Performance of a Swedish Deep-Bedded Feeder Pig Production System in Iowa

Operation (2.5 years) of a Swedish deepbedded feeder pig production system, including nine farrowings are summarized. The system is designed to minimize pig stress and use no subtherapeutic antibiotics in the feed. Breeding and gestation occurred in a hoop building with cornstalk bedding. Conception rates and litter size were excellent. Farrowing occurred in a deepbedded remodeled building. Sows selected bedded farrowing cubicles. Pre-wean pig mortality, mostly crushing, was high (28%), occurring primarily in the first 3 days. At 2 weeks of age, the cubicles were removed and group lactation occurred. Group lactation worked well with an average pig weaning weight of 23 lb at 36 days of age. At weaning (36 days) sows were removed, and the pigs remained in the farrowing/lactation room for 24 days. Nursery phase pig growth in the deep-bedded nursery was excellent resulting in 55 lb pigs at 60 days of age and 1.22 lb/day average daily weight gain. Overall pig health was excellent with no major clinical diseases confirmed

Reproductive Performance of Young Sows from Various Gestation Housing Systems

Overall, the reproductive performance for two parities of sows (litter size and sow weight and condition) from various gestation housing systems was similar. The study was conducted at the Iowa State University L. Christian Swine Research and Demonstration Farm, Atlantic, IA. The gestation housing systems were individual crates in a mechanically ventilated confinement building (CRATE) and group-housed sows in a modified-open front building (MOF) or a bedded hoop structure (HOOP). All sows were fed individually. The group-housed sows were fed with either feeding stalls (FS) or electronic feeders (EF). The data analyzed were for litters born from April through December 1998. The trial was terminated because of a pseudorabies outbreak and subsequent depopulation of the farm. Therefore, the results of this study are only partial and should be interpreted with caution. A similar trial is planned after repopulation of the farm

Demonstrating a Swedish Feeder Pig Production System in Iowa

At the Iowa State University (ISU) Armstrong Farm in southwest Iowa, a Swedish feeder pig production system is being demonstrated. The Swedish system relies on bedding, simple buildings, intensive management, and keen husbandry for success. Gestation and breeding phases are housed in a hooped structure with individual feeding stalls. Large round bales of cornstalks are used for the deep bedded areas where the sows live in groups. A 1950s style hog house has been remodeled for farrowing, group lactation, and nursery. Farrowing cubicles with rollers and oat straw bedding are used. The hog house has been remodeled with “breathable” ceiling and exhaust fans. Oat straw is used for bedding. Two groups of Yorkshire x Landrace sows bred to Hampshire boars will produce feeder pigs in the system. Performance of the system will be documented

Lauren Christian Swine Research and Demonstration Farm: An Update

In December 1995, the Walnut Grove Research Farm near Atlantic was donated by Cargill, Inc., to the Wallace Foundation for Rural Research and Development, a grassroots organization in southwestern Iowa interested in agriculture. The Wallace Foundation and Iowa State University (ISU) agreed to develop the farm for swine research and demonstration activities. The farm was named the Southwest Swine Research and Demonstration Farm. The donation included 70 acres of land, several livestock buildings, three silos, a residence, farm equipment, and the swine breeding stock. The existing swine breeding herd was sold. The farm is operated in conjunction with the Armstrong Research and Demonstration Farm, which is about 7 miles west. On September 17, 1998, the farm was renamed the Lauren Christian Swine Research and Demonstration Farm in honor of Lauren L. Christian, a distinguished professor in the ISU Animal Science Department. Christian is a wellknown swine geneticist who has helped many Iowa pork producers for over 30 years

A Project to Produce Calves from Selected Historical Angus Bulls

As part of the 50th anniversary of the McNay Research Farm, cows were inseminated with semen from Angus bulls of the 1950s and the 1970/1980s. The goal was to produce calves from Angus bulls that were popular 50 years ago and 25 years ago for viewing at the McNay Research Farm’s 50th Anniversary celebration in September 2006

Organic Beef Cattle Grazing Demonstration

There is growing interest in grass-fed organic beef. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of conventional feedlot-based cattle finishing with organic beef cattle finishing

All-optical discrete vortex switch

We introduce discrete vortex solitons and vortex breathers in circular arrays of nonlinear waveguides. The simplest vortex breather in a four-waveguide coupler is a nonlinear dynamic state changing its topological charge between +1 and -1 periodically during propagation. We find the stability domain for this solution and suggest an all-optical vortex switching scheme

Topology of the Spin-polarized Charge Density in bcc and fcc Iron

We investigate the topology of the spin-polarized charge density in bcc and fcc iron. While the total spin-density is found to possess the topology of the non-magnetic prototypical structures, in some cases the spin-polarized densities are characterized by unique topologies; for example, the spin-polarized charge densities of bcc and high-spin fcc iron are atypical of any known for non-magnetic materials. In these cases, the two spin-densities are correlated: the spin-minority electrons have directional bond paths with deep minima in the minority density, while the spin-majority electrons fill these holes, reducing bond directionality. The presence of two distinct spin topologies suggests that a well-known magnetic phase transition in iron can be fruitfully reexamined in light of these topological changes. We show that the two phase changes seen in fcc iron (paramagnetic to low-spin and low-spin to high-spin) are different. The former follows the Landau symmetry-breaking paradigm and proceeds without a topological transformation, while the latter also involves a topological catastrophe.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Phys. Rev. Lett. (in press

Prediction and prevention of the next pandemic zoonosis.

Most pandemics--eg, HIV/AIDS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, pandemic influenza--originate in animals, are caused by viruses, and are driven to emerge by ecological, behavioural, or socioeconomic changes. Despite their substantial effects on global public health and growing understanding of the process by which they emerge, no pandemic has been predicted before infecting human beings. We review what is known about the pathogens that emerge, the hosts that they originate in, and the factors that drive their emergence. We discuss challenges to their control and new efforts to predict pandemics, target surveillance to the most crucial interfaces, and identify prevention strategies. New mathematical modelling, diagnostic, communications, and informatics technologies can identify and report hitherto unknown microbes in other species, and thus new risk assessment approaches are needed to identify microbes most likely to cause human disease. We lay out a series of research and surveillance opportunities and goals that could help to overcome these challenges and move the global pandemic strategy from response to pre-emption