During the past 10 years, Pork Checkoff has invested more than $1.3 million to fund 20 research projects related to sow gestation housing. The projects focus on key factors to optimize a particular type of housing system.

Joe Vansickle, Senior Editor

July 15, 2012

1 Min Read
Pork Checkoff’s Sow Housing Research

 

During the past 10 years, Pork Checkoff has invested more than $1.3 million to fund 20 research projects related to sow gestation housing. The projects focus on key factors to optimize a particular type of housing system.

Full reports of all completed sow housing projects can be found at www.pork.org/research.

Ongoing sow housing research projects include understanding and reducing aggression using pre-exposure when sows are mixed in a group gestation system. Pre-exposure refers to sows that either have or do not have indirect contact prior to mixing.

A second project looks at the effect of mixing practices for gestating sows on measures of reproduction and animal well-being based on days post-insemination.

A third study evaluates protecting low-ranking sows in group-housing systems by the use of feeding stalls.

A final project studies the effects of mixed and uniform parity groupings on feeding behavior, welfare and productivity of sows in electronic sow feeding designs.  

About the Author(s)

Joe Vansickle

Senior Editor

Joe, a native of Indiana, is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He worked on daily newspapers in Albert Lea, MN and Fairmont, MN, before joining the staff of National Hog Farmer in 1977. Joe specializes in animal health issues, federal regulations, environmental concerns, food safety and writing about the swine veterinary community. Joe has won several writing awards from the Livestock Publications Council. In 2002, he earned the Master Writer Program Award from the American Agricultural Editors’ Association.

Subscribe to Our Newsletters
National Hog Farmer is the source for hog production, management and market news

You May Also Like