Animal Well-being
Using conveyor belt to load and unload pigs to promote self-movement of piglets
April 3, 2017By Donald Lay Jr
Pigs are not accustomed to climbing sloped ramps. However, sloped ramps are impossible to avoid in regular management and handling practices due to design of the physical facilities at finishing...
Animal Well-being
Evaluating the welfare of piglets after weaning and transport during heat stress
January 31, 2017By Jay Johnson
Weaning is a complex stressor associated with social, environmental and metabolic stress in pigs, that can be compounded by the negative effects of transport and thermal stress. To combat these...
Animal Well-being
Innovative scientific techniques to evaluate alternatives to the use of carbon dioxide euthanasia procedures
June 1, 2012By Donald Lay Jr
The identification and validation of a humane method to euthanize piglets is critical to address the public’s concern that current...
Animal Science
Understanding the relationship between immune response, intestinal microbial ecology and growth performance in nursery pigs fed diets with, or without in-feed antibiotics or a combination of beta-glucan and vitamin C
March 13, 2009By Marcos Rostagno
Weaning and the subsequent nursery phase represent a time of gastrointestinal and immune instability for the pig. This research project was developed to understand the effect(s) of two commonly used...
Environment - Air
Particulates, Ammonium Nitrate, and Ammonium Sulfate: Effects on Air Quality in Rural Iowa
December 26, 2007By R. L. Pfeiffer
Air quality has many components, one of which is PM2.5 and ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate are reported to be two of the major components. Swine confinement facilities generate significant...
Environment - Air
Developing a Decision Support Tool to Optimize Swine Production Facility Layout to Minimize Downwind Air Quality Impacts
November 13, 2006By Thomas J. Sauer
These model experiments of air flow characteristics suggest that when swine confinement buildings are oriented so that the approaching wind is parallel to the buildings the wind is reduced less than...
Animal Well-being
The impact of routine piglet processing on well-being
March 31, 2006By Donald Lay Jr
The major finding of this research project is that any processing technique that can be carried out quickly and with minimal tissue damage is likely to be least stressful for the piglet. Alternative...
Environment - Water Usage / Conservation
Pathogenic and Indicator Bacteria in Agricultural Watersheds
March 8, 2006By Thomas Moorman
Escherichia coli and Enterococcus are indicator bacteria that were measured in Iowa streams that drain land with different levels of swine production. We completed a study monitoring=g these bacteria...
Environment - Air
Evaluation of the ammonia emissions from swine production units in Iowa
April 1, 2004By Jerry Hatfield|R. L. Pfeiffer
Ammonia concentrations in the air adjacent to and downwind of swine production units are of concern to producers. Most of the existing measurements have been conducted with single point monitors or...
Environment - Water Usage / Conservation
Best Management Practice Research in a Watershed with Swine Production Facilities
June 30, 2003By Mark Tomer
This project has supported research in the South Fork of the Iowa River watershed, where swine and other livestock are being produced, and water resource concerns have been raised. These activities...
