Posted by Administrator on November 02 2008 14:53
Maximizing Pork Profitability with 5$ Corn
Tips For Maximizing Profitability
- With higher corn prices, every investment made leading to decreased attrition and improved performance is worth more to you.
- Herd Health is incredibly important
- Optimal health, clinically and subclinically is essential for optimal performance
- Minimize feed wastage
- Cheapen the rate of grain
- Managing diets and investing in additives that provide a positive return on investment
- Continue to provide a quality product
- Ultimately consumers drive hog prices
Pig Health is Key
- A one std. dev. reduction in lightweight market pigs and mortality is worth more than the same reduction in ADG or FE
- Determine the disease profile of your herd regularly
- Diagnostic submissions
- Consultation with Veterinarian familiar to herd
- Control of subclinical diseases affecting performance.
Diagnostics
- Regular disease diagnoses are important for pinpointing or confirming health problems and tailoring treatment/prevention plans accordingly.
- Several diagnostic tools are available
- Necropsy: Identify lesions and likely causes
- Blood sampling for pathogens/antibodies
- Determine disease status of individuals/group
- Profile herd for antibody seroconversion times
- Tissue diagnostics
- Culture bacteria and get specific antibiotic sensitivities.
- Virology testing and histopathology allows us to correlate a specific pathogen with tissues and/or lesions.
Subclinical Diseases
- Often times infection takes place without clinical disease
- Some subclinical infections can rob producers of efficient production by decreasing nutrient uptake and/or utilization
- Control these diseases via vaccination/medication
PCV2
- PCV2 strains vary in pathogenicity
- Severe PCVAD is easy to observe in affected groups
- Often times infection isn't known, with low rates of fall out (5%) and impaired performance
- Damage to lymph nodes results in impaired immune system function
- Predisposes pigs to other disease.
- Lowers efficacy of vaccines
- Immune system must utilize more energy fighting off infection.
- PCV2 pigs in affected areas should be vaccinated
- 0.05-0.1 pound per day increase in weight gain expected in vaccinated pigs.
- Performance analysis at KSU has been demonstrating similar mortality, but better ADG/FE in pigs given a full dose vs. half dose. (Fewer clinical breaks expected with full dose)
Ileitis
- Most important enteric disease of grow-finish pigs.
- 96.2% of herds have some form of ileitis
- Clinical
- Subclinical (estimated up to $5 per pig loss)
- Damage to the lleum can result in increase number of deads, lightweight pigs, and impaired ADG/F:G.
- Research trial for subclinical Ileitis impact on performance.
- No signs of disease in infected pigs, but...
- 30% decrease in ADG (1.26:0.88)
- 24% poorer Feed Efficiancy (1.65:2.04)
- Prevention/Control can be achieved by vaccination or appropriate feed antimicrobial administration.
- Tylan, Linco, Denegard starting 3 weeks prior to seroconversion