Articles - Management

In this article we will talk about how to start a farm from a human resources point of view: how and where to look for and organize workers.

In the fourth article of our series, we review the opinions from our group of global swine health experts on the potential relationship, if any, between the rise in nursery mortality that some countries have observed over the last few years and antibiotic reduction strategies.

The movement of live animals out of the farm can compromise farm biosecurity. A meticulously designed transfer facility and safe load out protocols are key to prevent the risk of cross contamination.

The design of this DIY chute allows sows' claws to be trimmed quickly and comfortably.

Put more piglets on than teats? When to start fostering? Am I cross fostering piglets too many times?

In this series of articles about internal biosecurity we will review McRebel and other strategies that we perform to control the movement of pathogens within the farm as we complete our daily work

This second article analyzes data for the breedings done on weekday holidays in Spain in 2018, although the results can be extrapolated changing the dates for those holidays celebrated in each country.

In the best case, farrowing within a batch usually happens over the course of three days, and in the worst case can last longer than a week, creating different lactation lengths...

Leaving tools on top of pen dividers is not always the best option...

This article compares the results of the inseminations done one week before the holiday, on the holiday, and one day after the holiday.

I had many great examples where the results of a farm were really the product of one person pushing for excellence. Best people will implement the science we taught them, nonetheless, their day to day work and observations will bring it to a higher level.

We propose a 2.5-week batch management system with weaning on several consecutive days.

What are the most important points to include when auditing the cleaning and disinfection of a truck that has transported pigs? In this article we focus on visual inspection.

Suicide in farmers is more than six times as high compared to all other workers. But stressful conditions do not have to end in suicide.

When hiring people, attitude is more important than experience. The desire to improve and learn is key.

A new, not yet tested material could help mitigate tail biting in growing and finishing pigs.

Not all progress is made through "smart farming." Here's a simple solution that can greatly improve biosecurity between batches of weaned piglets, preventing recirculation of disease.

Despite being a well-known technique, mistakes are still made with its application on farms, and questions are raised that we will try to answer.

Does feeding time affect reproductive performance?

Gilts have more returns to estrus... but why?

An easily performed vehicle traffic analysis can dramatically minimize the risk of cross contamination into your swine facility decreasing potential disease challenges.

Do gilts with greater backfat thickness produce more milk?

The easy and realistic solution is to produce entire boars or to immunocastrate. However, there are countries who are leaning more toward anesthesia.

The European regulations state that before docking tails other measures that prevent tail-biting must be implemented, and therefore a thorough risk analysis must be carried out on each farm.