage) and improved digestibility of energy and nutrients...

By Dr. Jerry Shurson, University of Minnesota Department of Animal Science, © 2019 Feedstuffs. Reprinted with permission from Vol. 91, No. 05, May 6, 2019 Compared to other feed ingredients, corn dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS) have some unique physical and chemical characteristics that affect storage and handling characteristics. The use of DDGS in animal feeds has created challenges for handling and unloading from railcars, containers and bulk vessels, especially during humid summer months, plus challenges with transport using conventional feeder screws as well as flowability and discharge from feed silos and storage bins at commercial feed mills. Proper feed ingredient storage is essential for preserving nutritional value and preventing spoilage. The original condition of a feed ingredient is the most important factor affecting quality preservation during storage and is influenced by moisture content, relative humidity and temperature (Mills, 1989). Moisture within a ...

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 containi...