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“Swine
Flu” – It’s Time to Move On
Something bad has happened to you. It wasn’t deserved
and it wasn’t’ fair. The people who did it are callous and
heartless (at least in regard to you), and lazy, or they would not have
done it. But they did it. It’s over. It’s done. You can whine
and wallow in self-pity and martyrdom or pick yourself up, dust yourself
off and get on with life and the business of raising quality pork.
Yes, that’s easy for me to say and write about, but that makes it no
less true. Swine flu (yes, I used the “s” word) is a done deal, but
two truths are now clearly evident:
1. You are not going to change the name any more than you
already have, and
2. It is pretty clear that the term “swine flu” is having
very little impact now (see below).
FULL ARTICLE
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Minimizing Non-productive Days
In the Swine Management Services (SMS) database, “mated
female non-productive days” averages 36.4 days. The top 10% of farms
average is 31.4 days, the top 25% of farms averages 30.4 days, and the
bottom 25% of farms average is 41.8 days.
We also track “first service-to-repeat-service interval,” which is
the time it takes to find recycling females after first-service
breeding. The top farms find over 60% of regular returns in heat by Day
25 after mating. Our data shows 20-40% of the non-productive days come
from females that fail to conceive on the first service. A female that
fails to conceive can accumulate from 20-120 non-productive days if she
is not identified early through heat checks or pregnancy checking.
Farms that have dealt with a health problem such as porcine reproductive
and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) or swine influenza virus (SIV) may
increase non-productive days to 70-80 days, on average, due to late-term
abortions, female deaths and late term NIP’s (not-in-pig
females).
FULL ARTICLE
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Ohio
Passes Issue 2
The voters in Ohio passed, overwhelmingly, a statewide
constitutional referendum known as “Issue 2,” which creates a board
of experts to oversee development of livestock care standards in the
state. The Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board will establish standards
for the care, treatment and welfare of livestock and poultry raised in
Ohio, based on ethics and science. The board will be chaired by the
Ohio director of Agriculture and will include three family farmers, two
veterinarians, a food safety expert, a representative of a local humane
society, two members representing statewide farm organizations, the dean
of an Ohio agriculture college and two consumer representatives.
Ohioans for Livestock Care Political Action Committee, who supported the
referendum, said: “Ohioans have spoken and clearly understand that a
board of experts is the appropriate entity to make decisions on behalf
of animal agriculture and food production in our state. Passage of
Issue 2 is a win for everyone who acknowledges the essential
relationship between excellent farm animal care and a safe, affordable,
locally grown food supply.”
FULL ARTICLE
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University of Minnesota Joins Team to Prevent World
Pandemics
University of Minnesota swine researcher John Deen, DVM,
will direct work at the University of Minnesota as part of a
multidisciplinary effort to implement a U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USAID) cooperative agreement to help developing countries better
respond to emerging animal diseases that pose a threat to human health.
The $185-million project, called RESPOND, is one of five that will work
together to counter the first stages of emerging zoonotic pandemics –
diseases that can spread between animals and humans.
Faculty from the College of Veterinary Medicine, the School of Public
Health, the School of Nursing, the Medical School, the College of
Education and Human Development and College of Food, Agricultural and
Natural Resource Sciences will be visiting hot spots around the world to
try to prevent the next pandemic. Their objectives will be to improve
the ability of countries to recognize and respond to new epidemics in
areas where ecological relationships between humans, animals and the
environment are unstable.
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Nov. 9-11, 2009: Joint International
Educational Symposium on Animal Welfare, The Kellogg Hotel; Conference
Center, Michigan State
University, Lansing, MI; contact: http://www.avma.org/awsymposium.
Nov. 10, 2009: University of
Missouri Extension Commercial Agriculture Program’s Swine
Institute, Courtyard by Marriott, Columbia, MO; contact: for
registration, Erica Lovercamp at (573) 882-9552 or lovercampe@missouri.edu or for
programming, Katrina Turner at (573) 882-0378 or turnerka@missouri.edu.
Nov. 11-13, 2009: U.S. Meat Export Federation
(USMEF) Strategic Planning Conference, Marriott City Center, Denver,
CO;
contact: Jackie Boubin at USMEF at (303) 623-6328 or jboubin@usmef.org.
FULL ARTICLE
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 POSITION OPENING
M2P2, LLC, is accepting applications for the following position:
Quality Control Coordinator: Responsible for developing,
implementing and maintaining bio-security quality standards, policies,
and processes. Responsible for performing routine bio-security
inspections, and assessments of but not limited to livestock trailers,
finishing barns, and all functions of raising livestock.
Ideal candidates must have the following qualifications:
- Animal Science Degree or equivalent experience.
- Able to travel using cost effective and timely commercial and
private modes of transportation.
- Proficient in MS Word, Excel, and Power Point.
- Agribusiness experience preferred.
- Must have excellent communication skills-verbal, writing, and tech
ability.
Competitive wage and benefit package includes medical, disability, life
insurance, 401K, vacation and paid holidays. To apply, contact Tracy at
the M2P2 Corporate Office or mail, fax, or email resume to the address
below before November 30, 2009.
Tracy Rogers, Human Resources Coordinator
M2P2, LLC
trogers@m2p2.com
1615 Golden Aspen Drive, Suite 104, Ames, IA 50010
Office 515-598-4640 ~ Fax 515-956-3226
M2P2, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer, we do not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin,
sex, age, disability, or any other status protected by law or
regulation. It is our intention that all qualified applicants be given
equal opportunity and that selection decisions be based on job-related
factors.
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