The project seeks a full understanding of the biological mechanisms that limit pig and sow survivability, how they interact and how they can be effectively improved.
The project’s overarching goal, through effective research and extension activities, is to improve swine survivability by 1 percent or more each year. Increasing the wean-to-finish survival of animals by 1 percent would represent an estimated gain in productivity of approximately 1.2 million pigs a year for the nation’s swine industry.
The research team objectives include:
- Evaluate producers’ management attitudes and economics associated with improving survivability in U.S. swine production
- Identify the causes of mortality on U.S. sow farms to support development and implementation of targeted strategies to maximize survivability
- Define factors that influence wean-to-finish survivability and implement management strategies based on production-based research
- Develop national extension, outreach and education resources and strategies to encourage adoption and implementation of management practices to improve survivability in pork production.
Another aspect of the project is the significant effort placed on training future industry leaders. This includes graduate students and staff, but is also expected to employ many undergraduate and veterinary students through internship programs.
Additional information on the project team, specific efforts and progress can be followed on the project website www.piglivability.org.
About the National Pork Board
The National Pork Board has responsibility for checkoff-funded research, promotion and consumer information projects and for communicating with pork producers and the public. The Pork Checkoff funds national and state programs in advertising, consumer information, retail and foodservice marketing, export market promotion, production improvement, science and technology, swine health, pork safety and sustainability and environmental management. For information on checkoff-funded programs, pork producers can call the Pork Checkoff Service Center at (800) 456-7675 or check the internet at pork.org.
Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research
The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) builds public-private partnerships to fund bold research addressing big food and agriculture challenges. FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to increase public agriculture research investments, fill knowledge gaps and complement U.S. Department of Agriculture’s research agenda. FFAR’s model matches federal funding from Congress with private funding, delivering a powerful return on taxpayer investment. Through collaboration and partnerships, FFAR advances actionable science benefiting farmers, consumers and the environment.
Connect: @FoundationFAR | @RockTalking
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Contacts:
Jason Ross, Animal Science, Iowa Pork Industry Center, 515-294-8647, jwross@iastate.edu
Ed Adcock, Agriculture and Life Sciences Communications Service, 515-294-2314, edadcock@iastate.edu
On the Web: This and all other Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences news releases and related photos are available at http://www.cals.iastate.edu/news/.