Public Health - Antibiotics & Resistance
Alternative antibiotic technologies for weaned pigs
May 3, 2017By Ross Beier
New technologies are needed to help livestock producers maintain health and wellbeing of their animals while minimizing risks of disseminating antimicrobial resistant bacteria to humans or animals....
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...
Prediction of pork loin quality and tenderness with the VQG pork loin grading camera
February 15, 2017By Dr. Steven Shackelford Ph.D.
The VQG pork loin grading camera was developed jointly by USDA-ARS researchers at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in collaboration with E+V, a company that develops and markets image analysis-based systems for the meat, poultry, and livestock industries.
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...
Swine Health - PRRS
Epitope Inclusion: Enhancing porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSv) vaccine cross-protective efficacy
January 6, 2017By Crystal Loving
Producers need better vaccines for controlling disease and spread associated with PRRSv infection. This has been an extremely different task because the face of PRRSv is constantly changing making an...
Public Health - Antibiotics & Resistance
Effect of manure application rate and timing on the leaching and runoff potential of antibiotic resistant bacteria and their associated genes
December 30, 2016By Carl Bolster
Antibiotics are used in swine production for both therapeutic and growth promotion purposes. Compounds are placed in feed or water and used in oral and injection treatments and encompass a broad...
Public Health - MRSA
Origin, evolution, and zoonotic potential of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus found in US swine farms
May 20, 2016By Tracy Nicholson
Reports claiming that livestock, particularly pigs, could serve as a reservoir for the ‘superbug’ methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) shocked the medical and veterinary...
Swine Health - PRRS
The effect of PRRSv infection on the thymus – a source of immune dysregulation?
March 7, 2016By Crystal Loving
PRRSv infection has been shown to cause an acute lymphopenia (loss of cells in the blood), lymphadenopathy (increased size of lymph nodes due to increased cell numbers) and thymic atrophy (decreased...
Animal Science
Evaluation of contributions to seasonal reproductive inefficiency
January 1, 2016By Lea Rempel
Seasonal reproductive inefficiency is globally observed within the swine industry. Even when photoperiod and temperature are controlled, reductions in pregnancies and subsequent farrowing rates...
Animal Well-being
Designer Diets Decrease Aggression and Increase Welfare
November 19, 2015By Donald Lay Jr
The current practice of pregnant sow housing uses individual housing in stalls. However, producers are under a great deal of pressure to return sows to group housing due to various reasons....
