The Swine report

Capturing relative phenotypes to help us understand boar fertility

Amanda Minton, Associate Director of Reproductive Technology at Acuity Swine and Karl Kerns, Assistant Professor at Iowa State University, discuss capturing relative phenotypes to help us understand and ultimately improve boar fertility.

R&D: Understanding index distribution and accountability in competitive comparison

Justin Fix, Director of Business Development and Genetic Improvement with Acuity and Caleb Shull, Director of Research at The Maschhoffs discuss how genetic evaluation varies from nucleus to commercial production and how that variation creates a bias in data analysis.

Red Meat Exports Trend Higher in March; Beef Export Value Highest in Nine Months

Plant eligibility for China is less of an issue for U.S. pork than for U.S. beef, as China renewed most pork establishments in mid-March. But Halstrom cautioned that both pork and beef exports to China have since hit a wall due to China’s prohibitive duties, which now total 172% for U.S. pork and 147% for U.S. beef.Read More

May Domestic Swine Disease Monitoring Report Now Available

The report includes a bonus page about the new PRRSV nomenclature and its implementation in the SDRS dashboards and BLAST tool. PEDV had increased regional case positivity in sow farms, mainly in Minnesota. As expected, the seasonal spike in influenza A case positivity occurred in April, repeating the trend of increased positivity in the spring season. In the first quarter of 2025, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae?had the lowest number of historical confirmed tissue diagnoses.Read More

Antimicrobial Peptide Discovery Could Transform Swine Disease Management

Caused by the bacterium Brachyspira hyodysenteriae, swine dysentery is a production-limiting disease that leads to significant economic losses for swine producers. There's no effective vaccine for the infectious disease, and the only treatment option is antibiotic drugs.Read More