Though the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the cancellation or postponement of many of the swine industry events that producers and practitioners would normally attend to gather information, many other events have taken to the web to bring swine industry leaders a virtual experience.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Iowa Pork Industry Center and Iowa Pork Producers Association presented Iowa Swine Day through a webinar series that began June 25 and ran over five consecutive Thursdays. There were two presentations each day, ranging from 35 minutes to almost one hour. These presentations are now available online at the IPIC website for those not able to attend the live presentations as well as for those wishing to review the presentations.

Week 1 featured Christine McCracken, Rabobank executive director animal protein, presenting "Global influences affecting the outlook for U.S. pork," and Joseph Yaros, associate veterinarian with Pipestone Veterinary Services, discussing "Battling ASFV in China: The challenges, risks and rewards."

Athena Diesch-Chham and Ryan Brook tackled the second week. Diesch-Chham, a clinical veterinary social worker from the University of Minnesota, presented "Prevention and treatment of stress isn't just for pigs," while Brook, associate professor of Animal and Poultry Science at the University of Saskatchewan, discussed "Wild Pigs in Canada and What it Means for the U.S."

Swine Health Information Center Executive Director Paul Sundberg kicked off the third week by answering the question: "Are we going to keep 'IT' out? Global status and trends of FADs." Nick Serão, assistant professor of Animal Science at Iowa State University, followed Sundberg by discussing "Host Genetic Response to PRRS Vaccination and Infection in Sows."

Two veterinarians from the Swine Vet Center, Ryan Strobel and Chris Sievers, started off the fourth week of presentations by looking at "10 ways to reduce wean-to-finish mortality and how to implement them." ISU Animal Science Associate Professor Nick Gabler followed that discussion up with "Dietary feed technologies to improve pig performance under stress."

The final week's presentations were started off with Jamee Eggers, Iowa Pork Producers Association producer education director, explaining "How Iowa is preparing for a foreign animal disease." Rodger Main, professor and director of operations of the ISU Veterinary Diagnostic Lab presented "Experiences in COVID-19 diagnostics, and their direct application on the U.S. pork industry" to close out the 2020 Iowa Swine Day virtual experience.

Source: Iowa Pork Industry Center, which is solely responsible for the information provided, and wholly owns the information. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.