Articles - Management

Despite the global dynamics of a growing sector, pig farming faces difficulties in attracting and retaining young talent.

The Chamber of Agriculture of Brittany suggests using cameras to analyze the behavior of our pigs and to correct the factors that limit their performance.

When losses and costs from poor health threaten the current and future farm profitability, perhaps a “clean slate” should be considered.

Reducing costs in pig feed formulation depends not on a single action, but on the strategic integration of multiple factors: precision in formulation, ingredient selection, use of technologies, and efficient management of the nutrition model and purchasing.

When we manage errors systematically, we stop punishing symptoms and start addressing the real causes.

In this installment, we will discover how heat stress affects the digestive tract of pigs.

The study confirms the negative impact of both chronic and acute heat stress on feed intake in lactating sows and validates nutritional and management strategies to mitigate it.

How does heat stress affect our pigs? This four-part question-and-answer series will give us an in-depth understanding of this key aspect of pig production.

Two models of exoskeletons were tested on farms to evaluate whether they improved working conditions during piglet vaccination.

We are sharing an example of a sow card used to record basic breeding sow data, which is essential on all farms regardless of their size.

Do we know how to communicate the main objective of correct data collection? What clues can make us suspect that the data are not being properly recorded?

This article describes some practices for improving environmental control and the costs involved in their implementation.

From their respective academic and on-farm positions, Josep Gasa and Josep Casanovas discuss a study on the performance and welfare of sows exposed to auditory environmental enrichment.

This is how to assemble an "emergency" ramp using the insulation panels left over from the construction of the nursery.

The global swine industry is dynamic and constantly advancing. One of these advancements is the significant increase in sow productivity. This is evidenced by the increase in the number of piglets born and, consequently, in the number of piglets weaned. This progress also poses new challenges, especially regarding the most important superfood on the farm: porcine colostrum. This leads us to ask if improving colostrum quality is possible through specific nutritional strategies.

To identify the keys to success in managing sows in breed and release systems, France's Chamber of Agriculture of the Brittany Region surveyed farmers who implemented this system. The results identified three strategies that producers use the week after weaning.

This farm has built a small chute to vaccinate an entire pen of piglets in record time.

Three different motivational drivers have been identified, each corresponding to a specific behavioral pattern: two-phase, sudden-forceful, and obsessive.

Why induce puberty? If I do choose to induce puberty, what do I need to do, and when?

We are launching a series of articles that will delve into a new practice that has already been implemented on several farms in Spain and is being adopted by others: 5-week batches.

The constant search for solutions to challenges in management, health, reproduction, nutrition, and feeding—and their interactions—should be a technical principle if we aim to maximize the genetic potential of our farms.

In this third installment, Antonio Palomo summarizes the papers presented on reproduction, nutrition, precision livestock farming, and other aspects of swine production.

This farmer made a movable metal barrier that leans against the wall when not in use so it doesn't get in the way.

The overall risk of a PRRS outbreak is 12 times higher during the first 15 days after pumping manure than the rest of the year.