Animal Well-being
Quantifying a Technique Using Carbon Monoxide for the Depopulation of Swine
January 1, 2022By Doug Groth
The project demonstrated the euthanasia of mature sows and feeder pigs using carbon monoxide (CO) produced by a 1970 gas grain truck. The gas engine system, with no modifications, had been previously used to euthanize weaned pigs. This project further improved the method by cooling and filtering particulates out of the exhaust gas prior to contact with the pigs.
Swine Health
Modeling Indoor Environment and Supplemental Heat Requirements During Ventilation Shutdown and Heat Inactivation of Viruses
December 21, 2021By Brett Ramirez
This project describes a flexible model developed to simulate VSD+ using supplemental heat in swine facilities.
Human Nutrition
Pork Consumption and Its Relationship to Human Nutrition and Health: A Scoping Review
December 15, 2021By Laura Paige Penkert
Pork is a frequently consumed red meat that provides substantial amounts of energy, macronutrients, and micronutrients to the diet. Its role in human nutrition and health is controversial, and a...
Environment - Environmental Footprint
Production Analysis Summary for U.S. Pork Industry: 2017-2020
December 8, 2021
The goal of this production analysis is to aid the pork industry in improving efficiency. This is done through an analysis of anonymous production data using a standardized set of business logic and...
Animal Well-being
Determining the efficacy and safety of differing caliber/ammunition combinations for the humane euthanization and subsequent mass depopulation of market weight pigs.
November 24, 2021By Chad A. Stahl|Ph.D.
The global pandemic attributable to the COVID-19 virus has severely disrupted the U.S. pork supply chain over the past few months as many packer/processors have closed and(or) restricted their scope...
Animal Well-being
Field evaluation of humane pig euthanasia using a dump trailer as a CO2 chamber
November 24, 2021By Marisa Rotolo
In the summer of 2018, African swine fever virus was detected in China, highlighting the need renewed preparation efforts in the United States against foreign animal diseases. Since 2018, many...
Swine Health - General Disease
Evaluating the effect of natural planned exposure on gilt immunity and passive immunity in their piglets via genotype specific rotavirus A and C ELISA
November 24, 2021By Dr. Douglas Marthaler Ph.D.
Historically in the United States, RVA infections were considered the more prevalent. However, recent studies indicate RVA and RVC infections are more common in piglets <21 days of age. Some RVA...
Swine Health - PRRS
Rapid detection of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus using real-time MinION nanopore sequencing
November 24, 2021By Dr. Diego Diel Ph.D.
PRRSV is one of the most important pathogens affecting swine worldwide. The main characteristic that makes PRRSV a difficult pathogen to control is the genetic diversity of the virus and the frequent...
Animal Well-being
Depopulation methods in swine: what has been done and what are the knowledge gaps
November 24, 2021By Andrew Bowman
Mass depopulation refers to the need of ending the life of large numbers of animals due to emergencies. This need could arise, for example, when we face disease epidemics (especially for pathogens...
Swine Health - Foreign Animal Disease
Development of ASFV-specific monoclonal antibodies and mAb-based blocking ELISA
November 24, 2021By Ying Fang
Historically, the greatest threats to the US swine production are from foreign animal diseases, such as African swine fever (ASF). ASF virus (ASFV) infection can have a deleterious effect on swine...
Swine Health - Foreign Animal Disease
African swine fever surveillance using oral fluids for rapid detection and disease control
November 24, 2021By Aruna Ambagala
The main objective of this project was to evaluate the feasibility of utilizing swine oral fluids as a reliable aggregate sample type for early detection of African swine fever (ASF). At present, the...
Swine Health - Foreign Animal Disease
Evaluating the prevalence and distribution of African swine fever virus during feed manufacture, as well as feed mill decontamination measures
November 24, 2021By Dr. Cassandra Jones
The feed supply chain can be a significant risk of pathogen transfer. While historically, farms have evolved to have biosecurity limiting farm-to-farm interaction, there continues to be gaps in swine...