Purdue News
Purdue News
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August 18, 2000 Swine Day shows farmers how to bring home the baconWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Pork producers can catch up on the latest developments in Purdue University pig research and hear fellow hog farmers discuss innovative marketing strategies at Purdue Swine Day. The 80th annual event is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 31 at the Purdue Animal Sciences Research Center near Montmorenci. Swine Day is free, and lunch is available for a modest charge. According to Tip Cline, Purdue professor of animal sciences and Swine Day co-chairman, several cutting-edge research projects will be highlighted during a 10 a.m. session. Purdue researchers Dave Gerrard, Dustin Kendall, Ed Pajor, Brian Richert and Mike Spurlock will report on such topics as controlling odor through feeding, lysine needs of Paylean-fed pigs, behavior and welfare of pigs selected for lean growth, and growth and composition of pigs fed a liquid starter diet. Spurlock said his study on the liquid starter diet revealed some interesting findings. Young pigs were weaned on a milk substitute to determine whether their fat content could be altered in the nursery. "The growth rate in the nursery was increased about 40 percent by the milk replacer and, after five weeks, body fat in the pigs weaned to the milk replacer was nearly double that of the pigs weaned to the conventional program," Spurlock said. "These findings indicate that the pig has considerable potential for fat growth in the nursery, and that initial increases in fat mass are compensated for in later growth." The Swine Day program shifts to a producer panel in the afternoon. "We'll be looking at different marketing possibilities for hog producers in the future," Cline said. Three Indiana pig farmers are scheduled to speak. "Brad Scott from Logansport will talk about retailing farm-raised pork, and how to go about selling packaged pork," Cline said. "David Hoar of Campbellsburg will address the issue of cooperatives. He'll explain how producers can pool their hogs and market them to a packer." The third speaker, Mark Legan of Coatesville, will present a novel approach hog producers may consider to squeeze more revenue from their operations: subcontracting the slaughtering and packing. "This is about trying to capture more value from the pig than just what the pig as a commodity is worth," said Legan, who is vice president of the Indiana Pork Producers Association. "Retail merchandisers are interested in 'case-ready' meat, as they do away with their meat-cutting departments." Along with the program, Swine Day visitors can tour an exhibit area with swine housing and equipment, and genetics, nutrition and animal health products. The Animal Sciences Research Center is located on County Road 500N in Tippecanoe County, one mile north and one mile east of the intersection of U.S. 52 and U.S. 231. Sources: Tip Cline, (765) 494-4846, tcline@purdue.edu Mike Spurlock, (765) 494-4820, spurloc0@purdue.edu Writer: Steve Leer, (765) 494-8415, sleer@aes.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu Other source: Related Web sites:
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