Articles

Reducing sow mortality takes time, and it is therefore necessary that the owner or manager is committed and leads the project. Throughout the process, you will need to draw a line and start doing things differently to achieve significant results.

Precision electronic feeding has become one of the key technologies for improving efficiency and sustainability on farms.

Inside the genome of the African swine fever virus: a giant that is difficult to decipher. CEREP uses genomics to study the virus's circulation in Italy and beyond.

Tonsil scrubbing using sponge catheters demonstrates a greater capacity for virus detection compared to sera from infected sows.

We answer frequently asked questions from the public regarding the recent measures implemented to control the outbreak of African swine fever detected in wild boars in Barcelona, ​​Spain.

The month was shaped by a seasonally unusual price decline and left the sector wavering between routine daily business and sudden uncertainty.

We are in a critical market situation throughout the EU. It does not look like things will change until February next year.

In terms of feed presentation, we look for ingredients that provide not only nutrients but also functionality, with the aim of increasing gastric retention time to facilitate protein hydrolysis, greater contact between food and enzymes, and reducing fermentation of undigested protein in the intestine.

Almost four years after the first case of African swine fever was detected in Italy, the epidemic continues to pose a complex challenge for the country's health and wildlife management. Since January 2022, the virus has appeared in four distinct geographical areas. These were independent introductions of certain anthropogenic origin, occurring at different times and environmental contexts.

Should we review the iron requirements of piglets?

Fats and oils are among the most energy-dense and expensive components in pig diets, yet their digestion and utilization remain complex and often under-optimized.

Considering the spread of African swine fever (ASF) globally in recent years, are we prepared for this increased risk?

There is plenty of evidence that the weight and backfat level of the gilt at first mating is strongly related to her productive life and longevity.

The price has fallen so much that it's probably close to its yearly low.

Feed presentation is a complex issue, as it can influence both feed mill performance and animal performance. This article analyzes the main factors related to the presentation of pelleted feed that affect productive performance and welfare during the first days after weaning.

The livestock farms associated with the project evaluate and verify the improvement measures proposed in the plans based on the ClassyFarm self-assessment questionnaires.

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

How is vitamin quantity expressed? How are vitamin requirements and safety margins estimated in pigs? Can the stability of vitamin activity be compromised?

Increased productivity has not come without consequences. Sows face greater physiological demands, which translates into a higher metabolic load, increased nutritional requirements, and, in many cases, increased mortality on farms. This phenomenon is of particular concern in Spain.

Assessing lung lesions at slaughter is useful for monitoring their evolution over time, and thus estimating the effectiveness of the measures implemented to control these diseases.

September brought falling pig prices, declining piglet prices, and noticeably more cautious demand.

The choice of cut-off point influences sensitivity, specificity, and the occurrence of false positives or negatives. We explain why the timing of collection and the purpose of the test make a difference in interpreting the results.

Boosting key performance indicators in swine production requires addressing viral pathogens, which remain a major challenge for swine health, performance, and farm profitability. Emerging strains, such as H1N2#E and devastating diseases like ASF, highlight the urgency for innovative control strategies. C12 monoglycerides represent a promising approach to enhance pigs’ immune defenses and mitigate viral impact.

High sensitivity, specificity, and an affordable cost make ELISA an indispensable tool in laboratory routines. This infographic explains the mechanisms, components, and main variations of this assay in a visual and objective way.

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

With the main genetic lines' rapid improvement in terms of prolificacy, feed conversion ratio, and other production parameters, the reference requirements for vitamins and minerals have become outdated.

Looking inside our pigs to learn more about their future.

Oral vaccination in pigs, previously limited to enteric pathogens, is emerging as an innovative strategy against respiratory diseases. By building on the potential of the Common Mucosal Immune System (CMIS), new formulations can trigger immune responses in distant mucosal sites starting from the gut.

August brought a welcome breather to the German pig market.

A stew of grains with an abundance of ingredients, but seasoned with risks that could sour the overall dish.

In healthy animals, PCV2 stays under the radar, causing little harm. But with coinfections that activate the immune system, the virus replicates more and becomes more damaging.

Unusual drop in July and August of more than 17 cents, and it is expected to continue to fall.

After weaning, endogenous hydrochloric acid production is still limited, which raises stomach pH and compromises pepsin activity, affecting protein digestibility and favoring pathogen growth.

This second article from the WelfarePIGnet project describes practices for improving pig access to feed and drinking water, including the costs of implementing them.

The opportunities are real, but several challenges are holding the industry back.

How does heat stress affect animal growth and meat quality?

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

Pigs are particularly vulnerable to heat stress due to their limited ability to dissipate body heat and genetic selection for higher productivity, which has reduced their heat tolerance. Improved technical results increase heat production, and today's lines produce 30% more heat than those in the 1980s.

Guillem Burset explains the reasons for the exceptional drop in pig prices in Spain during July.

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

Genetic improvement is key in livestock production, playing an essential role in achieving a modern, efficient, and sustainable pig production model.

Chronic inflammation is one of the main challenges in modern pig production, affecting intestinal health, productive performance, and feed efficiency. In light of increasing pressure to reduce antibiotic use, functional nutrition emerges as a key tool.

In the first quarter of 2025, European pig trade continued to be marked by an increase in Spanish imports of piglets and finishing pigs.

Implementing precision feeding through the use of electronic feeders improves sow and piglet performance while providing economic, environmental, and animal welfare benefits.

Professor Nauwynck has been researching PCV2 virus since the emergence of PCV2-associated diseases. PCV2 caused a serious crisis in global swine health that was ultimately addressed through the development and mass deployment of effective PCV2 vaccines. He is an excellent connoisseur of this small virus that continues to surprise us.

Digestive diseases in pigs that were previously addressed individually, targeting a single pathogen, now form a digestive disease complex that we must confront from various angles.

Hans Nauwynck defines himself as a veterinary virologist, a person who works in a laboratory setting, doing precise work, like a surgeon, aiming to gain a better understanding of how animal viruses interact with their target cells. But it is much more. His deep understanding of the biological behavior of viruses allows him to fluently explain many of the “whys” that are so important for a better understading of the pathogenesis of viral diseases and the development of effective control strategies.

Communication in the swine industry today faces a double challenge. On the one hand, there is a real need to transparently show the sector's work to an increasingly distrustful consumer, who is either uninformed or saturated with emotional messages. On the other hand, we must do so in a changing digital environment, which rewards the authentic, the emotional, and the useful.

This is how one of the Tosh Pork farms in the United States works, combining technology, production efficiency, and social commitment. In this first article, we present the structure, work culture, and overview of U.S. swine production.

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.

Price expectations vary by continent.

On December 6, 2024, the final trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur was signed. This agreement is considered historic due to its magnitude, creating a goods and services market of approximately 800 million consumers and representing a quarter of the global GDP.

Who talks about inflammation? We all might mention it when we exercise too much – aching joints, stiffness – or is it just we are all getting older…? But we do not really talk about inflammation much. And certainly, when we think about our livestock, we do not really mention it at all. Well…we should.

PRRS control measures also reduce the opportunities for different wild-type viruses to recombine and create more aggressive strains.

In this commentary, we review various issues affecting the swine market: the blackout in Spain, corporate concentration, the evolution of carcass weights, Trump's policy....

Weaning is one of the most difficult periods in a pig’s production cycle. A deeper understanding of the challenges piglets face, as well as the short- and long-term consequences of low feed intake, can help nutritionists formulate their diets to better support growth and improve health.

The UK ships around 7,000 tonnes of pig meat to the US annually, making it the fourth largest destination for UK product. The vast majority of this is made up of loins, fore-ends and bellies.

Fewer losses, lower medication costs, and a better feed conversion ratio result in a 100% ROI on this depopulation-repopulation project.

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

The market is hyper-reactive, reacting to every piece of news in one direction or another. Let's try to focus on it.

The past five years have been a turbulent period for the UK pork industry, shaped by the intersecting challenges of Brexit, COVID-19 and global economic and geopolitical pressures.

Customs tariffs have major consequences and affect pig farms worldwide.

Low-dose acidification of liquid manure is a novel approach that could be a flexible and cost-effective technology for climate action.

Guillem Burset analyzes the situation in the Spanish market and the possible effects of Trump's tariff policy on pork trade.

The use of dietary fiber in sow nutrition is rapidly evolving and is now considered a functional component in nutrition due to its effects on gut functionality, microbiota balance, and the modulation of digestion and metabolism.

The first three years of the Danish PRRS reduction strategy have shown that it is possible to control and reduce the prevalence of PRRS in Danish pig production.

In the first two months, the outbreak caused more than 600 abortions and more than 150 sow deaths, destroying the weekly batch structure.

The pig price in Spain is well above the rest of the European countries. The reality is that this price is only possible at the expense of negative margins in the slaughterhouses.

The pig industry in Africa holds great potential as a key driver for food security, income generation, and rural development. However, it faces several challenges that hinder its growth and sustainability.

The last of the three summaries by Antonio Palomo dedicated to the 2024 edition of the Allen D. Leman Conference focuses on health: biosecurity and viral and bacterial diseases.

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?

For pigs to grow and be productive, their nutrition must provide the intake of energy and nutrients necessary for maintenance and production. The most important nutrients are proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins. Ingested and recycled proteins will be used for tissue growth and repair, enzymatic and hormonal functions, transport of substances, immune responses, water and electrolyte balance, muscle contraction, cell signaling, and pH maintenance.

During a recent visit to a pig farm in Sweden, 333 had the opportunity to learn first-hand about the Moving Floor system, an innovative technology for improving pig welfare and reducing emissions.

Of the pillars of commercial pig production, nutritional management, is based on its impact on the total final production cost. In Brazil, it represented 73.16% of the total production cost in 2024 on average, according to data from CIAS (2024, EMBRAPA). In this way, constantly updating the energy and nutrient requirements needed to optimize production outcomes is a focus of attention and a goal of ongoing scientific research.