BIVI presents 2014 PRRS research awards

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI), announced the 2014 recipients of its annual PRRS research awards at the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) Conference in Dallas.  For more than a decade, BIVI has offered the research awards in an effort to provide practical approaches to the management of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS).
BIVI in 2014 awarded $75,000 to support three separate studies by independent swine disease researchers and practitioners in their investigations of novel ways to diagnose, control and eliminate PRRS. The selected PRRS studies focus on three important areas of disease research: the effect of maternal PRRS immunity in pigs vaccinated with PRRS MLV vaccine and subsequently challenged with a heterologous PRRSV; and helping veterinarians and producers differentiate new PRRS virus incursions from resident strains; and improving oral fluid diagnostics.
From the many PRRS research proposals submitted for the 2014 awards consideration, the three following recipients were selected and their research proposals were recognized at the March AASV Conference:


• Brad Leuwerke, DVM, Swine Vet Center, St. Peter, Minn. - Effect of maternal PRRS immunity on the response of pigs to vaccination with a homologous modified-live vaccine and subsequent response to heterologous PRRS virus challenge.
• Andres Perez, DVM, PhD, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn. - Differentiating new PRRS virus incursions from resident virus strains.
• Jeff Zimmerman, DVM, PhD, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa - Cleaning up oral fluid samples for improved diagnostics.
The three research proposals were selected based on established criteria that include potential for economic impact to the swine industry; originality and scientific quality; and probability of success in completing the study.
 "Longstanding research programs like the BIVI PRRS research awards do provide the practical, effective results that veterinarians can utilize to better diagnose, prevent and control PRRS," said incoming AASV President Michelle Sprague, DVM, with Audubon Manning Veterinary Clinic (AMVC) in Audubon, Iowa. "As a swine veterinarian, I see firsthand on swine farms the benefits these research programs provide."
The BIVI-sponsored PRRS research awards have been critical in the development of less costly, more reliable diagnostic testing and sampling processes, as well as identifying more effective biosecurity, risk assessment and vaccination strategies. Since the inception of the research awards program, the company has contributed $912,500 through the PRRS research awards to fund 37 separate research projects.
Proposal entries for the 2015 Advancement in PRRS Research Awards are due January 1, 2015.

Pig nutrition research highlighted at Adisseo Swine Conference

Pascal Thiery, Adisseo technical manager, speaks at the Adisseo Swine Conference in Paris.
Because world demand for feed raw materials for monogastric and especially swine production continues to increase, nutritionists have to look after new ingredients and solutions to optimize their utilization. A better evaluation of their nutrients content and a broader use of additives such as enzymes become essential.
That was the connected thread of this third Swine Conference held by Adisseo in Paris.
Pork meat global demand continues to increase in the world, especially in China, explained Jan Peter van Ferneij, from the Economic Department of Ifip, the French swine institute. In China, pig production is supported by the government, the goal being to satisfy the growing demand of the population. Consequently, Chinese demand for feed raw materials disrupts prices. Pierre Sabatier, economist and chairman of Studies of PrimeView Agency, emphasized the fact that the general increase of all the commodity prices is due to the entry of China into global trade in 2001. As evidence, between 2001 and 2012, soybean meal prices doubled and fish meal prices increased threefold.
In this economic environment of scarce and expensive raw materials for animal nutrition, Europe, which imports every year 33 million tons of soya bean meal from America, must explore new solutions, especially protein sources for feed.
Marinus van Krimpen, animal nutrition researcher, Wageningen University, Netherlands, made a list of potential European protein sources as alternatives for imported soybean products: "conventional" solutions such as oil seeds, legumes, but also new sources such as aquatic protein - algae, duckweeds - or even insects which are protein and fat rich ingredients.
But regardless of alternatives, a precise description of the nutrient contents of raw materials is essential. That is why Adisseo has developed P.N.E., Precise Nutrition Evaluation, a unique service based on the combination of NIR technology and in vivo and in vitro digestibility tests. Pascal Thiery, Adisseo technical manager, explained how this service allows people to predict digestible amino acid contents of raw materials for swine nutrition.
Besides, the context will lead nutritionists to optimize utilization of available raw materials.
Enzymes, especially xylanases and phytases, become essential. Pierre Cozannet, Adisseo enzyme researcher, gave a focus on the strategic use of exogenous enzymes in pig nutrition. He explained that enzymes are extremely specific for a given substrate, and that associations of different enzyme activities are required to degrade the different types of fiber found in raw materials.
For example, very high fiber content diets for pigs lead to a decrease in performance, as shown by trials presented by Florence Gondret, research director, Inra, France.
Dr. Gondret demonstrated that, even with high levels of added oil to reach the target energy content of the diet, pigs cannot adjust feed intake to dietary metabolizable energy level, and that both energy and protein metabolisms are affected by dietary energy sources.
A focus on methionine in pig nutrition was then presented by Yves Mercier, amino acids research manager, Adisseo. Sulphur amino acids are not the first limiting amino acids for swine production, but several trials carried out across the world show that added methionine has a positive effect on average daily gain of piglets and fattening pigs, on sow milk content, and meat tenderness. Furthermore, HMTBA, the liquid form which is an organic acid, was shown to contribute to acidification for piglets, and improve gut mucosa and digestible absorption ability.
Adisseo has developed an electronic version of the updated Rhodimet Nutrition Guide (e-RNG). This interactive tool supplies amino acid recommendations for piglets, pigs and sows which vary according to producers' specific conditions and feeding programs.
Following the success of this meeting and the positive feed back from customers, Adisseo has announced a fourth Swine Conference in 2015.

Deadline to submit abstracts for IPVS Congress extended to February 14

The deadline for abstracts to be submitted for the 14^th International Pig Veterinary Society Congress has been extended to 11:59 p.m. February 14. The International Pig Veterinary Society Congress, scheduled for June 8-11, in Cancun, Mexico, will showcase research and topics of swine health and production interest from around the world.
Abstracts must be submitted online through the International Pig Veterinary Society website.
Presentation venues include oral and poster presentations.
The program is organized around the following topics: bacteriology, virology, immunology/vaccine/diagnosis, epidemiology/public health, breeding/genetics, nutrition and production, management/housing/economics, food safety/pork quality, welfare, practitioners' line and miscellaneous.

EU workshops focus on entire male pigs, boar taint

IRTA-Monells is sponsoring two boar taint workshops in Spain, December 2-3, the "EAAP working group on production and utilization of meat from entire male pigs" and on December 4, "International workshop on rapid detection methods."
Surgical castration has been long used to prevent consumers from experiencing boar taint in pork from entire male pigs, which is a large problem in the European pig industry.
Because of animal welfare issues, the European Union (EU) now wants an alternative to surgical castration. The European Commission and representatives of European pig farmers, meat industry, traders, retailers, scientists and NGOs have recently committed themselves to plan to voluntarily end surgical castration of pigs in Europe by January 1, 2018 (European Declaration on alternatives to surgical castration of pigs; SANCO 2010).
Regardless of future measures to reduce the incidence of boar taint at the production level (feeding regimes, selective breeding), there will be a need for rapid detection methods at the slaughter-line for sorting out tainted carcasses. This also provides an opportunity to have boar taint-free and quality assured products, that will contribute to consumers' acceptability of pork and pork products from entire male pigs. 

Zinpro sponsors Chinese swine conference

Zinpro Corporation has announced it will be a gold sponsor of the upcoming University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine's Leman China Swine Conference.
The conference will be held October 13-15, at the Xi'an Qujiang International Conference Center in Xi'an, China. It will feature pig specialists from the United States and Asia presenting the latest scientific developments for swine disease and production management, specifically as they relate to challenges faced by producers in China.
"We are proud to once again partner with our neighbors at the University of Minnesota to support this valuable and historic event, designed to promote good swine health, nutrition and welfare worldwide," says Joe Carrica, executive vice president of global sales and marketing for Zinpro. "We have a long-standing commitment to bringing research-proven products and valuable educational tools to the animal feed industry in China, as well as all other markets we serve."
In addition to its sales and technical service team located at the regional sales office in Shanghai, the company has active research programs throughout the country. Research efforts are focused on investigating nutritional solutions to help swine producers in China improve animal performance, and the subsequent productivity and profitability of their operations.
In 2012, Zinpro Corporation hosted its first regional Feet First Sow Lameness Symposium in Xi'an, China, following the inaugural Leman China Swine Conference. The symposium helped raise awareness of the prevalence, causes and cost of lameness in swine, while offering practical solutions for monitoring and managing the problem. Since then, the company has hosted several provincial Feet First seminars. Zinpro and the Feet First team hosted the world's first global sow lameness symposium in 2008 in Minneapolis, Minn.

Iowa Swine Day registration now available

Building on its successful return to Iowa State University last year, the 2013 version of Iowa Swine Day has a new format and plenty of information for pork industry members. Professor of animal science John Patience said the registration for the Thursday, June 27 event is now open.
"Those who register by the early deadline of June 14 will pay $60 - that's $20 off the full registration fee - and students of any age can attend for just $25," Patience said. "The fee includes lunch, refreshment breaks and a copy of the conference notebook." 
The day begins with registration at 7:30 a.m. and the welcome at 9 a.m. The morning plenary session features four speakers in Benton Auditorium. Following lunch, attendees will choose from 14 breakout sessions organized into three concurrent tracks: sustaining the global competitiveness of the American pork industry, utilizing human resources most effectively in pork production, and what's new at Iowa State University. The day's activities will conclude about 5:15 p.m. 
The Iowa Swine Day program agenda, links to registration forms and sponsor list are available on the event website. 
Patience, who co-chairs the event with Ken Stalder and Butch Baker of the Iowa Pork Industry Center, said the planning group has worked diligently to learn about information needs and how best to address those needs through the program, which is set in the Scheman Building at the Iowa State Center in Ames. Program planning partners are the Iowa Pork Industry Center, Iowa State animal science department, Iowa Pork Producers Association and Iowa State Extension and Outreach. 
"We consulted with industry representatives to learn what they'd like included in the program and have put together a first rate program of speakers and topics," Patience said. "Session topics include employee engagement, global success in swine production, success with group housing of sows, effects of heat stress on pig productivity, and understanding the impact of the replacement gilt on system health." 
The program has been approved by the Iowa Board of Veterinary Medicine for two scientific credits and four management credits.