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Introduction to Swine Genetics for Small and Beginning Farmers

The performance of pigs is the result of two influences: genetics and environment. Because the genetics of a pig plays an important role in its performance and meat quality, all pig producers should be familiar with the potential and application of genetic selection. This new factsheet provides an introduction to genetic principles and selection strategies for beginning pig farmers.  The “Introduction to Swine Genetics for Small and Beginning Farmers” factsheet can be found on the Pork Information Gateway.

Source: WI Swine Extension


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Four Star Pork Industry Conf - Back to Basics: Fundamentals drive vaccine performance

Video: Four Star Pork Industry Conf - Back to Basics: Fundamentals drive vaccine performance

At a time when disease pressure continues to challenge pork production systems across the United States, vaccination remains one of the most valuable and heavily debated tools available to veterinarians and producers.

Speaking at the 2025 Four Star Pork Industry Conference in Muncie, Indiana, Dr. Daniel Gascho, veterinarian at Four Star Veterinary Service, encouraged the industry to return to fundamentals in how vaccines are selected, handled and administered across sow farms, gilt development units and grow-finish operations.

Gascho acknowledged at the outset that vaccination can quickly become a technical and sometimes tedious topic. But he said that real-world execution, not complex immunology, is where most vaccine failures occur.