Managing the pig’s environment with the goal of heat removal is an increasing need, especially when pens are more crowded.

20 years ago we inseminated gilts when too small, then we inseminated them when too heavy, and now we are returning to an intermediate weight.

A relatively high proportion of young piglets in a farrowing unit of a herd with circulating swine influenza virus may be infected by SIV during the first weeks after birth revealing that not all piglets are protected by maternal antibodies.

This article proves that, at least "in vitro" order matters. In PRRSV/PCV2 mixed infections, the consequences are worse when PRRSV infection occurs before or concurrently to PCV2 infection, than when the sequence is reversed.

Encapsulation allows to reduce the dose per sow and a sequential release of sperm.

Any tentative clinical diagnosis then should be confirmed by detection of PRRSV (infectious virus, viral antigens and/or viral genomic material) in affected pigs using laboratory methods in conjunction with typical lesions.

Post-weaning colibacillosis and oedema disease are common global infection among farmed pigs – these strains of E coli appear to be "embedded" in most pig farms, so elimination is not a current option. Vaccination of sows or gilts with ETEC vaccines has no effect on post-weaning E. coli infections.

The strategy involves synchronizing the gilts so they come into heat at the same time, in order to properly manage the number of inseminations targeted for each lot.

Since a vast majority of commercial farms are endemically infected with M. hyopneumoniae, the control measures applied against PRRS should include measures against M. hyopneumoniae.

The loss associated with decreased ADWG was of 13.1 € and 7.5 €/pig at 21 weeks of age for pigs with high and medium serum PCV2 load under the scenario studied.

In areas with a high density of pigs, a large proportion of farms are endemically infected. In these situations, the group at the highest risk is the gilts.

The high seroprevalences found supports the feeling you get in the field that PCV2, PRRSV, and SIV are very widespread viruses in our farms.

Thanks to the combination of a decrease in the number of stillborn and an almost 30% decrease of preweaning mortality (down to 10.2%), the ultimate goal is finally achieved: to wean an additional piglet per sow.

The sharp increase in demand for meat by the population expected in the world in the coming years, means that there is an active search for alternatives, both from a social and an environmental point of view.

We think that administrations must take urgent actions regarding the crisis in the pig sector.

The cost of PRRS ranges from €17 to €185/sow/year in the three studies presented.

USA breeding herd expansion seems inevitable.

The nutrient requirements of the sow change during gestation and the feed provision must meet this demand; hence the need for phase feeding.

As you probably know, the name pig333 web comes from the length of the sow's gestation, which is "3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days". This paper proposes the necessity to review the length of gestation on our farm.

We are called because of sudden deaths in several integrated fattening farms.

A simple system that uses plastic and adhesive tape to prevent the entry of unfiltered air into a barn can also serve as a safe method to prevent inappropriate non-biosecure personnel movement.

In our sector we know well that if Germany sneezes the whole of Europe catches a cold. Last Wednesday the prices dropped by €0.04 in Germany…

As the Influenza A virus ecology has become more complex due to viral reassortment and mutation, so have the sample types and diagnostic tests available for detecting or diagnosing influenza infections in swine.

Wrap the ultrasound scanner in cling film to improve the biosecurity measures

From 2000 to 2007 a PRRSv eradication plan was developed successfully in Chile. in October 2013 the spread of a new PRRS virus to several important Chilean pig companies was confirmed.

This article will focus on clinical signs of some E coli infections: neonatal colibacillosis, post-weaning colibacillosis diarrhoea and oedema disease.

Distinct PCV2 variants are circulating in commercial pig farms. How the vaccine induced immunity may affect PCV2 evolution?

Feeding growing-finishing pigs with daily tailored diets using precision feeding techniques is an effective approach to reduce nutrient excretion, without compromising pig performance or carcass composition

The installation of physical barriers at strategic personnel entry points help to define distinct biosecurity areas. This method is commonly used in farms that lack a clear separation between areas with different biosecurity levels.

The ASF situation in Poland (19 cases and 2 outbreaks in 4 municipalities) seems to be very different from the countries east from Poland: it can be concluded that among wild boar in 4 municipalities the course of the disease is endemic rather than epidemic.

Just like the emergent molten lava from Mount Kilauea, so an historical metric of the US hog industry, having lay dormant for many years, is creeping ever so slowly over its profit destroying "trigger" level. That metric is the hog corn ratio.

Europe as a whole has a flat depressive profile with the prices in the minimum levels of the last three years.

A lot of work needs to be done for controlling HP-PRRS completely. The implementation of proper regional control and eradication programs against PRRS is necessary in China and the Asian countries. Meanwhile, the increasing diversity of the PRRSV should be taken into consideration for developing more effective and safe vaccines.

In May 2013 a sow farm in Indiana (USA) broke with PEDv. In mid March 2014, scour were observed in the onsite nursery and finisher. In the subsequent week, PEDv was diagnosed of the same strain (99.9 % homology) and the virus moved into the farrowing house.

The main aspect that cannot be forgotten is the complete approach necessary to evaluate all possibilities. In that sense, samples have to be collected and tested to all possible agents that might cause diarrhea.

The goal is to know the production stage of gestating sows in a quick and visual way.

The provision of trace minerals at the correct level and in their organic form is essential for the modern hyper-prolific sow: they have been shown to increase litter size, the quality of the piglet at birth and weaning and weaning weight and to reduce sow lameness and premature culling.

The benefit on antibiotic use is particularly clear when herds are multicontaminated by pathogenic virus and bacteria, allowing also to maintain animal welfare and operational productivity, but a good immunity against PCV2 is effective also in high health status herds.

The use of plastic and gravel to prevent the growth of vegetation around the perimeter of the barn. This is a simple strategy that will also decrease the chances for rodents to enter the facilities and it will help improve external barn biosecurity.

The ideal sample for diagnostic of neonatal enteric pathogens is the submission of live piglets.

All the ingredients required for a pig industry expansion: Oxygen (PEDv becoming manageable) + fuel (high profits and lower feed ingredient prices ahead) + a spark (intentions to farrow 3-4 % more sows).

All the European markets lower the prices very quickly to position their meat as best as possible with respect to its rivals. The search for alternative markets is essential…

The most productive farms are not always the best. We must also bear in mind the weaned piglet's weight and the sow's feed intake.

The factor that is completely ignored is that newly weaned piglets develop edema; they retain water in their tissues above what is normal and this explains the abnormal gain of the piglet in the first days after weaning.

Finding an occasional pig with PCVAD within a large population is not unexpected since vaccination compliance is rarely 100%. How does one assess impact of PCVAD in a vaccinated population?

Estimated losses associated with M. hyopneumoniae alone and M. hyopneumoniae in combination with PRRSV were among the four health challenges with the highest estimated average loss for all pigs in the study population.

Well intentioned treatment of piglets at birth may adversely affect the normal early nasopharyngeal or tonsil colonisation making pigs vulnerable to respiratory infections due to potential pathogens present within the herd.

Using the year the sows enter in production for the sow's identification number.

A comprehensive picture of viral variation at the beginning of control and elimination projects is critical for effective monitoring of progress and effectiveness of implementation procedures, and for identification of new virus introductions to farms and to the region.

These tests have several practical applications, as the detection of boars that are linked to the appearance of hernias or the susceptibility towards certain enteric diseases or even syndromes like the PFTS.

September will be a bear market month. We still have to see the pace of the drops.

The trick consists in selecting the appropriate foster sows and marking them on the back with the maximum number of pigs that they can take care of.

After checking that our farm loses days in the servicing of the gilts, the detection of empty sows housed in yards and the culling (sending of the sows to the abattoir), we propose a package of measures…

It' is not as simple as the larger pigs have better survivability...

The nutritional expected benefit of these products is very high but every precaution must be taken, especially to prevent introduction of PED and spreading of ASF.

On this farm, the oral drug is introduced in a 1-litre bottle hanged upside-down (like a drip) from the cart used for tending to the piglets.

It is a test that allows the verification of the carrying out and/or the quality of the vaccination in cases such as the entrance of piglets for their fattening.

In the future, the EU will have to define its swine salmonellosis reduction objectives for each country depending on their starting point.

During July Germany has made a strong challenge that is difficult to process for the whole of Europe.

There are different systems for carrying out this water delivery. Probably, the most common one is with a hose, but sometimes, the sows' troughs are not facing the corridor but the wall.