Published: September 07, 2007 11:55 am            

The Pork Professor: Leman Swine Conference a world-class discussion

Originally published in the September 7, 2007, print edition.

The 34th annual Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, which is open to everyone involved in the swine industry, will be held Sept. 15-18 at the RiverCentre in St. Paul. Swine leaders from around the world will gather to hear and discuss important current issues affecting the swine industry.

Preconference sessions that may be particularly appealing to swine producers include:

Managing gene transfer

This innovative workshop focuses on providing both theoretical and practical knowledge presented by recognized experts in this field. The use of artificial insemination to disseminate the genes of select terminal-line boars has become standard practice in swine production systems in North America. However, efficiency of AI use remains variable and biosecurity has become a problem, rather than an advantage, of using AI in place of natural mating.

Speakers will review the basic biology of efficient gamete transfer in swine and then critically review “best practices” and inherent problems with implementing AI in a commercial setting. Finally, the practicality of new gamete transfer technologies involving lower sperm numbers and the use of fixed-time AI will be discussed. Participants will leave with a comprehensive view of current benchmarks of good AI practice and insight into future developments in gene transfer technologies in swine.

Dealing with new realities of higher feed costs

This seminar will highlight the key areas of swine production where feeding management or nutrition has a key influence on profitability.

It will focus on practical feed manufacturing tools and how to implement programs to improve profitability through feed manufacturing. These will include particle size analysis, mixer efficiency testing and logistics of ingredient management and feed delivery. Additionally, the focus will review how feed manufacturing techniques can maximize the feeding value and improve the handling characteristics of bioenergy byproducts.

High-quality sources of lactose, such as spray-dried whey and permeates, are critical components of successful nursery feeding programs. In the past year, the cost of these products has risen about three times faster than the price of corn.

As weaning ages have increased in the United States, the need for more complex nursery diets has decreased. We will review lactose usage strategies and alteration of nursery feed budgets for increased weaning ages. Due to the critical importance of management at the barn level for transitioning pigs to dry diets, a review of practical suggestions for managing newly weaned pigs will be provided.

Due to the large amount of feed used in the finishing stage, finishing pig feed costs have been most affected by the increase in corn price. The relative importance of feed efficiency on overall profitability has increased because of higher feed prices. Due to the utilization of more byproduct ingredients and the diversion of fat sources for biofuel production, lower-energy diets will be used to lower feed costs in the future. Utilizing byproduct ingredients and setting dietary energy levels for optimum profitability and the impact of marginal feed costs on optimum market weight will be discussed.

Maximizing lactation feed intake is one of the key drivers to maximize pig weaning weight, minimize sow body weight loss and obtain excellent subsequent reproductive performance. The challenge is getting it done.

This session will present information on automated systems for delivering lactation feed to sows and will review some of the experiences using a unique ad libitum feeding system developed at Iowa Select.

Sept. 17-18 sessions will open with keynote presentations from leading researchers. On Sept. 17, Scott Dee will present his research on “Area Spread of PRRSV: End of Story?” and Jason Shaw will discuss “Design and Implementation of Effective Pay Performance Programs.” The Sept. 18 keynote presentations will be “The Science of Pig Production: Past, Present and Future” by Steve Dritz and “PCV2” by Joaquim Segales.

More information about the Leman Swine Conference can be found on the web at www.cvm.umn.edu/outreach/events/adl/home.html.

        

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