The 34th Annual Swine Conference, hosted by Carthage Veterinary Service, drew its largest audience yet on August 27 at the Oakley-Lindsay Center in Quincy, Illinois. A conference packed with practical production tips and cutting-edge research you can apply on your farm, here are a few things worth repeating.
“We have to think about everyone who is trying to stay in business. It’s easy to close things down, but it’s a lot harder to get them going again.”
– Bret Marsh, Indiana State Veterinarian, in “True Grit: The Truth About Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu”
“Grit is defined in many different ways. It’s really about passion and perseverance in achieving goals. Grit is not talent. Grit is not luck. It’s the ability to work toward goals.”
– Aaron Lower, Carthage Veterinary Service, in his opening remarks
“Set goals for risk management. What is necessary for your business? What situations must be avoided? Don’t fall in love with your own opinion – talk to as many people as possible about the market.”
– Brady Reicks, Reicks View Farm, in “Fraud and Risk Management”
“Resorting offers a shortcut down the dangerous path that leads us to outbreaks in pigs and potentially pandemics. Our common flu is a concern, but biosecurity, vaccines, knowledge of pig flows and determination can keep us from this dangerous path.”
– Marie Culhane in “The challenge of H5 in dairy cattle and the concern about its spread to humans, pigs and poultry”
“If the production team, veterinarian or owner asks for help, believe them and understand that there is a problem. Work with all departments. Review your area of responsibility. Create an environment where the teams can talk and have a plan to solve the problem. Ask questions. Visit the barn together if possible. See the pigs and understand the problems as this will help to gain a better understanding.”
– Casey Neill, nutritionist at Carthage Veterinary Service, in “Influence of Nutrition on Breeding Facility Performance”
“Neither increasing the frequency of feeding sows nor shortening the interval between feedings before farrowing reduced the number of stillbirths in piglets in our recent study. This contradicts the results of some research studies and supports the results of other research studies.”
– Dustin Boler, Director of Research at Carthage Veterinary Service, in the session “The Latest Research Findings”
“The diet is formulated to meet the needs of the ‘average’ sow, but there is no such thing as an ‘average’ sow.”
– Jorge Estrada, Director of Nutrition at Carthage, in the “CISS Update on Recent Lactation Research”
“You have to ask yourself if it’s worth the effort. Each producer/nutritionist has to determine their own risk-benefit ratio for each alternative ingredient.”
– Wayne Cast, nutritionist, in “Using non-typical ingredients in pig diets”
“Are you having problems with piglet diarrhea? First, define the problem. Then use one of these tools in your toolbox: reduce exposure to pathogens, improve immune protection or reduce environmental stressors.”
– Elise Toohill, Veterinarian at Carthage Veterinary Service, in “Suckling Pig Diarrhea”
“Good teams do what is necessary. Great teams do a little more.”
– Milt Lowder, sports psychologist at Clemson University, in his keynote speech “Growing Grit: The harder it gets, the better we are”
Your next reading: How to decide which alternative ingredients to include in pigs’ diets
