A Survey of Best Management Practices of Swine Farms Across Canada – Part 2

Sep 30, 2024

This article will continue to focus on the adoption of best management practices; and how we are doing as an industry. Two projects funded by Swine Innovation Porc and carried out by Prairie Swine Centre (PSC) and Centre de développement du porc du Québec (CDPQ) focused on best management practices looking at biosecurity/herd health, feed/feeder management, and personal protection, water use/management, in addition to each phase of production (breeding, gestation, farrowing, nursery, and grow-finish.

Audit results indicate that dust masks, hearing protection and hydrogen sulphide (H2S) monitors are being used to varying degrees in on farms across Canada. Approximately 90% of farms indicate that they provide creep feed. Results from the audit indicate that approximately half of participating farms sort pigs when transferred into the finishing barn. A majority of respondents (66%) indicate we adjust feeders as required. Just over 50% of measured feeders achieved an ideal feeder adjustment while 30% and 14% of feeders were over or under adjusted respectively. Based on some of the results we can see that little changes can make a big impact on the overall profitability of your operation. Currently there seems to be a margin for improvement as we achieve a 40-50% of measured and surveyed best management practices.

Source : Swine Web

Video: What Really Drives Meat Quality in Pork? - Dr. Yan Huang

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Yan Huang from University of Arkansas explores how genetics, nutrition, and stress management shape pork quality. He explains how molecular pathways influence fat deposition, muscle growth, and meat flavor while balancing production efficiency. Listen now on all major platforms!

"The most important driver of pork quality. Feed plays a very important role in the meat quality."

Meet the guest: Dr. Yan Huang / yan-huang-77829421 is an Associate Professor in Nutritional Skeletal Muscle Biology at the University of Arkansas. With academic experience across China, South Korea, and the United States, his work focuses on the genetic and molecular regulation of muscle growth and fat deposition in swine. His research connects genetics, nutrition, and pork quality to improve production efficiency and consumer satisfaction.