This article relates different microbiome profiles to greater or lesser severity in clinical signs, lesions and viral load in a co-infection with PRRS and PCV2 viruses, opening a window of opportunity.

In the primary humoral immune response, a single class IgM in monomeric form is initially secreted. The secondary response induced by a subsequent exposure to the same antigen will be mainly characterized by the production of IgG isotype but at higher titre and affinity.

We are all well aware of how important it is to have a correct replacement rate, BUT are we aware of the importance and costs related to staff turnover?

Understanding water consumption and knowing the factors that can affect it, are important points in animal production and health.

Our prices will still fall, with slight drops, but it will fall, until reaching a point in which all the pigs that can be slaughtered will be slaughtered. The bottom price cannot be very far away…

List of practical measures applied in our daily work with good results. Those measures must be considered as a whole and never individually.

We propose to use the processing fluids, the liquid accumulated at the bottom of the pail when farmers collect tails and testicles during routine procedures as a sample.

You can use old wicker baskets, builder’s buckets, etc., but I will now show you a syringe carrier at zero cost made with recycled materials.

The sentence of the title is a quote from Sheryl Sandburg, COO Facebook. Contrary to all the headline grabbing scary stuff about dictators with missiles and itchy fingers, we appear to be entering a period of wide spread global economic recovery and potential prosperity that will drive big benefits to billions of people and some very special good news for pork producers worldwide.

By far, the most common and most obvious health hazard to producers and workers is accidental needle sticks. This article will focus on accidental needle sticks, what risks they present, and how to prevent them.

Specific humoral immunity is mediated by glycoproteins called antibodies or immunoglobulins.

Once the first symptoms of the infection emerged in pigs the facility was locked and the possibility to get in from outside was the only used.

The use of by-products from the agri-food industry reduces feed costs. This study explores the nutritional value of eight potential by-products for liquid feeding.

We must come up with new strategies. The objective would be to prevent the animals going for slaughter from shedding Salmonella when they arrive at the abattoir, since they are the biggest responsible for carcass contamination.

This time, Joan Wennberg discusses the different feeding and environmental control systems in the farrowing house with Heraclio Corchón and Javier Lorente

Spanish pig prices will still fall, but the great question is: until where? The answer is not an easy one, but we tend to think that…

Sometimes, when working on the farm, we have to get up close to the sow to check its card in order to know its productive cycle. Or, whilst carrying piglets to be fostered, we ask ourselves, will that sow be a second parity one?

Lifting partitions in the farrowing unit allows piglets from different litters to mix, sharing teats and socializing.

The main mechanism of defense against intracellular infections, particularly virus.

When productivity decreases, but productive efficiency is maintained...

In most fattening herds, the biggest risk for the finisher pigs to become infected with Salmonella is the within-farm contamination cycle of Salmonella. The biggest risk for introduction of Salmonella is buying infected piglets.

This article shows the different measures taken and the strategy followed to eradicate PEDv in a commercial farm: stabilization, creation of a disinfection bubble, monitoring and verification.

This second part on AI stud management reviews the procedure for calculating sperm concentration and the elements that affect a correct assessment.

While the remainder of the year will likely have challenges a little deeper than most are thinking now, it is not looking like a disaster…

Community legislation on veterinary medicinal products and medicated feed is currently being reviewed with the aim of contributing to the reduction of antimicrobial resistance. The points of debate of these regulations are...

The role of each player in the innate immunity response: Type 1 Interferons and pro-inflammatory cytokines, complement, acute phase proteins, antimicrobial proteins, phagocytes, NK cells, γ/δ T lymphocytes,...

It is difficult for a single additive to mimic the effect of the addition of antibiotics or ZnO. This is why we need to combine groups of additives in water and feed, so they act both, as prevention and treatment.

This article helps us to define the minimum biosecurity measures that should be internally established to prevent indirect PEDv transmission.

Liquid manure in deep anaerobic storage, contains sulfur (from amino acids in feed, manure or in water) which certain bacteria (anaerobes) use as a substitute for oxygen. They produce H₂S as an end product, which is toxic to living tissue, by stopping the energy supplying reactions in the tissue cells.

September will witness a series of drops in price, like a cascade. The abattoirs demand incentives to increase the slaughterings. The limit of the fall will depend on the international context.

As pork producers, the only way forward is to rationalize and reduce the use of antibiotics which, in addition, could be a clear business opportunity.

There are many types of boot racks in the market, but we can build one ourselves with something available on any farm: a pallet.

Products obtained from insects have a high proportion of crude protein: 40-44% in the case of the black soldier fly larvae, or up to 60% in the case of black fly larvae or in grasshoppers, and even reaching 70% in the case of silkworms.

There is a lot of uncertainty about what will happen to the US pork export picture now that President Trump has pulled out of TPP and wants to renegotiate NAFTA.

Analysis of the intestinal situation of piglets is an essential action in health management programs. A piglet population with good intestinal health has excellent feed conversion efficiency.

Recognition of the pathogen is the first step of defensive immune response; both innate and specific immunity have mechanism to recognize the pathogen.

This means looking at ‘whole business decisions’, being able to do good calculations that take into account all production factors. Taking decisions on single traits, like born alive, have no place in a modern effective pig industry.

The disadvantage of some boxes is that some piglets are too big and lively and jump off easily.

In Spain, August 15th will mark a turning point. The supply is recovering and the price will drop. In Europe there is an oversupply. The dollar is falling and the prices of American meat are more attractive.

Traditional culling policies have a threshold number of farrowings after which sows are culled —after weaning. But, what would happen if this policy were to be modified to actually consider the performance of each sow?

USA: PEDv created more fever than just in the pigs.

These days, the sale of breeding sows or boars with mange is considered unacceptable.

The current diagnostic tests are very powerful, allowing us to detect even small changes in the genome of a virus, but what do they tell us?

We were called for clinical problems on weaners that appeared a few days after a feed transition in a farrow-to-finish farm: swelling of the eyelids and forehead, incoordination, dyspnea and sudden death.

What the cytokines are, what they do and how they work on the immune system.

The impact of semen used for post-cervical AI is 2-3 times bigger than that used to produce cervical insemination doses; therefore, preparation of the doses should follow an even stricter control program.

In the previous paper, the effects of nutrient restriction and consequent catabolism during lactation on sow reproduction yield have been addressed. In the present paper, the efficiency of sows in using energy from feed and body mass is considered.

Why has antimicrobial resistance become more important over the last few years? Which is the responsibility of animal production? Is it possible to transfer antimicrobial resistance from animals to humans and vice versa? Can meat contain resistance even without having antimicrobial residues?

A study was performed including 69 PRRS-positive sow herds with the aim of comparing the use of PRRSV MLV and quarantine facilities with the PRRSV status of replacement gilts at first insemination.

A system to check your all-in-all-out management and the consecuences of violating internal biosecurity practices.

Very probably, the Spanish price will remain above €1.40/kg liveweight until late July, supported by the weakness of the supply and helped by the weather.

Export markets can keep profits flowing even if the industry nudges production into record territory.

The owner contacted us because he has seen a reduction in performance in recent months, although no decline has been identified in any particular parameter. He says that, overall, “the sows are doing worse".

This article reviews major immune cells: Neutrophils, macrophages, natural killer, lymphocytes, dendritic cells, mast cells...

The study described here was designed to determine if the body tissue mobilization during lactation imposed by feed restriction could affect litter size and sow performance in the subsequent lactation.

Does the land altitude, slope or coverage matter?

Joan Wennberg discusses the ideal farrowing facilities with Heraclio Corchón and Javier Lorente. They do not always agree, which makes reading this document even more interesting.

Boar exposure time, duration and frequency, proper boar: gilt or sow ratio, exposure methods, hormones, …

As the risk of HEV exposure appears to rise in the human population an opportunity for production and certification of HEV free meat products, especially pork, is emerging.

In June, the Spanish price will keep on rising. The heart of the matter is how much more it will increase. If it is not possible to pass on the rise in the price of pigs to pork, all the upward trend will have to be at the expense of the abattoirs’ margin.