Behind the Lines - October 2014

Monday, October 6, 2014

Breeders have been selecting their stock based on carcass quality and productivity traits for a hundred years or more. Something breeders have not been able to select for is boar taint. The application of genomics has the potential to change that. A breeding program at the Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement, based on molecular genetic work conducted at the University of Guelph by Prof. Jim Squires, a North American expert in boar taint, shows promise of doing just that. The selections will be made from boars already available to pork producers in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba. The story on this project, which is still in the early stages, can be found on page 6.  

Starting on page 12, our nutrition columnist Janice Murphy warns that producers may be "walking a fine line" when they withdraw feed before slaughter. The cost savings might be more than lost because of quality issues if the withdrawal period lasts too long.

With the current concerns about porcine epidemic diarrhea in mind, veterinarian Ernest Sanford looks back more than 20 years to when the formerly formidable transmissible gastroenteritis became an insignificant disease and wonders if similar changes to that virus could be replicated with PED. Dr. Sanford's column starts on page 23.

Traceability is now part of the Canadian Quality Assurance program. Ontario agriculture ministry's traceability team lead, Colleen McElwain, along with colleague Marcia Chiasson, food safety and traceability program specialist, writes about what producers have to do in our Second Look column at the back of our magazine. BP

ROBERT IRWIN