PQA Plus Gains Momentum
Over 26,000 U.S. pork producers have received Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA Plus) certification, according to a recent report from Erik Risa, manager of education programs for the Pork Checkoff. ...
Fatigue Causes Majority
Canadian livestock consultant completes study of commercial livestock hauling mishaps. Bad weather often gets the blame, but in actuality, driver fatigue...
The Key to Making Pen Gestation Work
With over 50 years of hog-raising experience under his belt, Dale Keesecker has seen and tried any number of new products and management practices. In...
Trial Tracks Impact Of Feeding Frequency
Aggression, body condition scores and reproductive levels were compared when sows were fed twice vs. six times/day. Kansas State University researchers...
TQA: What's In a Name?
The pork industry extends its hog-handling focus from truckers to a broader Transport Quality Assurance program. To minimize pork quality losses during...
Clearing Up the Confusion Over Pork Quality-Plus
Fact sheet offers quick rundown of new industry program. Participation in the National Pork Board's Pork Quality Assurance-Plus (PQA-Plus) program, introduced...
Electric Prod Use Can Be Costly
Research at Canada's Prairie Swine Centre (PSC) confirms that use of an electric prod to move market hogs elevates stress levels in the animals vs. other means of handling...
Don't Mix Sows 10-14 Days after Breeding
As pork producers take up the challenge to house gestating sows in groups vs. individual stalls...
‘Pig-Friendly’ Loading Chute Minimizes Loading Stressors
Pigs marketed on a prototype loading gantry were exposed to fewer stressors, including electric prods and incidence of slips, falls, vocalizations and piling. Pig mortalities from farm to harvest are estimated to cost the U.S. swine industry over...
Management Effects on Group Sow Housing
Canadian researchers have learned that the productivity in electronic sow feeding (ESF) systems is comparable to sows housed in stalls, provided proper management practices are followed...
