Page 7 of articles about management in Swine news

In a survey from the Food Institute of Danish Technical University (DTU) there were salmonella in over ten percent of conventional indoor slaughter pigs, in seven percent of organic pigs, and in only five percent of outdoor pigs.

The area under organic agriculture has increased significantly over the last years and represents about 4.3% of the utilised agricultural area of the EU (in 2008), with particular high percentages in the Austria, Sweden, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Latvia.

The Dutch Minister for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Gerda Verburg, declared at the end of a recent government meeting that the use of antibiotics in livestock will have to be reduced by half in the next three years to reach the levels of 1999, and at least by 20% in 2011.

109 researchers from 14 countries will take part in this network funded by CYTED and intended for improving pigmeat production through innovative, sustainable production systems.

No great changes have been recorded in the number of reports on violations of animal welfare regulations at Finnish farms in recent years. However, the proportion of serious violations has increased.

Last week, Iowa State University (ISU) engineers prepared a news release on this subject highlighting the need for extreme caution when agitating and pumping manure in these deep pits under barns.

Scale increase in the agricultural sector is set to continue apace in the long term. In this context, technological innovation offers opportunities to meet rising social demands. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by Wageningen UR for the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV).

Affected animals will be managed using the same veterinary management and biosecurity practices employed for other swine influenza viruses. This includes limiting opportunities for virus to spread to susceptible animals. Canada’s slaughter system contains multiple inspection points to ensure that only healthy animals enter the food supply.

The European Commission has admitted proposals to reduce livestock journey times and stocking densities may lead to a “slight increase” in meat prices for consumers.