Hog News (general)

[mikey]

Monday, December 22, 2008Print This Page
Provinces Eyed as Key Pork Export Sources
THE PHILIPPINES - The Philippines will sustain its quarantine of the Luzon island in order to secure Visayas and Mindanao as a pork export source which is eyed as the country’s startup origin for pork shipment to the world market.



The Department of Agriculture (DA) will also test hogs in Mindanao for Ebola Reston virus despite strict isolation of Luzon where hogs infected by Ebola Reston virus were found, reports Manila Bulletin.

The Philippines is just about to receive a certification from the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) for being foot and mouth disease (FMD)-free after the Ebola Reston virus infection in four Luzon farms came up.

And shipment of pork and products have been stopped from Luzon to Visayas and Mindanao since 1995 which is why government is confident of proving negative for Ebola Reston virus the hogs to be tested.

"As we clear those farms, then we are going to go back to our export track. The truth of the matter is I’m personally confident that Visayas and Mindanao were not affected at all because since 1995, we have stopped moving animals from Luzon to Mindanao and to the Visayas," Yap said in a statement.

The concern on the Ebola Reston virus emerged just at a time when the Matutum Meat Packing Corp. in Polomolok, South Cotabato was set to make its inaugural export of pork and pork products to Singapore last 10 December.

"That was the very day when the DA and (DOH) Department of Health first reported to the public the presence of the virus. Bit as part of the DA’s precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus, it suspended all planned pork shipments abroad until further notice," said DA.

Despite suspension of the export, government is looking at the positive impression of the world market to the Philippines as a source of quality pork with government’s vigilance on ensuring that livestock products are safe for human consumption.

Visayas and Mindanao have earlier received their certification from OIE from being FMD free, and Luzon remains o be the last region to receive this.

[nemo]

I don't want to be negative but although the government did not ship any pigs from luzon to visayas and mindanao the main source of ebola reston is not the pig itself but monkeys!

Some have found ebola in bats and now pigs...

You have monkeys and bats in mindanao and visaya.

[mikey]

Tuesday, December 23, 2008Print This Page
First Detection of Ebola-Reston Virus in Pigs
PHILIPPINES - FAO, OIE and WHO have offered assistance to the Philippines.

 

Further tests are required to learn more about the transmission and virulence of the virus. Manila/Roma, 23 December 2008 - Following the detection of the Ebola-Reston virus in pigs in the Philippines, FAO, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that the government of the Philippines has requested the three agencies send an expert mission to work with human and animal health experts in the Philippines to further investigate the situation.



Further tests are required to learn more about the transmission and virulence of the virusAn increase in pig mortality on swine farms in the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Bulacan in 2007 and 2008 prompted the Government of the Philippines to initiate laboratory investigations. Samples taken from ill pigs in May, June and September 2008 were sent to international reference laboratories which confirmed in late October that the pigs were infected with a highly virulent strain of Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) as well as the Ebola-Reston virus.

Ebola-Reston in Swine
Although co-infection in pigs is not unusual, this is the first time globally that an Ebola-Reston virus has been isolated in swine. It is not, however, the first time that the Ebola-Reston virus has been found in the Philippines: it was found in monkeys from the Philippines in outbreaks that occurred in 1989-1990, 1992, and 1996.

The Ebola virus belongs to the Filoviridae family (filovirus) and is comprised of five distinct species: Zaïre, Sudan, Côte d'Ivoire, Bundibugyo and Reston. Zaïre, Sudan and Bundibugyo species have been associated with large Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) outbreaks in Africa with high case fatality ratio (25-90%) while Côte d'Ivoire and Reston have not. Reston species can infect humans but no serious illness or death in humans have been reported to date.

Since being informed of this event in late November, FAO, OIE and WHO have been making every effort to gain a better understanding of the situation and are working closely with the Philippines Government and local animal and human health experts.

The Department of Health of the Philippines has reported that initial laboratory tests on animal handlers and slaughterhouse workers who were thought to have come into contact with infected pigs were negative for Ebola-Reston infection, and that additional testing is ongoing. The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) of the Philippines Department of Agriculture has notified the OIE that all infected animals were destroyed and buried or burned, the infected premises and establishments have been disinfected and the affected areas are under strict quarantine and movement control. Vaccination of swine against PRRS is ongoing in the Province of Bucalan. PRRS is not transmissible to humans.

The planned joint FAO/OIE/WHO team will work with country counterparts to address, through field and laboratory investigation, important questions as to the source of the virus, its transmission, its virulence and its natural habitat, in order to provide appropriate guidance for animal and human health protection.

Basic Good Hygiene
Until these questions can be answered, the FAO and WHO stressed the importance of carrying out basic good hygiene practices and food handling measures.

Ebola viruses are normally transmitted via contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected animal or person. In all situations, even in the absence of identified risks, meat handling and preparation should be done in a clean environment (table top, utensils, knives) and meat handlers should follow good personal hygiene practices (e.g. clean hands, clean protective clothing). In general, hands should be regularly washed while handling raw meat.

Pork from healthy pigs is safe to eat as long as either the fresh meat is cooked properly (i.e. 70°C in all part of the food, so that there is no pink meat and the juices run clear) or, in the case of uncooked processed pork, national safety standards have been met during production, processing and distribution.

Meat from sick pigs or pigs found dead should not be eaten and should not enter the food chain or be given to other animals. Ill animals should be reported to the competent authorities and proper hygiene precautions and protection should be taken when destroying and disposing of sick or dead pigs. The Philippines Department of Agriculture has advised the Philippine public to buy its meat only from National Meat Inspection Services certified sources.

As a general rule, proper hygiene and precautionary measures (wearing gloves, goggles and protective clothing) should also be exercised when slaughtering or butchering pigs. This applies both to industrial and home-slaughtering of pigs. Children and those not involved in the process of slaughtering should be kept away.

[mikey]

Tuesday, December 23, 2008Print This Page
Pork Products in High Demand
FIJI - Demand for whole pigs is running high this festive season, with pork products on the verge of rationing in some areas.



The Fiji Times Online reports that in the west, piggeries are finding demand surprisingly high given the economic downturn, while in Suva, at least one major pork product manufacturer has had to consider rationing supply.

Vuda Piggery Limited stock officer Temesia Tanidrala said pig sales have been very high for the past two weeks.

"People seem to be buying despite these hard times. Even on Sundays, we've had people coming here to buy pigs," he said.

As well as that, the piggery also sends about 30 pigs a week to Fiji Meats Limited.

Wahleys Butchery director Greg Harm Nam confirmed that there was a shortage of pork products but that it was a seasonal glitch. "Every year is usually like that. The demand grows at this time of the year. But what happens is that during the middle of the year, the demand is not as high as it is now so we don't boost production all round or we will be stuck with unsold products mid-year," he said.

He said at present they were rationing some special items like pickled pork to ensure that as many customers as possible get these.

"I don't have enough. We have to ration items. We don't have enough pickled pork and Christmas hams and right now these are the products that are also in demand by hotels who want it for Christmas parties and functions".

He said a lot depends on whether the last minute Christmas rush sees a corresponding rise in demand for pork.

"It's an expensive item and around mid-year, it's the hotel and catering industry that keeps it going. But we didn't increase production because of the slow down in hotel industry. After the festive period, we should be okay," he said. Christmas hams are selling for around $14 a kilogram with boneless pickled pork averaging $15 a kilogram.

Mr Tanidrala said they had special prices for whole pigs this season.

"We have discounts because we know there are a lot of people coming to buy. We sell them as high as $500, but people still buy."

He said that they also sell piglets for $10 each.

The Vuda Piggery, owned by Simon Cole, has about 3000 pigs.

[mikey]

Wednesday, December 24, 2008Print This Page
Managing Uncertainty: The Name of the Game
ALBERTA - The Canadian pork industry needs to diversify its exports beyond the US and manage increasing market uncertainty to get past its vulnerable stage, says the managing director of a leading international strategic consultancy and market research firm.

 

Canada is the single most vulnerable pigmeat country in the world because it is so heavily dependent on exports, particularly to the US, says Andrew Cookson, the managing director of Europe-based GIRA Consultancy & Research who recently spoke at the annual general meeting of Alberta Pork.

Rather than continuing to rely on one segment of a volatile world market, Cookson recommends that the Canadian pork industry recognize opportunities to enter growing markets, enhance farmer/processor relationships, become more cost competitive and export more pig meat than live pigs. As progress is being made in those areas, Cookson recommends the industry focus on differentiating Canada’s pork product.

“The name of the game for the next 10 years is managing uncertainty,” he says. “We’re in a world without a floor. The granddaddy who knew what was best for the producer and the consumer has gone on holiday. There’s no one there to help us, but the advantage is Canada can now help itself.”

Cookson recommends a three-step process for managing risk in today’s market. The first step is to ensure lowest-cost competitiveness. “You have no choice but to maximize all measures to improve farm productivity and efficiency,” he says.

The second step is to optimize the current situation. On the production front, this means finishing and slaughtering more pigs in Canada, says Cookson. On the marketing front, it means diversifying the Canadian pork industry’s customer base.

Key to this is recognizing opportunity when it presents itself. Cookson uses the example of China, which recently imported more pork during a period of internal disease outbreak. During that time, US pork marketings to China increased dramatically while Canada’s did not. “Why were they so reactive to the shortage of pork in China and you guys didn’t budge?”

On the other hand, Canada has a strong platform on which to build trade with such growing markets for pork as Russia, China and Mexico. “On an equivalent volume basis, you are just as good as the US at marketing to Russia, and Russia isn’t easy to market to. That is an excellent platform on which to build.”

Finally, the third step is to differentiate Canadian pork, especially against its US counterpart. Right now there is very little to differentiate Canadian pork from US pork, says Cookson. This is not helped by the fact that Canadian pork is priced based on the US market so consumers tend to buy on price rather than product identity.

[mikey]

Swine Diseases Have Changed
Changes in the pig industry have led to changes in the type and pattern of diseases, making multiple infections more common. DuPont Animal Health Solutions explains the changing face of disease control and emphasises the need for high levels of hygiene and biosecurity.

 

Summary
Pig diseases in recent years have changed fundamentally
Modern production systems have controlled traditional single pathogen diseases
However, the emergence of new disease syndromes driven by complex viral interactions has prevented the expected financial gains
Large populations of disease-naïve animals are particularly susceptible to the appearance of new viral pathogens
Biosecurity systems must be implemented to prevent viral pathogens from entering the herds
Recent experiences with PRDC, PCVD and highly pathogenic strains of SIV show that high levels of biosecurity are required
To achieve such levels of biosecurity, programmes necessitate a proven virucidal broad spectrum disinfectant – DuPont Animal Health Solutions' Virkon® S.
Introduction
In the modern pig industry we are faced with much more complex pig disease than we used to be, and this change is mainly due to the evolution of different viruses which have forced us to revolutionise our approaches to disease control.

The Changes
Years ago, pig disease tended to be simple single pathogen problems. One pathogen caused one set of clinical problems. If other pathogens were involved they were simple bacterial secondary infections taking advantage of the main infection. A good example would be an outbreak of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) in a Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae-free herd. There would be an acute disease outbreak caused by the APP. Other bacteria such as Pasteurella multocida and Streptococcus spp. may contribute to the signs but controlling the APP would control the problem. Another example could be an outbreak of diarrhoea in weaners due to E. coli.

Now the situation is very different, and we face an array of complex diseases and syndromes involving many pathogens and primary and secondary roles. There are normally several primary pathogens. Perhaps the best example is Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex (PRDC) due to a combination of factors as shown below.


This complex is driven by the viral pathogens in varying combinations and the other factors interact and exacerbate it.

A simpler example is post-weaning diarrhoea in weaners in a PCVD outbreak involving Salmonella, E. coli and possibly TGE. Also remember these problems are not just confined to the growing herd. Reproductive problems also tend to be more complex interactions of pathogens such as PRRSV, Porcine Parvovirus and Leptospira species.

Why Has This Happened?
The main reason for this change has been the evolution of major new viruses. Yes, we have always had viral disease such as TGE and Porcine Parvovirus but these tended to happen as specific outbreaks. What we have now is a number of viruses which can interact and have a fundamental impact on the pig. Many of these viruses are shown in the PRDC diagram, but the most important are Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV), Porcine Circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and higher pathogenicity strains of Swine Influenza Virus (SIV). Also could the suggested Factor X in Porcine Circovirus Disease (PCVD) be viral?

One of the features of these new viruses is that not only do they cause disease in their own right but they interfere with the pigs’ immune system allowing other pathogens to cause further disease. They can even interfere with normal measures used in controlling disease. For example, it has been shown that PCV2 infection will prevent PRRS vaccination from being so effective.1

There are other causes of the increase in complex disease syndromes such as keeping pigs in greater numbers, high pig density areas and moving pigs about much more. Also businesses tend to be under much more pressure so management can suffer, e.g. cleaning and disinfection between batches is reduced. These are important factors but the main change is the role of viruses.

Control is Difficult
Simple diseases tended to be simple to control but modern complex diseases are not. There is a tendency to use high levels of antibiotics but these have very little effect on viruses and even have been shown to interfere with the immune system.2,3 We have to change our approach.

As always it is better to be free of as many of these pathogens as possible. First, stock breeding herds with PRRS and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae-free pigs. Vaccination can be used to control the major pathogens (e.g. PRRSV and PCV2 if present). Then, adopt segregated rearing systems to reduce the impact of any pathogens that may remain. Continuous flow systems will only make problems worse.

The main problem with this approach is that it generates a population of pigs which is highly susceptible to any introduction of pathogens and depends on preventing pathogens which are present, e.g. PCV2, from building up. Failing to protect the pigs from these underlying infections can result in serious disease outbreaks. Good biosecurity is vital to control these problems. The main approaches are to prevent the introduction of new pathogens through good external biosecurity and to stop carry over of pathogens between batches by good terminal biosecurity.

Remember that we are dealing with a large number of pathogens and that the most important ones are viral. For this reason, the disinfectant chosen must have a proven broad spectrum of activity and this must include proven efficacy against PRRSV, PCV2 and SIV. Virkon S has this activity as shown by field work, e.g. for PRRSV4, and in the laboratory, e.g. for PCV25. The disinfectant needs to be able to work in all temperatures that are likely to be experienced and should be easy to use. For ongoing use, it should be less likely to generate acquired disinfectant resistance.6,7,8

Such a disinfectant should then be built into a specialist biosecurity programme, for example the DuPont Animal Health Solutions Pig biosecurity programme, to work at an internal and external level. It should be used following thorough cleaning including a heavy duty detergent (Biosolve Plus) and carried through into such areas as vehicle biosecurity, terminal disinfection and many other areas of continuous protection for the pigs.

Once we have prevented infection and build-up of challenge, especially of these viruses, then we can utilize other methods to control disease. Examples of this would be vaccination, e.g. for PRRS and PCVD, and strategic medication where bacterial secondaries are increasing.

Conclusion
Pig diseases in recent years have changed fundamentally and while modern production systems have controlled traditional single pathogen diseases, the emergence of new disease syndromes largely driven by complex viral interactions has stopped us from gaining the benefits we expected.

To quote Pijoan et al., “Large scale swine production based on off site production systems will continue and increase globally. These large populations of naïve animals will be particularly susceptible to the appearance of new pathogens, unless we can design a biosecurity that can prevent these pathogens from entering the herds.”9

Recent experiences with PRDC, PCVD and highly pathogenic strains of SIV show that we need to design a very high biosecurity.

References
Opriessnig T., McKeown N.E., Harmon K.L., Meng X.J. and Halbur P.G., 2006a. Porcine circovirus type 2 infection decreases the efficacy of a modified live porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus vaccine. Clin Vaccine Immunol. 13:923-929
Grondel, J.L. et al., 1985. The influence of antibiotics on the immune system. III. Investigations on the cellular functions of chicken leukocytes in vitro. Vet. Immunol. Immunopathol. 10: 4, 307-316
Al-Ankari, A.S. and Homeida, A.M., 1966. Effect of antibacterial growth promoters on the immune system of broiler chicks. Vet. Immunol. Immunopathol. 53: 3-4, 277-283
Dee, S.A. et al., 2006. Evaluation of an industry-based sanitation protocol for full-size transport vehicles contaminated with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus. J Swine Health Prod. 14(6): 307-311
Royer, R.L., 2001. Susceptibility of Porcine Circovirus type 2 to commercial and laboratory disinfectants. J. Swine Health Prod. 9 (6): 281-284
Gradel, K.O. et al., 2005. Possible associations between Salmonella persistence in poultry houses and resistance to commonly used disinfectants and a putative role of mar. Vet. Microbiology 107: 127-138
Karatzas, K. A. et al., 2007. Prolonged treatment of Salmonella enteric serovar Typhimurium with commercial disinfectants selects for multiple antibiotic resistance, increased efflux and reduced invasiveness. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 60: 947-955
Randall, L. P. et al., 2007. Commonly used farm disinfectants can select for mutant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium with decreased susceptibility to biocides and antibiotics without compromising virulence. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 60: 1273-1280.
Pijoan C., Terremorell, M., Dee S.A. and Deen J., 2004. Pig health and Production – Past, Present and Future. Proc IPVS Hamburg 2004 Vol.1

December 2008

[mikey]

Monday, December 29, 2008Print This Page
Non-Competetive Feeding Offers Advantages
CANADA - Researchers with the Prairie Swine Centre report feeding systems like the one being used at its new sow research facility offer greater control over feed and reduced aggression during feeding, writes Bruce Cochrane.





Farm-Scape is sponsored by
Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork

Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council
and Sask Pork. 
In June the Prairie Swine Centre officially opened its newly renovated 300 sow research facility at Floral, Saskatchewan.

The group housing system uses what are decribed as walk-in lock-in feeding stalls.

The stalls, which allow sows to enter and exit at will, segregate them from other sows during feeding eliminating competition for feed.

Dr Harold Gonyou says the system offers several advantages.

Dr Harold Gonyou-Prairie Swine Centre
I think the first thing is you're looking at a group housing system and group housing is something that we see the industry will be transitioning to over the next couple of decades because of public pressure or public desire to have pork from pigs that have been raised in a group housing system.

So first of all it accomplishes that.

But the second point is that, in going to a group housing system, this approach of using the feeding stalls reduces one of the key concerns we have and that is control over feed intake.

The sows in the system do not compete for feed.

They will compete to get into a feeding stall but, once they're in there, they have their full allocation of feed.

There's not competition for feed per say.

One sow can not control the feed and prevent another sow from eating.

Dr Gonyou notes where sows are fed in a non-competitive manner, less space is required per sow than in systems where animals have to compete for feed such as in floor feeding or trough feeding systems.

He believes we need to be looking at group housing systems and at the management options available within those systems to come up with well based recommendations for how the sows should be managed.

[mikey]

Raising pigs on soil in Japan
-- From "Multi-pollution" by Sawako Ariyoshi (first published in serial form in Asahi Shimbun newspaper from October 1974 to June 1975), translated by Midori Hiraga

I've heard many organic farmers saying: "I'm doing organic farming without hoping to make a profit." Some complain: "The biggest dissatisfaction is that consumers always demand cheap products. They don't think of the farmers who grow their food." But I finally found one young farmer who stated clearly: "I decided on organic farming because I want to make money." He was a 27-year-old pig farmer.

"You have to raise healthy pigs to make money," he said. "You can't raise healthy pigs on the artificial feeds on the market, and vets just inject lots of medicine when the pigs get sick. I don't want to eat such a pig -- and pigs don't become healthy with the medicines either. There are thousands of anti-fungicides and antibiotics in artificial pig feed. I can't let my pigs eat such stuff! The best food for healthy pigs is healthy soil."

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Japan says 65% of pigs sent to abattoirs are sick. The Department of Agriculture in the US reported that only half the piglets survive. Vets and scientists have concentrated on eradicating disease with new treatments, vaccinations, new antibiotics, but still, half the piglets die. So medicine couldn't solve the basic problem, and half the piglets die in protest.

A farmer in England reported: "If you confine pigs inside, many piglets will get diarrhoea [white scour]. I feed these sick piglets plenty of fresh soil full of humus, which contains no chemical fertilizers. I've proved that piglets stay healthy when they eat soil. You should start feeding piglets healthy soil when they're one week old, and continue until they're six weeks old. You'll be surprised how much soil piglets eat! The interesting thing is that it's no use at all feeding them chemically fertilised soil." [From "The Living Soil" by Lady Eve B. Balfour, Faber & Faber, London, 1943 -- see below.]

It seems the young farmer I met had done his homework. I had heard that soil is good for pigs, but I'd never actually seen such a pig. So I decided to visit him at his farm in the mountains.

He and his wife built their farmhouse themselves, using old wood thrown away a few years previously when it was a trend to build a new house. The couple met when he was 24, but their parents opposed the marriage, so they left their families and built their first house by themselves. An architect friend helped them with the structure, and they learnt basic construction techniques from him. Later they built pig housing on their own. His wife can even do welding.

The road to the house was untarred, red mountain soil, but there was plenty of rich black soil in the field in front of the pig pens. The farmer chased the pigs out of the house onto the field.

"It was just a mountain area full of trees and grass here," he said. "We set up electric fences around the field, but you only need to turn it on a couple of times. Pigs are smart and learn quickly, they won't try to escape after that."

Several pigs began digging in the soil with their noses. "Oh, this field was ploughed by pigs?" I asked.

"Yes. It was full of trees and grass, so first they ate grass, then they ate the grass roots and tree roots, and the trees fell down by themselves. You can see the timber over there," the farmer told me. There were piles of timber outside the fence, to be used for fuel wood.

A pig started urinating in front of me. Such a noise it made! The soil turned dark shining black with the pig's urine. Meanwhile, it was eating and digging in the soil all the time.

___"How long did it take to clear all the trees and grass?" I asked.
___"Well, less than half a year, I suppose," he said.
___"With such a small herd of pigs?"
___"The pigs do their job until they become pregnant. When they are pregnant, they stay in the house," he said.
___"How long?"
___"Three to four months."
___"How long has this place been ploughed by pigs altogether?"
___"About one and a half years. It's ploughed too much already, so I'm thinking to move to the next field," he said.

I was impressed to see the rich black soil in the field. Pigs had cleared the trees and grass, eaten it all, and quickly turned poor red mountain soil into fertile black soil rich in microorganisms, and the microorganisms then became good food for pigs. Black soil is soft and warm, it easily absorbs the warmth of the sun.

I hadn't imagined pigs' snouts could do such a job better than tractors. "It's a 'bull-ton-zer'," I said ("ton" means pig). The farmer laughed at my silly joke. He told me that costs are low farming pigs this way, and the pigs grow happily and healthily with plenty of exercise and lots of sunshine. Sows give birth to about 10 piglets twice a year.

"If you feed them soil, there are no weak or deformed piglets. Everything is so economical. Of course, you can only use the mountain soil nowadays."

Only the mountain soils are safe for pigs, most other soil is now too polluted.

Lady Eve's pigs
In "The Living Soil" (Faber & Faber, London, 1943), one of the founders of the organic growing movement, Lady Eve Balfour, tells how she kept her piglets healthy on her farm at Haughley in Suffolk, England. Pigs bred in modern housing are very prone to white scour -- prolonged diarrhoea. The text-books say it's caused by iron deficiency and recommend iron supplements, or, as an alternative, feeding the piglets pieces of turf.

"I have made many experiments in connection with the curing and prevention of this trouble. From the turf remedy I tried experiments with ordinary soil from arable fields. It was not long before I found that soil gathered from a field rich in humus, where no chemicals had been applied, was quite as effective as turf, curing the pigs within forty-eight hours. Whereas soil from exhausted land, or land treated with chemicals, had no effect in curing the disease. I also noticed that young pigs running in the open on good pasture, provided it was not too hard for them to rootle (as, for instance, in hard frost, or very prolonged drought), never suffered from this disorder. It is never a menace to my herd now under any conditions, even in long spells of severe winter weather, when the ground is covered with snow, and the pigs have to be entirely housed up. Under such conditions I no longer wait for the first sign of scour, but regularly collect the soil of fresh mole hills, newly thrown up above the snow, on land I know to be fertile. Collected daily, this soil is friable in the hardest frost, and is equally good in very wet weather, for it is never sticky. The pigs eat it voraciously in incredible quantities, starting when about a week old. I sometimes add a little chalk to it, which the pigs seem to like."

"The Living Soil" by Lady Eve B.

A happy pig at Greg Gunthorp's farm in Indiana
Pastured Pigs -- Greg Gunthorp of Indiana is a fourth-generation pasture pork producer. This is what he says about the confinement hog industry: "Every problem that buildings create could be cured by pasture. I know because I have a partially slatted building that sets empty because I can't afford the death loss in it!" And about vet bills: "Medication on pasture operations is a waste of good money. You can't lower an almost 0% death loss from weaning to market." And: "I don't vaccinate little pigs. I don't give them any shots. I don't clip teeth. I don't give iron shots. My death loss is non-existent."

Forages for Swine -- Some useful advice from the Agronomy and Animal Siences Departments at the University of Missouri-Columbia, recalling that pasture was formerly an absolute essential for a successful swine operation. "Use of good pasture containing alfalfa, ladino clover, and grass can lower sow feed costs, help maintain high level reproductive capacity of boars, and in many cases increase litter size as compared to confinement raising."

Hogs in the Garden: Joel Orcutt keeps his garden in better shape with less effort by using "hog tractors" as ploughs -- and raising pigs for the market at the same time. This is what pigs were made for, not to have rings in their noses. Clear, concise how-to.

Kunekune (Katie Rigby)
The Kunekune is a cute and friendly little pig from New Zealand, smaller than other pigs and with one other big difference -- they're grass eaters. A Kunekune is quite happy eating grass alone: you can use them as a lawnmower, and unlike other pigs, they won't harm trees or shrubs. If you don't have grass or an orchard to graze them in, household scraps will do. Great for smallholders or backyard farmers, high-quality meat.

Pigfeed from water hyacinth: "Boiled water hyacinth is used in Southeast Asia as a feed for pigs. The plants are chopped and sometimes mixed with other vegetable wastes, such as banana stems, and boiled slowly for a few hours until the ingredients turn into a paste, to which oil cake, rice bran and sometimes maize and salt are added. The cooked mixture is good for only three days, after which it turns sour. A common formula is 40 kg of water hyacinth, 15 kg of rice bran, 2.5 kg of fish meal and 5 kg of coconut meal." -- from "Water hyacinth, million dollar weed".

[mikey]

Malaysia to probe 'growth enhancer' claims
// 19 dec 2008

The Health Ministry in Malaysia will investigate claims that pig farmers are using unapproved growth enhancer.

 
Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai says the pig farmers should learn from their experience and avoid a repeat of the beta-agonist incident in which the consumers boycotted them for using the banned substance in pig feed. He said he has not received any report on the claims but stressed that the ministry will probe the matter.

The claims that some pig farmers in the country are using "imitation" growth enhancer ractopamine produced in China came from a veterinarian. Liow said the action of these pig farmers could affect the whole pig farming industry, including the likelihood of another boycott of pork by consumer.

"We should learn from our mistake and not to repeat it. The Health Ministry will definitely investigate the matter," he said.

[mikey]

Wednesday, December 31, 2008Print This Page
Pig Meat Production Forecast to Tumble in 2009
EU - European Union pigmeat production is forecast to be down 3 per cent next year. Information for the following figures is supplied to Brussels by the countries concerned and and may not be uniformly robust.


Poland's supply of pigmeat will be down 13 per cent this year and is forecast to be down a further 7 per cent next year.


Germany's supply increased 2 per cent this year but is expected to drop 2 per cent next year.


Spanish production will be down 5 per cent and French productiuon is forecast to be down 3 per cent.


Danish production is forecast to fall ony 1 per cent. Dutch production will be unchanged.


United Kingdom production will be down 4 per cent.


Hungarian production is forecast to be down 10 per cent. Czech Republic production will be down 4 per cent.
United States production is predicted to be down 2 per cent next year and Canadian production will be down 4 per cent. But Chinese production will be up 3 per cent, as will Brazil production. Russia forecasts its production will be up 7 per cent