Bernie Peet

Reading Time: 3 minutes Effective pig handling for transport starts with understanding the pig’s herd responses and movement patterns, according to Nancy Lidster, an animal-handling specialist based in White Fox, Sask. This requires drivers recognize and respond appropriately to pigs’ physical cues, especially signs of changing fear or defensiveness, she told delegates at the Banff Pork Seminar, held January […] Read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes Edmonton chef Brad Smoliak is passionate about food and especially pork, but he says barriers need to overcome in order to increase consumption. “Pork has become the new fish,” Smoliak told attendees at the the recent Banff Pork Seminar. “It’s the food they like other people to cook for them because they are intimidated by […] Read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes A recent roadshow in Western Australia, organized by the Pork Co-operative Research Centre (CRC), based at the University of Adelaide, featured a presentation by Dr. Jeff Downing on the possibility of eliminating the weaning-to-mating interval by inducing estrus during the suckling period and breeding sows prior to weaning. While the concept is not new, the […] Read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes Coccidiosis in suckling piglets is a widespread problem in Canadian herds and causes scouring and reduced growth. The only effective treatment for this disease is Baycox, a five per cent suspension of toltrazuril. Although this drug was never approved, it was available to producers from 1992 to 1998 through Canada’s Emergency Drug Release program. Its […] Read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes Following several months of small to moderate profits over the summer, a dramatic fall in hog prices and soaring feed costs have once again put Canada’s pig producers in a perilous position. After three years of hemorrhaging cash, producers hoped a sustained period of profits would rebuild equity. Those hopes have been dashed on the […] Read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes This year’s cool, wet weather not only delayed harvest, but also produced higher than normal incidence of fusarium mould in grain. Producers are being warned that high levels of deoxynivalenol (DON), a vomitoxin, will lead to reduced feed intake and slower growth in nursery and finisher pigs. Researchers and nutritionists recommend grain samples be analyzed […] Read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s easy to waste money if you don’t understand how hog barn heating and ventilation systems work, or most common causes of energy wastage. “To be able to run the entire system at optimum performance without wasting energy, the operator has to know each component very well, in addition to understanding the related factors that […] Read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes Feeding sows ad lib during lactation results in higher feed intake, boosting piglet weaning weights and improving reproductive performance in the subsequent parity, says Dr. Malachy Young, a nutritionist with Gowans Feed Consulting. “Advances in litter size and changes in the sow’s genetics have created new challenges in feeding lactating sows, which generally have lower […] Read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes In 2017 Australian producers are due to phase out sow stalls for all but a maximum of six weeks of gestation. This change has been accepted by the industry, although there is concern about the costs. But in recent months, several events make it likely that the phase-out could be completed by as early as […] Read more