July, 1997 ^. Volume 20, Number 6

Dr. Eric van Heugten joined our Department of Animal Science faculty as Assistant Professor and Extension Swine Nutrition Specialist. He is a native of The Netherlands and received his B.S. and M.S. from the Agricultural University in Wageningen. He received his Ph.D. in nutrition from North Carolina State University in 1993. Since then Dr. van Heugten has been employed by the Continental Grain Company in Chicago, Illinois. He is officed in 211A Polk Hall and his address is Box 7621.

Charles Stanislaw

On July 17 and 18 North Carolina State University will be hosting the Professional Swine Managers Training Program that is sponsored by the National Pork Producers Council. This two-day event will be held at the McKimmon Conference Center at NCSU. Additional labor is required as the pork industry continues to expand. The success of any business lies in employing a team of qualified, committed employees. One of the most important areas that affects pork producers is attracting and keeping top-notch managers. Today's hog farm manager needs more and better labor, even while they are faced with a smaller labor pool. The Professional Swine Managers Training Program is a 2-level program focusing on Breeding, Nursery, and Grow-Finish phases. This session is designed to benefit breeding and nursery managers and is designed to:

• Increase manager access to practical information and knowledge that relate to their individual and employer needs.
• Improve a manager's ability to work with and lead people.
• Improve decision making skills.
• Improve communication skills.
• Allow entry level and newly hired managers to develop skills required in modern swine operations.

Make plans to attend now, as this conference is limited to the first 50 registrations. For additional information, call (919) 515-8797; for registration, contact the National Pork Producers Council at (800) 667-1436.

Program

Day 1

7:00 am Registration
8:00 am Welcome/Introduction
8:10 am Where is the Pork Industry Heading? - Dennis DiPietre, University of Missouri
8:40 am What's Next on the American Dinner Table? - Robin Kline, NPPC
9:15 am Questions and Answers

9:30 am Identifying Your Management Style - Gary Maas, AgriCareers
9:45 am Break
10:00 am Mentoring Employees - James Dotson, Continental Grain Company
11:00 am Questions and Answers

11:15 am Handling Sows - John McGolne, Texas Tech
12:00 noon Questions and Answers
12:15 pm Lunch

1:15 pm Key Tips to Improving Breeding and Gestation Management of High-Lean Sows - Todd See, North Carolina State University
2:15 pm Questions and Answers

2:30 pm Reproduction Management - Billy Flowers, North Carolina State University
4:00 pm Questions and Answers
4:15 pm Break

4:30 pm New Concepts in Swine Nutrition Within the Breeding Herd - Bob Goodband, Kansas State University; Dean Boyd, PIC

5:30 pm Record Keeping-Keys to Getting It Done - Dennis DiPietre, University of Missouri
6:15 pm Questions and Answers
6:30 pm Dinner (at hotel)
7:30 pm Case Study Description (at hotel)

The Manager's Role in Environmental Issues

8:00 am Why it's Important for a Manager to be Aware of Environmental Issues Walter Cherry, North Carolina Pork Council
8:30 am What it Takes to Get Along Today-Neighbors, Nuisances, and Odors Greg Andrews, Andrews Law Office, Grimes, IA
9:00 am Controlling Odor-Keeping Facilities Neat - Jim Barker, North Carolina State University
9:30 am Questions and Answers
9:45 am Break

10:00 am The Top Swine Diseases and What You Need to Know About Them and How to Identify Them - Scott Dee, Swine Health Center, Morris, MN
11:00 am Developing a Herd Health Plan and How a Manager Works With a Consulting Vet - Rick Tubbs, Green River Animal Hospital, Kentucky
11:30 am Biosecurity Prevention and Common Pitfalls - David Reeves, University of Georgia
12:00 noon Questions and Answers
12:15 pm Lunch

1:15 pm Keys to Finding and Keeping Good Employees - Gary Maas, AgriCareers; Don McKee, Iowa Select Farms
3:15 pm Results of Management Style Analysis
3:45 pm Questions and Answers
4:00 pm Wrap-Up
4:15 pm Adjourn

Todd See

Condition scoring is done by using finger pressure on points of the sow's body where the only tissue between skin and bones is fat tissue. By assessing the ease or difficulty of feeling the bones one can estimate the fat stores of the sow. The European method of condition scoring utilizes only the "H" bones, which are bones on the top of the sow's hips. Using the "H" bones along with the ribs and the "pin" bones, which are bones located on either side of the sow's vulva, which point backwards, does a more accurate job of assessing the degree of fat cover. The following Condition Scoring Guide shows how ease or difficulty of detection of the bones at the pressure points equates to score. The aim of condition scoring is to achieve a score of 3 in mid-late pregnancy and to maintain that score to farrowing. Sows that score 3 at farrowing enter the crate with adequate fat reserves to withstand a heavy lactation, but are not overconditioned to the point of reducing lactation feed intake. Sows that enter the crate at a score of 3 should eat well, milk well and wean at a condition score of 2.5 or higher, resulting in a rapid return to estrus. A realistic goal is to have all sows between 2.5 and 3 condition at farrowing, with 80% scoring 3.

To work effectively sows should be condition scored at breeding and at regular intervals between breeding and farrowing and feeding level should be adjusted accordingly. A typical procedure is to score sows at weaning, 30 day preg check, 50 day preg check and at approximately 80 days postbreeding. Scores can be recorded on the sow cards and feed boxes should be reset each time sows are condition scored.

How to Condition Score:

1. Become familiar with the condition score descriptions on the Condition Scoring Guide.
2. Locate the ribs, "H" bones and pin bones using firm finger pressure. It makes sense to start with the ribs and move back to the "H" bones and the pins. Sows tend to fatten from front to back and will carry slightly more fat over the ribs that the "H" and pin bones.
3. Determine how easy or difficult it is to locate and feel the ribs, "H" bones and pin bones and determine a score for the sow. Don't let your eyes fool you. You may actually find a fair amount of fat on some thin-appearing sows, especially older sows.
4. Record the score on the sow's card. This will allow you to track changes in condition throughout gestation.
5. Adjust the sow's feeding level according to her score. Sows scoring 3 should be fed your "base" feeding level. Sows under 3 will need additional feed and sows over 3 can receive less than the "base" amount.

Condition Scoring Tips:

1. Score in conjunction with another activity such as preg-checking to improve efficiency of time utilization.
2. When you move sows to gestation, line them up by condition score. This will help prevent fat sows stealing feed from thin sows. It will also help you keep a better eye on the thin sows as they will be side-by-side in the crates.
3. Keep all of your thinnest sows in the sow pool. These sows will benefit from receiving the higher energy, higher protein breeding ration and will recondition much more quickly.
4. Sows scoring 2.0 or less need to be fed twice daily. Tape the front of the crates and hand feed the second feeding.
5. Record condition scores on both sides of the sow cards so that they can be viewed from the rear when condition scoring again and from the front when checking feed boxes.
6. Try not to look at the sow before you score her. Your eyes can bias your scoring.
7. Keep it simple! Use a couple of simple thumb rules to keep your scores consistent:
• Can't feel the ribs? She's too fat. Feed at the 3.5 condition score level.
• Ribs felt easily? She's too thin. Feed at 2.0 level or lower level.
• Ribs are tough to feel? You can't go too wrong here because the sow is either 2.5 or 3.0, both of which are acceptable.
8. If the sow is between two scores and you can't decide which, give her the lower of the two scores and feed accordingly.

Condition Scoring Guide

Condition score should be used to adjust feeding level as follows:

Chad Hagen, Iowa Falls IA
Adapted from proceedings of
Professional Swine Managers
Training, Cedar Rapids, IA
by Todd See

While the pork industry is moving to Segregated Early Weaning (SEW) to improve the health, growth rate and feed efficiency of pigs, this management strategy can have a negative effect on the reproductive performance of sows. Previous studies have shown that sows that lactate for three weeks of less have a longer interval from weaning to estrus, subsequently produce smaller litters and have a lower farrowing rate.

A recent checkoff-funded study conducted at the University of Minnesota has reported that increasing feed intake for sows with short lactation periods decreases their weaning-to-estrus interval (WEI). Researchers synchronized the estrus cycles of 24 gilts. The gilts were then artificially inseminated and divided into four experimental groups. The first variable was short or long lactation length (12 days vs. 21 days), and the second variable was diet amount (6 kg vs. 2 kg per day).

The study found that cumulative feed intake on day 12 of lactation is critical for lactating sows to resume estrus promptly after weaning. The sows released increased levels of leuteinizing hormone (LH), a key reproductive hormone that controls ovarian follicular growth and the resumption of cycling activity post-weaning. Researchers found that sows in the high feed intake group, regardless of lactation length, had a greater LH concentration.

The investigators believe the results of this study can help producers using SEW to improve sow reproductive performance.

This abstract is from "Influence of Feed Intake and Lactation Length on Reproductive Performance, Circulating Levels of Glucose, Insulin and LH in Primiparous Sows," Yuzo Koketsu et al., University of Minnesota.

NPPC Tech Talk
Vol. 2, No. 1

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Last modified August 3, 2000.