Understanding the New Swine Transportation Law

by Eileen A. Coite, Wayne County

Have you heard of House Bill 432, better known as the “Transportation of Swine”?  If you produce and market swine in North Carolina, and transport hogs on public roads, you will want to be familiar with the details of this new law as of June 27^th, 2011.  The law takes effect October 1, 2011, and will very likely be a concern of some small and mid-sized swine producers.

Most producers identify all animals on their farm with some form of identification, whether an ear tag, tattoo, ear notch, or combination of these.  However, after October 1, each animal that is transported either to another farm or a processing facility must be identified with a method approved by the State Veterinarian.  Producers are invited to give input to determine which methods will meet requirements of the law, but also be of little hassle, cost, and inconvenience to them.  In fact, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture Veterinary Division will be providing tags for identification, free to producers. Producers may contact the NCDA office to order these tags.  

What has caused the need for this legislation?  Feral swine is the sole purpose for this law.  This new law is not intended to trace animals back to a particular farm, but is only intended to distinguish between domestic and feral swine. Feral swine have become a major problem in North Carolina, and identification of domestic swine is critical to identifying those that are transporting feral hogs. 

It is important to note that even though the law is in effect October 1, 2011, the State Veterinarian’s office will be using this first year to educate producers and not penalize those unaware.  However, anyone that is found blatantly conducting illegal activity and transporting feral swine will be fined, at a rate of $5000 per feral hog being moved.  This is why identification is so critical.  

For more information on the Swine Transportation Law, to order tags, or give input to the State Veterinarian’s office, producers are asked to call 919-733-7601 and ask for someone in the livestock section.  Additionally, producers may be added to an email distribution list to stay in tune to any changes, notices and items of interest with regard to this law.  Anyone interested should send an email to Joe.Web@ncagr.gov and request to be added to the “swine ID distribution list”. The NC Wildlife Resources Commission can give details on trapping and/or hunting feral swine, which is legal for anyone with a hunting license.  For more information on this, please contact the NCWR Commission or visit http://www.ncwildlife.org/hunting/index.htm

Fecal Egg Counting Service Available

by Eve Honeycutt, Lenoir & Greene Counties

For those producers who are battling drug resistant parasites on their farm, or if you just want to know whether or not you need to de-worm your animals, I will now offer fecal egg counting as a free service at the Extension office. 

 All you have to do is collect a fresh sample of manure- less than 30 minutes old.  Use a plastic zip-top bag to collect the sample and bring it to the Extension office.  If you can't get to the office right away, refrigerate the sample and bring it to the office as cool as possible without freezing.  I can perform the fecal egg counts at your convenience, in less than 30 minutes.  Knowing your worm load before you use a chemical de-wormer can help you determine if you need to de-worm at all, or help you choose the best product. 

If you are planning to bring a sample, please call me at least one day in advance to check my schedule and make sure I will be in the office that is most convenient for you.

Pasture Based Swine Management

Submitted by Eve H. Honeycutt

Extension Livestock Agent, Lenoir

and Greene Counties

Adapted from an article by

 Dr. D.W. Kennedy, Arkansas State University

    Pasture-Based Swine  management (PBSM) is an alternative approach for raising swine outdoors using pasture as a major source of nutrients, particularly for gestating sows. Compared with confinement or indoor systems for raising hogs, the PBSM approach can offer the producer lower initial costs, lower production costs, and a sustainable method for producing pork. Because these systems require no expensive buildings and waste handling equipment, farmers can feasibly

down-size or expand their operation depending on prevailing market conditions.

Environmental and Social Issues
     There are environmental and social issues that will continue to have an impact on confinement operations. Compared with pigs raised indoors, pasture systems significantly reduce problems associated with animal-rights groups, health of operators, and environmental concerns associated with dust, odor, and waste disposal. Pasture-based systems have a "built-in" waste management system because hogs disperse their waste over the land as they graze.
     The main two ingredients in conventional swine diets are corn and soybean meal. Often, these crops are managed as continuous row-crop production using potentially ground-water contaminating pesticides and fertilizers. Pasturing hogs reduces the reliance on corn and soybean production because forage crops will meet a portion of their daily nutrient needs.

 
Site Selection and Layout
     One of the most important decisions to be made is where to locate a pasture-based system. An area of land should be chosen that is well-drained and large enough to accommodate herd size. A land requirement of four to six sows per acre is a good place to start, but if pasture is to be utilized as feed, this stocking rate may need to be decreased.  The layout of paddocks will vary due to size of the herd, soil type, topography, and land area available. A minimum number of paddocks should be constructed to accommodate the different management phases (gestation, farrowing, nursery, etc.). If pastures are to be utilized, the number of paddocks will vary depending on frequency of pasture rotation. Pasture rotation will help maintain the pasture stand, nutrient quality of the pasture, and reduce damage of pasture due to rooting. Furthermore, the layout of the system will depend a lot on personal preference. A wagon-wheel design may fit the area and can lower labor needs because the distance traveled when rotating hogs among paddocks is reduced.

Fencing Options
     Power or electric fencing is a low-cost alternative to conventional fencing. The low-cost and ease of installation has contributed greatly to the increased popularity of producing hogs outdoors.    

     High-tensile, 12.5 gauge steel wire is widely used because of its affordability and durability. A two-strand fence will suffice for most situations. However, more strands or a netting may be needed for young pigs.

Shelters and Shade
     Some type of shelter should be provided during each stage of production. There are many designs available for each type of shelter. Factors to consider when selecting a shelter type include: cost, use, construction skills required, and personal preference. Adequate space for dry sows is 12 to 16 square feet per sow or boar. An individual hut should be provided for each sow during farrowing. Any of several designs can be used.

Nutrition and Feeding
     Over 50% of the total cost of producing hogs will be feed costs. Remember, no one feed ingredient can provide all the nutrients swine need on a daily basis. Although, most swine diets are based on corn and soybean meal, a wide variety of feeds exists that are suitable for hogs.

     Pasture-based swine systems take advantage of the sow's excellent grazing ability to lower the cost of feeding. However, not all pastures will be suitable for sows. Pastures should be young, tender, high in protein, and low in fiber. Clovers and annual grasses such as wheat, oats, rye, and ryegrass make excellent forages for sows during the cooler months of the year. Rotationally grazing these pastures will help ensure that maximum productivity of pastures is achieved. Rotationally grazing sows helps maintain pastures at a young, tender stage of growth and helps avoid excessive trampling and rooting of pastures. Good-quality pasture can be used to replace 50% of the grain and supplement needs during gestation.

Antibiotic Use in Pork Production

Submitted by Eve H. Honeycutt, Extension Livestock Agent, Lenoir and Greene Counties

Frequently Asked Questions

Concerns have been expressed about the use of antibiotics in pork production.

The National Pork Board supports the use of antibiotics only when they provide demonstrable benefits and has urged producers to:

·      Take appropriate steps to decrease the need for their application;

·      Access the advantages and disadvantages of all uses of antibiotics;

·      Complete the Pork Quality Assurance Program and fully implement the management practices described for responsible use of animal health products into their daily operations.

·      Follow the Take Care responsible use guidelines.

Q    How are antibiotics used in pork production?

 A   Pork producers use antibiotics for three purposes:  to treat illness, to prevent   disease and to improve the nutritional efficiency of their animals.  Antibiotics  can be given by injection of individual animals or delivered through feed or  water.  Producers and their veterinarians use their experience and knowledge in combination with scientific information to decide when to use antibiotics in their pigs.

Q    What is the industry’s position on the use of antibiotics in pork production?

A    The National Pork Board believes it is essential to public health and food safety, animal health and well-being, and the environment to maintain the effectiveness and availability should be based on sound science.  The National Pork Board’s full position on Antibiotic Use in Pork Production can be found online at http://www.pork.org/Pork Science/Documents/PORKSAFETY%fact.pdf.  Additionally, the National Pork Board, through the  Pork Checkoff, launched the Take Care – Use Antibiotics Responsibly program in 2005.  This program helps assure the responsible use of antibiotics by producers. 

Q  Aren’t Antibiotics in Feed only used by large producers?

A  A 2000 survey conducted by the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) determined that the use of antibiotics was not related to the size of operation.  In fact, a similar percentage of small producers and large producers report using antibiotics in feed.  More NAHMS information can be found online at   http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/ncahs/nahms/swine/index.htm.

Q: Are there other factors besides

antibiotic use that impact

animal health?

 A: Yes. The use of animal health products,

including antibiotics, is only one part

of a comprehensive herd health program.

Biosecurity, diagnostics, vaccination, facility maintenance and animal care contribute to the farm’s animal health picture.

Q: What is “antibiotic resistance”?

A: “Antibiotic resistance” refers to bacteria that are able to with- stand exposure to antibiotics and, in fact, survive. As is the case with every living organism, bacteria respond to threats in their environ-ment to survive as part of their natural evolution. One such response

is the development of resistance following exposure of the bacteria to antibiotics. Some medical doctors and veterinarians are concerned about antibiotic resistance because it might limit the effectiveness of antibiotics to fight infections.

Q: What else is the industry doing to make sure that resistance doesn’t become a big problem?

A: Pork producers are committed to protecting public health and preserving animal health and well-being by using antibiotics responsibly as outlined in the Take Care – Use Antibiotics Responsibly program. Over 50 million pigs are produced each year by producers who have endorsed this proactive program. We encourage you to learn more about the specifics of the Take Care program by calling (800) 456-PORK or going to pork.org.

Pork.org or the Pork Checkoff Service Center

@ (800) 456-PORK.

Q: Is it safe to use antibiotics in food animals?

A:  Yes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not approve the use of antibiotics until they undergo a vigorous review for safety to animals, humans and the environment. The FDA approval process assures food products from animals treated with antibiotics are safe. Pork producers and veterinarians are committed to protecting public health, animal health and animal well-being through the responsible use of antibiotics.

Q: Is the use of antibiotics in farm animals increasing antibiotic resistance in humans?

A: The extent to which antibiotic use in animals actually affects human health is difficult to impossible to measure. We don’t have good, scientifically definitive ways to measure it. However, one panel of experts estimates that 96 percent of antibiotic resistance in humans is due to human use of antibiotics and not transferred from animal uses.

Risk assessments have been conducted on many animal antibiotics to determine the potential  for antimicrobial resistance.  While one can never completely eliminate risk, the assessments determined the risk from using these products was extremely low and the social benefits of using antibiotics outweigh the miniscule risk of antimicrobial resistance.

Q: Would antibiotic resistance in humans end if antibiotic use on

farms was eliminated?

A: No. A recent Institute of Food Technologists’ expert panel report stated that correlating the risk of antibiotic use in animals and antibi- otic resistance in humans is not possible without more research.3 Two key findings include:

•            Meat from livestock raised with and without antibiotic use was shown to contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

•            Antibiotic-resistant bacteria develop from many factors including human use of antibiotics and routine household use of disinfec- tants like antibacterial soap. Use of antibiotics in animals is only one small contributing factor in the overall picture.

Q: How do consumers know that the food products they consume are safe?

A: The FDA does not allow the use of antibiotics in farm animals un- til it can prove meat consumed from treated animals is safe. Further, the FDA has mandated a withdrawal time for each antibiotic used. Specifically, food or milk from animals that have been treated with an antibiotic may not enter the food supply until a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the animal’s last dosage. The withdrawal period is specified for each drug.

Random and on-going samples of meat and milk are tested to ensure adherence to the withdrawal regulations. Samples found to be non- compliant are destroyed and the producer faces stiff penalties.

Q: Isn’t the real issue the use of antibiotics for nutritional efficiency?

A: The appropriate use of antibiotics for treatment, prevention and nutritional efficiency does not negatively impact food safety. There are animal health and societal benefits to using antibiotics to increase nutritional efficiency. Experience in Europe, where the political decision has been made to ban this type of antibiotic use, shows that there is some disease prevention benefit to using antibiotics at nu- tritional efficiency levels. And, even after 8 years, there has been no demonstrated human health benefit to a ban of this type. In addition, animals that convert feed efficiently consume less feed and produce less waste. That means more corn available for the production of renewable fuels and less manure for the producer to manage.

Q: What about organic meats? Are they safer?

A: No. The nutritional and safety profiles of organic meats are not different than conventionally-raised product. Only growing, handling and processing methods differ. There have been many studies that have proven that bacteria, even those resistant to antibiotics, can be found in both types of meat.

 

Are Your Sows in Condition?

Submitted by

Eileen A. Coite

Wayne County

With winter in full swing, one of the most critical goals of any livestock producer is making sure his or her animals are in suitable body condition to brave the cold temperatures. Luckily for our sows, most of them (unless you are an outdoor producer) are tucked away in a nice climate controlled building, equipped with gas heaters. In fact, we’re usually more concerned about sow comfort in the summer months, making sure no one is overheated. Either way, its important to make sure these ladies are comfortable and healthy year-around so they can do their job well.

One of the critical management factors we need to continually evaluate in the sow herd is body condition. Maintaining the ideal body condition score is key to keeping sows fertile, pregnant, or lactating, depending on where they are in the production stage. Of course, it’s a big circle anyway and getting out of condition in any stage will have an impact down the road. Not to mention it will impact the feed bill when sows aren’t in consistent body condition. Having to “bump up” too many feeders can have a tremendous impact on these costs in addition to the delay in her production efficiency, whether it be from delaying her breeding cycle, slowing down her milking ability, or weaning her litter.

So what is ideal? It depends on the production stage she is currently at. If we start with farrowing, the ideal condition would be a 3 to 3.5. Scoring this at farrowing will give her the best potential to stay at or above a score of 2.5 at weaning, which will put her in ideal condition for breeding. A good goal would be to have 80% of farrowed sows scoring at least a 3 at farrowing. Remember, getting sows too fat before farrowing is no good either. Overweight sows can have dystocia (difficult farrowing) problems as well as lactation issues once the pigs arrive. Often overweight sows will have milking difficulties as much as an underweight sow. The chart seen below is widely used across the swine industry for body condition monitoring. Points to evaluate on the sow are the ribs, the backbone, the “H” bones (hip or hook bones) and the pin bones. It is often useful to actually feel the sow instead of just visually evaluating her, and remember that different animals will show condition in different areas, just as we do. Using the Body Condition Score (BCS) chart seen above (Fig 2) will help illustrate this.

The best time to score sows would be at critical times in her gestation, or at times when she is being monitored for something else as well. For example, at breeding is a good time to score her, and again approximately 30 days later at pregnancy checking. Other good times would be at day 80 when we look for visible outward signs of pregnancy. Checking about every 3-4 weeks, usually at these critical stages is a good rule of thumb, since a visible change in her condition is hard to detect on a more frequent basis.

After assessing the sow, adjusting the feed (if needed) is the next most obvious, critical management strategy. So how much should we adjust? First, it’s important to have what’s called a “base feeding rate” during gestation. Usually, this would be somewhere in the 4.5-5 pound range of a corn/soybean meal based diet. If you are a contract grower, your company service person or training staff will be the best resource for recommending the base-feeding rate for your sows. After the base feeding rate has been established, then you can add or take away to meet condition. If the sow were a score of 2, she would need an additional pound added to her ration. For a score of 1 she would need at least 2 pounds more. On the other end of the scale, a score of 4 would merit a reduction of ½ pound, while a score of 5 needs a pound taken away. BCS scoring and adjusting feed is very subjective, and it is critical to make sure the SAME person (or persons) does this job each time! Never send a different person out to condition score and adjust feeders, and each of us may score slightly different. Consistency is the key here.

As always, consult your veterinarian or nutritionist as to the best management system for your herd. If you are a grower with a particular company, you will most likely have guidelines for BCS scoring that the integrator expects you to follow, which take into account the genetics of your sows. The article should serve as a guideline but in no way replace recommendations of your service or training personnel, nutritionist or veterinarian. Information used in this article can be found at: www.thepigsite.com. Search for “Assessing Sow Body Condition”, written by R.D. Coffey, G.R. Parker, and K.M. Laurent, University of Kentucky, 1999 UK Cooperative Extension Service.

Sow Housing Conversion Trends

Adapting to Sow Housing Conversion Trends

Guest Post:

Emily Herring, Livestock Agent from Pender County

The Situation

While attending the Swine Educators In-Service Training in Iowa I learned general information about a farm in Michigan who is converting from a sow gestation stall housing system into a gestation pen housing system. The reason for this change has been credit to the passing of legislation which passed in 2009 which prohibits sow gestation crates, stalls for veal calves, and cages for chickens. Discussions between the Michigan Pork Producers and the Allied Poultry Industries Association and HSUS (Humane Society of The United States) resulted in a bill that included confinement standards as dictated by the HSUS. These groups felt that an HSUS-driven ballot initiative would be too expensive to fight and might include even tougher regulations. In negotiating the legislation, HSUS said it would “not pursue a Michigan farm animal confinement-related ballot measure prior to the effective date of the law.” The law does not come into effect until 2020 so this would give producers time to convert typical stall housing gestation systems into pen gestation houses. Within the law it is acceptable to have stalls for breeding and for farrowing. The sows can stay in the stall until “confirmed pregnant” and then they are moved back into a pen. They are then moved into a farrowing crate one week before they are due to farrow.

Designing the Barns

The particular farm that was showcased at the training was Dykhuis Farm sow farm with 15,500 sows in 5 different commercial sow units and one breeding stock herd in West Michigan. The design of the buildings all vary somewhat from one building to another. They have a formula they go by for planning a barn for the number of pens needed; farrowing target multiplied by number of weeks in the pen (10). As a general rule at their farm, the stocking rate is 15 square feet per sow and by the end of gestation the goal is 18 square feet per sow. This includes their estimated fall out rate for that pen. Then they use another formula to determine stalls needed for bred sows; breeding target multiplied by number of weeks in the stall (6). Also, in designing barns they have to figure in the number of stalls needed for the hospital area, gilts, and wean sows. Another general rule of 2 sows per feeding box is implemented. Depending on the size of the pen and how it is designed the distance between the feed boxes vary from 18” to 4’ on their farm. So the actual inside design of the barn depends on several factors like size, shape and style of the barn along with the farrowing target rate.

Health Management

Pens are grouped by their due date/breed date and then by their size and parity. When pens are mixed for the first time an extra serving of food is delivered for 2-3 days to the sows to help minimize fighting. If a sow was to become sick, lame, or thin they are removed from the pen and placed in a hospital stall for 35 days to regain body condition and/or health. When sows come into heat they are checked, marked and then moved out of the pen to stalls where they are bred. Vaccinations and ultrasounds are said to be easier done in the pen versus a stall when all the sows are distracted by feed. When sows are due in a week to farrow they are then marked and moved into farrowing crates. They started converting their farms in late 2009 to try to meet the new rule. Since then, the houses that are pen gestation have had close to the same production numbers as they normally would have been in stalls.

Conclusion:

Seven states have passed such laws to band or limit usage of crates, either through legislation or ballot initiatives. States included are Arizona, California, Florida, Maine, Colorado, Ohio, Michigan, and Oregon. All of the following states are ballot initiative states. North Carolina is not a ballot initiative state and this explains why North Carolina has not been affected yet by these types of laws. I thought this was important to bring to your attention because eventually this may become the situation for North Carolina farmers too. Farmers need to be aware of the animal welfare/rights organizations and what they are doing because 7 out of 50 states already have laws prohibiting any or all of the listed, gestation crates, cages for chickens and stalls for veal calves. The information the farm representative spoke on regarding their farm was great to learn about because of the lack of experience most farmers and myself have with pen gestation housing.

Feral Swine in NC: A Growing Problem

Feral swine are becoming a significant threat to agriculture and water quality throughout the state. These wild pigs have been reported in 86 of the 100 North Carolina counties. Other states, such as Texas, have an out of control problem where feral swine have been blamed for over $52 million dollars in urban, suburban, and agricultural damage every year.

How Did This Happen?

“Russian” bloodlines have been introduced in this country for sport over the past century. These bloodlines have crossed with a natural domestic wild hog to create a larger, hardier breed of wild hog that is spreading rapidly to 40 of our 50 states.

Behavior of a Feral Swine Herd:

Feral swine live in families called “sounders”. These families reproduce rapidly, with 4-8 piglets in a litter and 2-3 litters per year. The most noticeable sign of feral hog activity is damage caused by rooting behavior as they look for food. Other signs of activity include wallows, rubs, tracks, trails, droppings, and beds. Hogs enjoy creating wallows in muddy areas in order to stay cool. They also rub on trees and telephone poles to keep their skin free of parasites. Their tracks are similar to the tracks of a whitetail deer, only more round in shape. Hogs are very mobile and will sometimes travel miles away from their bedding area in order to find food. They have a highly developed sense of smell and generally like to eat at night, going in search of food when the air temperature has dropped to a comfortable level. During the daylight hours, the will usually bed down in heavily forested areas, near any body of water- large or small. Because of the “wild” nature of this species, they will naturally avoid humans unless they feel threatened. Aggressive behavior may be seen in rare cases when an animal is cornered- as with hunting dogs- or getting between a sow and her piglets.

Damage caused by Feral Swine:

The most notable damage is to lawns, landscape, and agricultural lands including field crops and pastures. Hogs are omnivores- eating plants and animals- and can adjust their diet based on what is readily available. Some of their favorites include acorns, grubs, worms, corn, potatoes, produce, fruits, pecans, grapevines, grass, and soybeans. They will eat just about anything they can find. Hunters who prepare their property to feed deer are also attracting feral swine. The hogs enjoy many of the same favorites as the deer- such as shelled corn and clover. Because of their ability to root, they can cause extensive damage to pastures, hayfields, and cropland as their go in search of grubs and worms. Repairing pasture and hayfield damage caused by feral swine can cost an average of $261 per acre. Nationwide damage caused by feral swine has been estimate at $800 million to $1.5 billion annually.

Why Should this Concern NC Residents and Landowners?

Feral swine carry diseases that can be detrimental to the nations food supply. Swine Pseudorabies is a herpes virus that can be shed through the nose and mouth. The virus can also be spread to other livestock and dogs. If commercial swine contract the pseudorabies virus, they are not able to continue into the human food supply.

Another disease of concern is Brucellosis, which is caused by a bacterium. This bacterium can cause sows to abort and cause infertility in boars. It can easily be spread to domestic swine and cattle. Humans can also contact the disease if they come into contact with blood from an infected animal. Brucellosis is an incurable disease. Only the symptoms can be managed during the life of an infected animal or human.

In addition to diseases, feral swine can cause extensive property damage. Their wallowing habits can have a significant detrimental impact on waterways, as they directly pollute natural areas with fecal material.

How Can This Problem be Controlled?

Currently, in most NC counties, it is perfectly legal to shoot feral swine on your own property, at any time of the year. Experienced hunters should shoot hogs because placing the shot is critical to killing the animal. A 25 caliber bullet or larger is required to take down this species. Trapping is also effective, but hogs are very smart and easily adapt to new situations, so setting a trap requires special planning and baiting.

It is important to note that pasture raised swine are very common in North Carolina as a food animal. Pasture raised hogs are usually quite tame and should be fully enclosed in their pasture. Only wild animals that are not contained are legal to shoot.

Landowners should be on the lookout for evidence of feral swine activity. Working with your neighbors to control this species is critical to managing the growing problem.

Additional Information provided by - Billy Higginbotham, Professor and Wildlife & Fisheries Specialist, Texas AgriLife Extension Service

Eve Honeycutt is an Extension Agent with Lenoir and Greene Counties Cooperative Extension and can be contacted at eve_honeycutt@ncsu.edu or 252-527-2191 or 252-747-5831.