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National Hog Farmer February 2012 Issue

While much of the fuss about iodine values is aimed at Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) levels in swine diets, there's more to the fat quality story. Pigs are what they eat. Learn more about diet choices that drive carcass fat quality, fixing vitamin D deficiency and protecting our borders from bioterrorism and animal disease threats. 

From My Perspective

  • Feb. 15, 2012
    Article

    A Pig is What it Eats

    A recent press release announced that the ethanol industry had overtaken livestock as the largest consumer of the nation’s corn supply. The release, citing data from North American Risk Management Services, Inc., explained that ethanol production had nearly quadrupled between 2005 and 2011, now gobbling up 5.02 billion bushels, more than 40% of last year’s harvest. Corn use for livestock and poultry feed fell 22% during that period and now accounts for about 4.79 billion bushels of the 2011 crop....More

Pork Quality

  • Feb. 15, 2012
    Article

    Untangling the Iodine Value Riddle

    Distiller's Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) has become the go-to ingredient to substitute for higher-priced corn in swine diets. Some packers have put producers on notice that the excessive iodine value levels in carcass fat that result from DDGS inclusion in the diets will be met with price penalties....More
  • Feb. 15, 2012
    Article

    Keeping a Lid on Iodine Values

    Iodine value pressure points have pushed producers and their nutritionists to learn more about iodine values, what affects them, and what can be done to meet packer restrictions....More
  • Feb. 15, 2012
    Article

    Diet Choices Drive Carcass Fat Quality

    Pork producers and their nutritionists are searching for ways to better understand how dietary fat influences the fat that is deposited in the pig carcass. Iodine value has become the focal point of this discussion....More
  • Feb. 15, 2012
    Article

    Formulating Diets For Carcass Quality 1

    Feeding a diet with high levels of Distiller's Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) can provide significant economic benefits for pork producers. It also can result in a negative impact on carcass fat quality as measured by iodine value. Strategies such as withdrawing DDGS prior to harvest, formulating diets based on iodine level targets and possibly feeding reduced-oil DDGS may help improve carcass fat quality....More

Swine Nutrition and Health

  • Feb. 15, 2012
    Article

    Fixing Vitamin D Deficiency

    Meeting the vitamin D requirements of young pigs can be a complex task. Steve Henry, DVM, Abilene Animal Hospital, has made some startling discoveries about vitamin D deficiency while investigating structural problems in pigs diagnosed with periweaning failure-to-thrive syndrome....More
  • Feb. 15, 2012
    Article

    Vitamin D-Treated Pigs Perform Better

    Vitamin D deficiency can put young pigs at risk for skeletal problems....More

Food Security

  • Feb. 15, 2012
    Article

    Protecting Our Borders

    The Center for Food Security and Public Health is organized around a mission to thwart bioterrorism scares that may impact the U.S. food supply. The Center is working to increase national preparedness for accidental or intentional introduction of diseases that threaten either food security or public health....More
  • Feb. 15, 2012
    Article

    Feral Swine Surveillance Focuses on Classical Swine Fever 1

    USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service conducts regular testing to monitor the disease risks posed by feral swine. Of primary concern is the possibility that feral swine populations may carry classical swine fever (CSF), also known as hog cholera....More

Tech Watch

  • Feb. 15, 2012
    Article

    DDGS Diet Calculation Tools

      Pork producers used an estimated 5.5 million tons of distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in U.S. swine diets during 2011, realizing savings of as much as $10/pig by replacing corn with the byproduct of the ethanol process. Charting a course to saving money on diets takes some time and calculation. To help with that step, several midwestern universities offer free, online calculators to aid the decision-making process when figuring out the potential cost savings from using DDGS at varying levels....More

Veterinarians on Call

  • Feb. 15, 2012
    Article

    Ileitis Losses Come In Many Forms

    Financial losses due to Ileitis can come from lowered performance, such as poor feed conversion or slow average daily gain, as well as increased number of culls and higher mortality. Ileitis can cause significant losses in gilt developer units and the early gestation period....More

Swine Research

  • Feb. 15, 2012
    Article

    Lower Fiber Diets Improve Carcass Yield

    Kansas State University researchers found withdrawing a high neutral detergent fiber (NDF) diets containing distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and wheat midds before market can improve feed/gain, carcass yield and jowl iodine value in pigs....More

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