Better Pork is published bimonthly. After each edition is published, we share two feature articles online. Each magazine includes much more content. If you enjoy reading the Better Pork articles below, be sure to subscribe to the magazine!
By Kate Ayers
Meeting new people, trying new food, and exploring a new destination can be exciting but daunting experiences that we encounter. Now imagine combining all three experiences into one day.
by Jackie Clark
Bob Brickley first encountered wild pigs two decades ago. He farms in southeast Saskatchewan, growing grain, raising cattle and keeping a large purebred-based quarter-horse herd.
“About 20 years ago, some pigs escaped from a domestic farm and started invading our premises and upsetting our whole operation,” he tells Better Pork.
by Kate Ayers
To help optimize production, pig farmers focus on the details.
Producers manage controllable factors to the best of their abilities and provide excellent care for their animals. Producers maintain comfortable stocking densities, supply their herds with expert-formulated diets and even provide enrichment materials.
by Jackie Clark
At first glance, commercial pork producers might not easily identify the similarities between their operations and the farms of non-commercial or small-lot producers.
By Kate Ayers
Although benchmarking is a familiar concept in pork production, we still have significant opportunities to maximize the benefits of this data collection and analysis strategy, some industry experts say.
Producers can further optimize their operations by digging deeper into their data and using all information to its full potential.
by Jackie Clark
Hog farmers have persevered through uncertain and difficult times in the industry. Economic downturns, volatile markets and increasing input prices can shift the cost of producing pigs close to, or even higher than, their market value.
by Kate Ayers
As stakeholders throughout the swine industry continue their quest to optimize production and balance sheets, farmers should closely examine their gilt development programs.
by Jackie Clark
In the spring, a team of researchers – including University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign scientists and industry partners – approached a professor in the university’s animal sciences department to collaborate on a project intended to help address the COVID-19 crisis.
by Kate Ayers
Many people happily welcome the summer sun and heat because they think of time spent outdoors swimming, playing and lounging. While farmers also embrace the sun and heat to support field crop and forage development, the summer also brings some livestock management challenges. For hog farmers, seasonal infertility can be a costly consequence of higher temperatures outside and inside barns.
by Jackie Clark
Swine producers across Canada do the hard, daily work of raising pigs. Farmers care for sows throughout gestation and farrowing, monitor the health of piglets, and feed hogs until they are ready to ship to market.