View Past Feed Efficiency Webinars

Posted in: Press Releases by katrina on April 30, 2012 | No Comments

By clicking on the appropriate link below you will be directed to the Farm Leadership Council (FLC) website where you will be able to view the past presentation.  If you have not previously registered with FLC please log in as a guest. 

Once you have logged into the site you can view the recorded webinar by highlighting the appropriate link in the text box labelled links (top left of web page) and clicking “browse to”.

March 5, 2012 – Dr. Candido Pomar of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada “The Future of Precision Livestock Farming”  http://wflc.adobeconnect.com/pscmar5/

March 27, 2012 – Dr. Bob Goodband of Kansas State University “Feeding and Barn Management Factors that Influence Whole Herd Feed Efficiency”  http://wflc.adobeconnect.com/pscmar27/

April 10, 2012 – Dr. Aaron Gains of The Maschhoffs ”Herd Management Factors that Influence Whole Herd Feed Efficiency”  http://wflc.adobeconnect.com/pscapr10/

April 24, 2012 – Dr. Tom Scott, University of Saskatchewan “New Processing Technology that May Influence Feed Efficiency” http://wflc.adobeconnect.com/pscapr24/

May 8, 2012 – Dr. Steve Dritz, Kansas State University ”Health Effect on Feed Efficiency” http://wflc.adobeconnect.com/pscmay8/

NEXT WEBINAR “Fueling the Immune Response: What is the Cost?” featuring Dr. Rod Johnson, University of Illinois

Posted in: Press Releases by katrina on April 24, 2012 | No Comments

 The next speaker in the Prairie Swine Centre / Farm Leadership council webinar series is Dr. Rod Johnson from the University of Illinois who will be speaking with respect to the cost of fueling the immune response.  This webinar is the 6th in a series of 8. 

Details will be posted at a later date.

Upcoming Prairie Swine Centre/Farm Leadership Council Feed Efficiency Webinars

Posted in: Press Releases by katrina on April 23, 2012 | No Comments

With diets costing $50 to $60 per tonne more than budget all farms are looking for feed cost relief. Grain purchasing strategies are an essential part of controlling the total cost of production. With higher feed costs there has been a greater emphasis put on feed efficiency.

Prairie Swine Centre will be hosting a series of eight one-hour interactive webinars. Starting March 5 and ending in June 2012.

Focus on Feed Efficiency webinars are accessible with any internet connection and will include presentations from Research Scientists and pork producers who are making a difference in improving on-farm feed efficiency.

A variey of topics will be introduced to help producers use feed efficiency including the effect of feed processing, herd management effects on feed efficiency, amino acid nutrition, understanding dietary energy concentrations and new feed processing technologies.

Advantages of Attending the Webinars

In order to be competitive in the pork industry producers must know their cost of production. Feed costs represent approximately 60 to 70% of the total cost of production, and therefore represent the greatest opportunity to reduce costs.

During the course of this webinar series Research Scientists and pork producers will present information on improving feed efficiency in swine. By attending the live webinar events pork producers and industry personnel may not only ask the speaker specific questions but receive the answer right away, directly from the expert.

Schedule of Times and Speakers

May 22, 2012 – 10:30 am CST, Dr. Rod Johnson, University of Illinois “Fueling the Immune Response: What is the Cost?”

June 5, 2012 – 10:30 am CST, Dr. Denise Beaulieu, Prairie Swine Centre “Emerging Technologies with Potential to Influence Feed Efficiency”

June 19, 2012 – 10:30 am CST, Dr. John Patience, Iowa State University “Dietary Energy Concentration and Feed Efficiency Targets: What are the Right Questions, and Do We Have the Answers?”

2012 Banff Pork Seminar Special Report Available

Posted in: Press Releases by katrina on February 1, 2012 | No Comments

This year the Banff Pork Seminar was attended by 660 participants and featured speakers and discussions that covered many leading topics and issues for today’s pork industry. 

A broad variety of stories, reports and photos from the 2012 BPS are available in an Inside BPS Special Report. Visit the Report page online: http://www.meristem.com/meeting/bps_2012-00.htm. It includes these stories and more:

• Seven key ‘risk drivers’ pork players should watch
• Pork industry economic outlook cautiously optimistic
• Canadian swine industry updating codes of practice
• Technology, ‘fighting the fringe’ key to pork industry progress
• Livestock strategies rise as intervention for Gates Foundation
• Innovators celebrated at Banff Pork Seminar with Aherne awards
• Danish company gives inside look at European animal welfare management
• ‘Activist thinking’ key as pork industry tackles global challenges

The Inside BPS Special Report was supported by the Banff Pork Seminar to provide a timely, straight-from-the-Seminar-floor capturing of the event information for participants, and also to provide stories and photos for use by media. Note, these materials are available for use and reprint by industry organizations and media, with credit to Banff Pork Seminar.

The Banff Pork Seminar Advisory Committee would like to thank everyone for making the 2012 Banff Pork Seminar a successful event.

2012 BANFF PORK SEMINAR Advisory Committee

Phone: (780) 492-3651     FAX: (780) 492-5771

Email:  info@banffpork.ca
www.banffpork.ca

BANFF PORK SEMINAR 2013

January 15-18, 2013 at the Banff Centre for Conferences, Banff, AB, Canada

2012 Banff Special Issue of the Western Hog Journal Now Available

Posted in: Press Releases by katrina on January 16, 2012 | No Comments

The Western Hog Journal is the leading source of technical and business information for pig producers and the pork industry in Western Canada. Published five times per year, it has four regular issues and a “Banff Special Issue” which contains summaries of presentations given at the Banff. Pork Seminar, one of North America’s premier conferences.

WHJ focuses on providing practical information and advice aimed at improving the efficiency of pig producers, drawing on the expertise of researchers, advisers and veterinarians, with contributors from North America, Europe and Australia.

To view the latest Western Hog Journal click on the link below!

http://www.prairieswine.com/western-hog-journal/

Technology Transfer Manager Joins Prairie Swine Centre

Posted in: Press Releases by katrina on November 10, 2011 | No Comments

Lee Whittington, President of Prairie Swine Centre, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Kenneth Engele to the management team.  Meeting the needs of pork producers, service sectors, and industry associations through the delivery of a timely and effective Technology Transfer program has been a crucial part of Prairie Swine Centre’s success.  “It’s great to welcome someone with Ken’s background”, notes Lee Whittington, President/CEO – Prairie Swine Centre, “He has excellent understanding of what makes the pork industry tick, and how Prairie Swine Centre can meet the needs of Canadian producers.”

Ken brings more than 14 years of swine industry experience, both on the commercial level, in addition to developing expertise in the areas of assessing the economic impact of hog marketing and research in the swine industry.  At Prairie Swine Centre his work will focus on delivering an effective and timely communication with pork producers, and those organizations that service the pork industry.  Ken will also be responsible for managing the Technology Transfer component of the Canadian Swine and Research Development Cluster.

 The CSRDC consists of 14 research projects acrossCanadadesigned to reduce the cost of production, focus on product differentiation, Ken will be responsible for working with researchers funded by the program to ensure timely, accurate delivery of results from the research to the industry.

As a national Technology Transfer program, Mr. Engele will be seeking to enhance cooperation between the many industry, extension, and government agencies that regularly interact with pork producers

Funding for the position was provided, in part from the Canadian Swine Research and Development Cluster (CSRDC) established within the Growing Canadian Agri-Innovation Program – Canadian Agri-Science Cluster initiatives of Agriculture andAgri-FoodCanada.  The objectives of CSRDC are to facilitate research, technology transfer, and commercialization initiatives designed to enhance the competitiveness and differentiation of the pork industry.

“The pork industry is a dynamic industry that is always on the edge of adopting new technologies to increase efficiencies and sustainability”, notes Mr. Engele, “I look forward to meeting and working with producers and the industry to drive the pork industry forward in the future.”

Prairie Swine Centre Inc., located near Saskatoon, is a non-profit research corporation affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan, and is recognized globally for its contributions to practical, applied science in pork production in the disciplines of nutrition, engineering and applied animal behaviour.

Sign-Up for FREE Publications from Prairie Swine

Posted in: Press Releases by katrina on October 20, 2011 | No Comments

Signing up to receive Prairie Swine Centre publications is now simple!!!

Just go to http://www.prairieswine.com/signup/ and fill out the sign-up sheet.  You will then start receiving the Centred on Swine magazine and/or Prairie Swine Centre’s bi-weekly electronic newsletter for FREE.

By signing up for current Prairie Swine Centre publications you will receive the latest information on the behaviour and nutrition of swine as well as advancements in swine barn engineering.

The mandate of the Prairie Swine Centre is to produce and distribute knowledge derived through original research, scientific review and economic analysis.  This is reflected in all of Prairie Swine Centre’s publications.

“Friends of the Centre” Campaign

Posted in: Press Releases by katrina on September 8, 2011 | No Comments

Objective

To allow a broader group of pork industry individuals and corporations to lend their support to the Prairie Swine Centre.

Motivation

For the past several months and into the near-term most pork producers including the Prairie Swine Centre have faced significant financial challenges.

Concept

“Friends of the Centre”

is way for for pork producers, suppliers, packers, processors and others to show their support. Benefits from having a dedicated swine research facility flows to all parts of the value chain. As a friend of the Centre you will ensure Prairie Swine Centre remains a viable part of the pork industry in the future.

Benefits to our Friends

• The opportunity to play a visible and meaninful role in the continuation of the unique industry-orientated research and technology transfer programs offered by Prairie Swine Centre.
• Friends receive advanced notice of seminars, publications and special events sponsored by the Centre.
• Friends will have their business recognized as “Friends of the Centre” on the PSC Website.
• Friends will also be provided with exclusive opportunities to provide advertorial materials for insertion in newsletters, Centred on Swine publications and the Annual Research Reports.
• Friends will also benefit by knowing that they made a difference when it really mattered.

Benefits to Prairie Swine Centre

• The Centre gains a voluntary source of funds to partially fill the gap in the business plan created by poor pig prices and the declining check-off funds available for pork associations to allocate to research.
• The Centre gains a group of motivated and interested champions that see value in maintaining a strong industry orientated research program.
• The sharing of costs incurred to generate knowledge is spread over a greater portion of the industry and better reflects the allocation of benefits to multiple members of the pork value chain. This way the number of champions that take ownership for the Centre as well as the knowledge it develops, increases.

To provide your support to the Centre please consider the following voluntary contributions to the “Friends of the Centre” Campaign

$200 individual farm membership
$1500 regional suppliers
$2500 national/international suppliers

Cheques can be made payable to:
Prairie Swine Centre
Box 21057, 2105 8th Street East
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7H 5N9 CANADA
A receipt can be provided upon request.

2011 Annual Research Report Released

Posted in: Press Releases by admin on July 12, 2011 | No Comments

July 12, 2011

Meeting the needs of the commercial pork value chain with new information that — reduces the cost of production, improves product quality, speaks to worker health and safety, lowers emissions and environmental impact, and addresses practical behaviour and welfare questions – the 2010 edition of the Annual Research Report provides insight into a wide range of industry challenges and opportunities.

At 60 pages, this edition includes 14 scientific articles, plus updates on activity in our pig production unit and technology transfer activities for the calendar year 2010.

http://www.prairieswine.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/AR-2010.pdf

Some of the highlights from this year’s edition include:

• Energy savings of 39-52% using alternative heating/ventilation systems;
• Pigs housed in large group auto-sort systems modify their behaviour;
• Using field peas at up to 60% did not cause any reduction in feed intake;
• Feeding programs for sows can affect how offspring respond to immune challenges presented at weaning;
• Long term feeding of sows with varied dietary n-6 and n-3 fatty acids can affect reproductive performance;
• Not all pig transportation compartments provide the same environment, and can affect pig stress levels and meat quality;

Prairie Swine Centre Inc., located near Saskatoon, is a non-profit research corporation affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan, and is recognized globally for its contributions to practical, applied science in pork production in the disciplines of nutrition, engineering and applied animal behaviour.

The Pig as an Animal Model for Health Research

Posted in: Press Releases by admin on April 27, 2011 | No Comments

Two interactive discussions were held on October 19, 2010 at the University of Saskatchewan in order to bring health researchers together to discuss opportunities for using pigs in research projects.  For more information click here!

For information on The Pig as a Model, New Initiatives Grant Awards click here!

The application date to apply for Award #1 has passed

To apply for Award #2 click here!

Remember when submitting the application for awards convert document to PDF and submit to katie.carr@usask.ca prior to 16:30 on the deadline day.

The following is a list of references for articles (review, original research) relating to the use of the pig as an animal model.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list but will provide some examples of research areas utilizing the pig as an animal model. The listed areas include: general information, obesity/metabolic syndrome/diabetes, cardiovascular, pharmacology/toxicology, neuroscience, skin/wound healing and dental.

Feel free to recommend other useful articles to katie.carr@usask.ca.

General : swine in biomedical research

1. Schook L, et al. 2005 Swine in biomedical research: creating the building blocks of animal models. Anim Biotch 16:183-90.
2. Lunney JK. 2007. Advances in swine biomedical model genomics. Int J Biol Sci. 3:178-84.
3. Humphrey SJ, et al. 2007. A highly integrated map of the pig genome. Genome Biol. 8:R139.1-R139.11
4. Swindle MM, Smith AC. 2007. Swine in biomedical research. In Conn PM, ed. Sourcebook of Models for Biomedical Research. Humana Press Inc, Totowa, NJ. Pp: 233-9.
5. Vodička P, et al. 2005. The miniature pig as an animal model in biomedical research. Ann New York Acad Sci. 1049:161-71

Obesity/metabolic syndrome/diabetes

1. Arner P. 2005. Resistin: yet another adipokine tells us that men are not mice. Diabetologica. 48:2203-5.
2. Spurlock ME, Gabler NK. 2008. The development of porcine models of obesity and the metabolic syndrome. J Nutr. 138:397-402.
3. Litten-Brown JC, et al. 2010. Porcine models for the metabolic syndrome, digestive and bone disorders: a general overview. Animal. 4:899-920.
4. Brambilla G, Cantafora A. 2004. Metabolic and cardiovascular disorders in highly inbred lines for intensive pig farming: how animal welfare evaluation could improve the basic knowledge of human obesity. Ann 1^st Super Sanitá. 40:241-4.
5. Sébert SP, et al. 2005. Childhood obesity and insulin resistance in a Yucatan minipiglet model: putative  roles of IGF-1 and muscle PPARs in adipose tissue activity and development. Int J Obes. 29:324-33.
6. Kim K-S, et al. 2004. Investigation of obesity candidate genes on porcine fat deposition quantitative trait loci regions. Obes Res. 12:1981-94.

Cardiovascular

1. Bloor CM, et al. 1992. The pig as a model of mycardial ischemia and gradual coronary occlusion. In: Swindle MM, Ed. Swine as models in biomedical research. Ames, IA. Iowa State Univ Press. Pp 163-75.
2. Gootman PM. 2001. Cardiovascular system: In: Pond WG, et al. Eds. Biology of the domestic pig. Ithaca, NY. Cornell Univ Press. Pp 553-9.
3. Reffelmann T, et al. 2004. A novel minimal-invasive model of chronic myocardial infarction in swine. Coron Artery Dis 15:7-12.
4. Leor J, et al. 2009. Intracoronary injection of in situ forming alginate hydrogel reverses left centricular remodeling after myocardial infarction in swine. J Amer Coll Cardiol. 54:1014-23.
5. Spuentrup E, et al. 2009. Molecular magnetic resonance imaging of myocardial perfousion with EP-3600 a collagen-specific contrast agent: initial feasibility study in a swine model. Circul. 119:1768-75.

 Pharmacology/toxicology

1. The RETHINK project: an assessment of the potential impact of toxicity testing in the minpig as an alternative approach in regulatory toxicity testing. Special Issue. J Pharmacol Toxicol Methods. 2010. 62(3):158-242.
2. a. Webster J, et al. Ethical implications of using the minipig in regulatory toxicology studies 62:160-6.
3. b. Ellegaard L et al. Welfare of the minipig with special reference to use in regulatory toxicology studies 62:167-83.
4. c. Van der Laan JW, et al. Regulatory acceptability of the minipig in the development of pharmaceuticals, chemicals and other products. 62: 184-95.
5. d. Bode G, et al. The utility of the minipig as an animal model in regulatory toxicology. 62:196-220.
6. e. Forster R, et al. The minipig as a platform for new technologies in toxicology 62:227-35.
7. Svendsen O. 2006. The minipig in toxicology. Exper Toxic Path. 57:335-9.
8. Rainsford KD, et al. 2003. Gastroinestinal mucosal injury following repeated daily oral administration of conventional formulations of indometacin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to pigs: a model for human gastrointestinal disease. J Pharm Pharmacol. 55:661-8.

Neuroscience

1. Kornum BR, Kndsen GM. 2010. Cognitive testing of pigs (Sus scrofa) in translational biobehavioral research. Neurosci Behav Rev.  doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.05.004
2. Lind NM, et al. 2007. The use of pigs in neuroscience: modeling brain disorders. Neurosci Behav Rev. 31: 728-51.

 Bone disorders

1. Pearce AI, et al. 2007. Animal models for implant biomaterial research in bone: a review. Europ Cell Mater. 13:1-10.
2. Brandt KD. 2002. Animal model of osteoarthritis. Biorheology. 39:221-35.
3. Little CB, Smith MM. 2008. Animal models of osteoarthritis. Curr Rheumat Rev. 4:175-82.
4. Turner AS. 2001. Animal models of osteoporosis – necessity and limitations. Europ Cell Mater. 1:66-81.

 Skin/wound healing

1. Wang JF, et al. 2000. Molecular and cell biology of skin wound healing in a pig model. Connect Tiss Res. 41:192-211.
2. Sullivan TP, et al. 2001. The pig as a model for human wound healing. Wound Rep. Regen.9:66-77.
3. Godin B, Touitou E. 2007. Transdermal skin delivery: predictions for humans from in vivo, ex vivo, and animal models. Adv Drug Del Rev. 11:1152-61.  
4. Cuttle L, et al. 2006. A porcine deep dermal partial thickness burn model with hypertrophic scarring. Burns. 32:806-20.
5. Jacobi U, et al. 2007. Porcine ear skin: an in vitro model for human skin. Skin Res Tech. 13:19-24.
6. Velander P, et al. 2008. Impaired wound healing in an acute diabetic pig model and the effects of local hyperglycemia. Wound Rep Regen. 16:288-293.

 Dental

1. Wang S, et al. 2007. The miniature pig: a useful model for dental and orofacial research. Oral Dis. 13:530-7.
2. Rimondini L, et al. 2005. Tissue healing in implants immediately placed in postextraction sockets: a pilot study in a mini-pig model. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 100:E43-50.