REVIEW ▶▶▶
The return of WPX: Optimism abounds
Although the World Pork Expo (WPX) was cancelled the past two years, first in 2019 because of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Asia and Europe and then because of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, optimism abounded during the 2021 show. Thousands of participants travelled to the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, IA, USA, 9–11 June.
BY DARCY MAULSBY, CORRESPONDENT W 22
hile it appeared that concerns regarding Cov- id-19 had largely faded, one topic of discus- sion focused on another concern of pork pro- ducers – will “fake meat” drive down demand
for real pork? “There’s a lot of hype about plant-based meat alternatives, but what do the data say?” asked Jayson Lusk, PhD, distinguished professor and head of the Agricultural Economics Department at Purdue University. He shared data that track consumers’ preferences over time, with 1,000 consumers surveyed each month. “Only 3% to 4% of consumers would choose plant-based meat alternatives,” Lusk said. “Attitudes towards conventional meat products are still very positive. People like meat. It tastes great, plus it provides protein and micronutrients.”
Family feeding system addresses weaning dip Producers’ interest in better ways to raise pork efficiently was evident at the PigEasy booth at the WPX trade show. A feed- ing system developed by PigEasy, a company based in Tem- pleton, IA, has caught the attention of Vereijken, a Dutch equipment company. “We’ve teamed up on a couple projects with Vereijken in the
▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 37, No. 5/6, 2021
past few years,” said Katie Holtz, vice president of PigEasy. “They are now promoting our feeder with their farrowing set up.” Vereijken is especially interested in the weaning dip in pig- lets. This is a well-known challenge among pig farmers and represents a far-reaching challenge for piglets. Not only are piglets separated from their mothers, but they also suddenly have to switch from a milk diet to one of solids and water. Be- tween 10% and 65% of piglets will not have learned how to eat solids after four weeks, according to Vereijken. However, it’s a little-known fact that nearly all piglets will ex- plore eating solid foods very early on and would be able to do so after just 14 days or less.
Teaching piglets how to eat solids In collaboration with Vereijken, Trouw Nutrition and 12 pig farmers, the Pig Innovation Centre at Wageningen University & Research has been exploring how piglets can be taught to eat solids and drink water in the farrowing pen. Taking inspi- ration from how food intake develops in nature, researchers are designing a practical farrowing system for modern pig farming that will help to avoid the weaning dip and raise healthier piglets in the process. Project leaders hypothesised that the sow teaches the piglets how to eat, and there are additional benefits in them to learn- ing to eat from the same feeder. “In the study, they dropped feed on the floor, which isn’t very sustainable for a commer- cial setting,” Holtz said. “However, we see a lot of ‘family eat- ing’ in our own feeder system, due to the design and the height that the feeder sits in the crate.” This “family eating” phenomenon is influenced by the design of the PigEasy System in lactation, which was developed so that each sow has the ability to self-regulate her eating area.
PHOTO: DARCY MAULSBY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
