Solar Walls Save Money
Canadian producer Daniel Messier describes the better air quality and lower heating costs as impressive. Using a solar wall to capture the sun's energy...
Designs to Reduce Seasonal Effects On Reproduction
When you see the term seasonal infertility, do you ever wonder which season of the year is causing the problem? In my opinion, the term should be replaced...
Stalls or Pens? Ask the Sows!
Is the move to abandon stalls for gestating sows a done deal? Not in some people's minds. Listen close and you'll hear a murmur spreading in the pork...
Exercise Improves Bone Density
Trials of encouraged-exercise in gestating stall-housed sows improved bone density, bone-breaking strength and piglet survivability, but it had no real...
Gestation Pen Design: Space, Simplicity
A new sow gestation pen design is aimed at protecting market access. Doug Groth, DVM, says the new pen configuration for sow gestation at Bluff Road Genetics...
Lameness, Arthritis Challenges Persist
Look beyond disease for solutions to structural issues. Most hogs are raised on some type of concrete flooring. These hard surfaces place structural demands...
Making ESF Work
Field studies at the University of Pennsylvania track application and performance of electronic sow feeders (ESF). Consulting veterinarian Tom Parsons...
One Size Does Not Fit All
The variation in body size of sows needs greater consideration before gestation stalls are abandoned altogether. Pork producers should ask themselves...
Pen Gestation Isn't Complicated
The general manager of the country's largest pen gestation system says producers shouldn't fear group sow housing. Bob Ivey wanted to leave the standing-room-only...
Sow Housing Debated
A University of Illinois animal scientist offers support for individual stalls, while a Canadian scientist provides an overview of group sow housing research....
