Pork Journal
‘Glimpse the Future 2020’ Alltech’s 29th Annual Symposium 2013
Minitube Artificial Breeding Seminars – Bendigo
Primegro – a growing division of Rivalea Australia
PigGas calculator launched at Victorian Pig Fair
PrintPost Approved PP243096/00002 ISSN 1032 3759
May/June 2013 Volume 35, Number 3
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Contents 8 MAIN FEATURE Primegro – a growing division of Rivalea Australia
Matthew Tull, Business Manager Primegro
Pork Journal May/June 2013 Volume 35, Number 3 Editorial Enquiries Peter Bedwell or Rosemary Embery 02 4322 0799 or 0419 235 288 Sales: Peter Bedwell Ph: (02) 4322 0799 Mob: 0419 235 288 Email: rembery@iinet.net.au Mob: 0409 944 472 Website: www.primarymedia.com.au PORK JOURNAL consists of a bi-monthly management magazine and an annual industry review. Published by C D Supplies Pty Ltd (ACN 091 560 557)
Production: Rosemary Embery Email: rembery@iinet.net.au OFFICE ADDRESS: 22 George St, East Gosford NSW 2250 Mob: 0419235288 SUBSCRIPTIONS: AUSTRALIA One year – $66.00*. Send payment and full details to: Pork Journal, GPO Box 1846, Sydney NSW 2001 Phone (02) 9492 7386 Fax: (02) 9492 7310 NEW ZEALAND One year – $NZ80. OTHER COUNTRIES Asia Pacific including the Subcontinent – One year: Airmail – $A90; Rest of the World – One year: Airmail – $A90. Please send payment in Australian dollars. *Australia subscription rate includes GST.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Send details to: GPO Box 1846, Sydney NSW 2001, Fax: (02) 9492 7310 (Subscriptions only). ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT (editorial and advertisements) and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the publishers. Whilst every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the contents of PORK JOURNAL, the publishers do not accept any responsibility or liability for the material herein.
Primegro, a division of Rivalea Australia, supplies genetics not only to the Rivalea pork production enterprise, but also increasingly to external producers. Matthew Tull, Business Manager at Primegro, explained to Pork Journal on a visit to Primegro’s new boar stud located at Bendigo in Victoria, the history of Primegro and the potential it offers producers for improved performance.
NEWS 4 ‘Glimpse the Future’ 2020: Alltech’s 29th Annual Symposium 2013 Alltech held its 29th Annual International Animal Health and Nutrional Symposium at Lexington Kentucky US between May 19-22, 2013. The theme for this year’s event was ‘Glimpse The Future in 2020’. 12 Minitube Artificial Breeding Seminars – Bendigo The two days of pig reproduction and artificial breeding seminars presented by Minitube Australia in Bendigo, May 22 -23 were well attended by industry. Alan Smith, Minitube’s Managing Director structured the program to meet the needs of both mating shed and boar stud/AB Centre staff, with Day 1 focused on factors influencing AI fertility and Day 2 on producing high quality boar semen. 16 Where there’s livestock there’s GE Silos GE Silos (Goornong Engineering) was established in a small Victorian rural community near Bendigo by Noel Comer in August 1978. By a happy coincidence this was the year Milne Publications, the previous owners of Pork Journal released its first issue. 20 Celebrating Australian Bacon Week Australian Bacon Week (12–19 May) is the celebration of true, blue Aussie bacon. And with it comes the announcement of the winners of the National Bacon Awards for Excellence – and Australia’s most expensive bacon and egg roll. 22 Pregnant pause in how to feed group housed sows Recognising that pregnant sows are increasingly being managed in group housing systems, the CRC for High Integrity Australian Pork (Pork CRC) has driven the production of a manual, ‘Feeding Pregnant Sows in Group Housing Systems’. 24 PigGas calculator launched at Victorian Pig Fair PigGas is a new greenhouse gas calculator for the Australian pork industry. Ian Kruger and Greg Mills, formerly of NSW Department of Primary Industries developed the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with research funding from Australian Pork Limited.
PRODUCT NEWS 21 Biomin launches FUMzyme – first purified enzyme against fumonisins 23 Palram offers alternative building materials for intensive livestock housing
PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013 3
NEWS ‘Glimpse the Future 2020’: Alltech’s 29th Annual Symposium 2013 By ALEX BEDWELL
Alltech held its 29th Annual International Animal Health and Nutrional Symposium at Lexington Kentucky US between May 1922, 2013 The theme for this year’s event was ‘Glimpse The Future in 2020’. On May 20, more than 2300 attendees from 72 countries packed the main lecture hall where Dr Pearse Lyons started off the Opening Plenary Session. Dr Lyons challenged current and future leaders to find their passion and use that to lead and inspire others. A common theme throughout the symposium was creating growth in both businesses and leaders and allowing people to fulfill their potential. At the opening seesion the Alltech Medal of Excellence was awarded to Dr Eugenia Wang from University of Louisville, for her research in microRNA which has implications for many areas including animal health, human health and human intelligence. Next Professor Damien McLoughlin from the University College Dublin spoke about indentifying the core of your business. The focus of his talk was how to successfully build and strenghthen your business and the questions you need to be asking yourself in order to do so. Later that night the delegates headed to the Kentucky Horse Park, home of the Alltech Arena where the combination of Alltech Angus Beef, Kentucky Ale and a live band made for a great night out. On Tuesday May 21, the Breakout Session called ‘Is truly antibiotic-free pig production possible?’ took place. Chaired by Aidan Connolly, the main question in the session that was discussed was whether the swine industry will be antibiotic free by 2020. One of the speakers, Terry Coffey, Murphy-Brown LLC USA, stated that “if we go antibiotic free, we are still faced with these diseases,” and that we first need to find technological advances that minimise gut health problems that are one of the main reasons for antiobiotic use. On May 22, Becky Timmons started off the Closing Plenary Session by discussing ‘The Algae Opportunity’ and how there is a
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PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013
Top: Dr Pearse Lyons opens the Alltech 29th Annual Symposium. Centre: Alltech crew getting ready for Kentucky night. Above: Clarke Forbes (left) and Rob Martyn, two Australian pig farmers attending the symposium.
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NEWS need to produce more DHA. Alltech’s response has been the development of SP1 – a safe DHA-rich algae product that is fed directly to intensive livestock transforming the commodities of meat, eggs, and milk into value added, DHA-enriched functional foods at the Alltech Algae Plant in Winchester, Kentucky. Next Dr Patrick Wall, Associate Professor of Public Health, School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science, presented on food scares, consumer trust and the solutions to tackle the crisis that plagues the industry. Wall stated “If something goes wrong in the food chain, the repercussions are huge,” and how important it is to provide safe nutional food. The last speaker of the Closing Plenary Session Dr Mark Lyons, spoke about how he saw the agricultural industry in the next seven years. He discussed China’s development and the challenges it faces in food safety, sustainability and its need to increase production effiency. Noting that one billion pigs are produced in China every year but only 600 million actually reach market. At the conclusion of the symposium some of the delegates and press travelled to Iowa to visit various livestock facilities. It was Pork Journal’s intention to visit pig farms in the area but we were unable to do because of an outbreak of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV). The National Pork Board has approved $450,000 in check-off funds to help speed up research to find answers to this new disease which is threathening the US pork industry. “The National Pork Board took this action to help get answers to US producers as quickly as possible to help protect their herds from this devastating disease,” said Conley Nelson, National Pork Board President and producer from Algona, Iowa. According to Dr Paul Sundberg, the Pork Checkoff’s Vice President of Science and Technology, PEDV is not a new virus outside of the United States nor a regulatory/reportable disease, but rather a production-related disease that hits young pigs under three weeks of age particularly hard. In the handful of states that have seen the disease, mortality rates have been high in pigs of this age, while older pigs that may get the virus typically recover. He stated that because PEDV is widespread in many countries it is not a trade restricting disease, however this is not a disease that is currently in Australia and we should be looking closely at the continuation of pork imports from the USA.
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PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013
Top Left: Paul Groenewegen, Alltech Canada. Top Right: Professor Jim Pettigrew, University of Illinois, USA. Centre: The deabte ‘Is truly antibiotic-free pig production possible?’ was chaired by Aidan Connolly Alltech USA (far left). Above: The Alltech crew at Algae plant in Winchester, Kentucky.
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Barry Abbott checking semen quality to ensure the highest quality is released to Primegro’s customers.
Primegro – a growing division of Rivalea Australia
By PETER BEDWELL
P
rimegro, a division of Rivalea Australia, supplies genetics not only to the Rivalea pork production enterprise, but also increasingly to external producers.
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PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013
Matthew Tull, Business Manager at Primegro, explained to Pork Journal on a visit to Primegro’s new boar stud located at Bendigo in Victoria, the history of Primegro and the potential it offers producers for improved performance. “Primegro Technologies was acquired by us in 2008 and with it came the opportunity to develop a genetics supply business – which we are continuing to develop today,” he said. “Primegro originally provided the testing for IGF-1 (Insulin-Like Growth Factor1) Livestock Selection Method which was developed from cooperative research conducted by Dr Brian Luxford from Bunge Meat Industries and Dr Phil Owens from the University of Adelaide and funded by PRDC,” he said. “IGF-1 is a naturally occurring hormone and is measured in the blood of
newly weaned pigs. IGF-1 has significant genetic correlations with a number of economically important traits including feed conversion efficiency and lean meat percentage. “Rivalea has employed IGF-1 testing in its selection program for more than 15 years, and is a big factor in Primegro’s exceptional performance for feed efficiency and lean growth. “The AI Centre houses 90 boars and is managed by Barry Abbott who looks after two separate Large White and Landrace maternal breeds and a Duroc Synthetic line as the terminal breed. “Our Primegro DU Terminal Sire line’s performance has been optimised by the use of IGF-1 testing and our in-house designed progeny electronic feeders to ensure superior feed efficiency and lean meat percentage, while not compromising growth ability or w
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v appetite”. In addition to this, the ability to process unselected stock through our abattoirs at Corowa means that we regularly examine meat quality and feed that information back into our overall genetic evaluation. “We can offer interested producers the ability to trial our terminal sire line on farm against their current genetics to see the improvement for themselves. “Our maternal lines focus on such key criteria as piglet survival and piglets weaned per sow by utilising individual piglet identification”. “Individual piglet identification using a bar coded ear tag greatly assists in delivering greater quantities of relevant data and gives a better idea of what’s actually happening in our genetics programs. “The individual tag is applied at birth to ensure that we know everything about every pig born. “So far at Primegro we have tagged more than 650,000 piglets whose individual performance is feeding back into our genetic evaluation systems to improve the accuracy and consistency of our selections”. In addition to this, across all our breeds we employ gene typing technology and we have selected K88 E-Coli resistance within the three breeds to help producers reduce pre-weaning mortality. “The scale of Rivalea Australia overall means that we conduct
Above: All semen collections are logged to monitor boar performance. Below: Packaged semen doses ready to be sent to Primgro customers.
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PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013
our own in house R&I trials to ensure the progress and consistency of our genetics.” “Primegro’s ability to constantly refine and match nutrition and management to our genetics is a vital aspect of ensuring both Rivalea and our customers get the best out of our genetics. Primegro has a number of industry experts available to customers who are looking to be able to take their businesses to the next level. “Apart from just semen supply we can offer our external customers advice on a lot more than just genetic technology and this aspect of our service could be particularly valuable to those farmers who are looking build their business’ and improve efficiency.” “Primegro’s new boar stud located in Bendigo, is perfectly situated to service the large number of sows throughout Victoria, and our proximity to Melbourne also allows easy access to other states. “Currently we can offer same day semen delivery to Victoria and following morning to most of South Australia and we are looking to expand our customer base in other states. “We cater to all levels of production and house some pure Berkshire and Duroc boars for those seeking niche market pork production that has attracted increasing interest from consumers and high end retailers in recent time,” Matt stated.
Above: Primegro DU boar hard at work.
PORK JOURNAL, May/june 2013 11
NEWS Minitube Artificial Breeding Seminars – Bendigo Day 1 By GRAEME POPE, Graeme Pope Consulting, Nuriootpa The two days of pig reproduction and artificial breeding seminars presented by Minitube Australia in Bendigo, May 22 -23 were well attended by industry. Alan Smith, Minitube’s Managing Director structured the program to meet the needs of both mating shed and boar stud/AB Centre staff, with Day 1 focused on factors influencing AI fertility and Day 2 on producing high quality boar semen. International speakers Drs Rudolf Grossfield and Martin Schulze, along with Pieter Langendijk, Bernie Gleeson and Graeme Pope left those present with no doubt that best AI results can only be achieved through well trained staff consistently using good quality semen and equipment. Some AI checkpoints Dr Grossfeld from Minitube, Germany covered essential checkpoints for successful artificial insemination (AI). “On-farm semen storage temperature has a big influence on sperm survival and viability. Semen storage units must be capable of holding semen doses at a stable 16-18C temperature, and have capacity to both heat and cool. They must also be large enough to allow airflow around all doses and should be operating at 17C before semen orders are expected to arrive on-farm,” he said. “Data loggers can be used to monitor and validate transportation temperatures, and semen doses should be transferred into the storage unit immediately on arrival at the farm. Then breeding staff should use a closed insulated box when taking doses into the piggery. “The type of catheter to use is a personal preference issue amongst mating staff and the best equipment will only produce the best results if it is used correctly. A boar placed in front of the sow will promote contractions to speed-up the insemination, especially for hands-free AI using breeding clamps. “Ultrasonography can be used to reduce empty sow days and enable accurate decisions to me made regarding sow re-breeding or culling,” said Rudolf. “For high accuracy, the first scan should be carried out at 25 days post-mat-
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PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013
ing, and the second scan 14 days later. The aim is to identify sows with irregular returns before day 42.” Optimal insemination strategies Dr Pieter Langendijk, SARDI Senior Pig Scientist, Roseworthy discussed the effects of heat detection accuracy, insemination timing and semen age on AI fertility results. “A mature boar should be used to increase the frequency and strength of uterine contractions in sows just prior to insemination, and the oxytocin pulse he is able to generate can last for about 30
minutes, before the sow becomes refractory again,” said Pieter. “For optimal timing of inseminations, we want sperm present in the tract when the sow’s eggs are also present,” he said. “Provided the semen is not too old, it should last up to 24 hours in the uterus. “Duration of oestrus is related to wean-to-oestrus interval, which varies between sows, and the moment of ovulation is related to duration of oestrus, but we can assume ovulation will take place at two thirds of oestrus”. “The difficulty in recommending a standard insemination strategy is that there is variation between farms in oestrus duration, so different AI timing strategies are needed for different farms. But by using w
Top: Industry consultant Graeme Pope. Above: Dr Rudolf Grossfeld with Dayaan Moon from Shepparton covers the essential checkpoints for successful AI.
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NEWS v retrospective analysis of a farm’s insemination timing based on each sow’s start and finish time of oestrus, or oestrus duration, we can design more accurate AI strategies for individual farms,� he said. “But without those records, we have to rely on rules of thumb. If heat checks are conducted only once daily, then sows seen first on-heat at day 3 – 4 after weaning should be first inseminated 12 hours after first detected, whereas day 5+ sows should be inseminated when first detected in-heat. “When heat checks are conducted twice daily, we would recommend day 3 – 4 sows be first inseminated 24 hours after first detected, day 5 sows at 12 hours after first detected, and day 6+ sows when first detected. “Trials conducted during both summer and winter on a number of SA farms have shown good quality semen extended with long term extenders Androhep and Androstar can be used for up to four days after collection and still achieve satisfactory fertility results,� he added.
and timing of inseminations, sow aftercare and mating records,� said Graeme. “We visit each farm twice, first on a routine mating day to see how piggery staff are managing their sows and semen, and then a follow-up visit to discuss our findings and recommendations.� “We get staff to complete an oestrus duration record for at least 50 sows, which shows when heat was first and last observed for each sow, so we can then retrospectively see how their insemination timing related to assumed time of ovulation. We can then show which sows were probably mated too early, or too late, relative to when they would probably have ovulated, and so where mating labour and semen costs could be reduced through improved timing of inseminations,� said Graeme. “We have found sows on some farms were regularly getting a third insemination, regardless of how long they had been seen on-heat. This was an unnecessary breeding cost and increased the risk of some sows not conceiving at all,� he added.
On-farm AI Audits Industry consultant Graeme Pope, Nuriootpa presented results obtained across several SA farms participating in on-farm AI audits conducted by Pieter Langendijk and himself. “At these audits we look into all aspects of managing semen transportation, its storage and handling on-farm, heat detection practices, use of boars, number
Trans-cervical AI Dr Martin Schulze, R&D Director at the Institute for Reproduction of Farms Animals, near Berlin spoke on the uptake of trans-cervical AI using semen doses of only 0.3 billion sperm per piglet and boar studs with only 20 boars covering the semen requirements of 6,000 sows. “Farm staff heat check their sows using boars in the same way they normally would
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PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013
Dr Martin Schulze
with traditional AI. Then they leave the sows for 1-2 hours before returning to insert a foam-tip catheter past the cervix, and then leave it there for 5-10 minutes before squeezing a 50ml semen dose containing only 1.5 billion total sperm down the catheter through the relaxed cervix in 20 seconds�, said Martin. Sow health affects fertility Dr Bernie Gleeson, veterinarian with Chris Richards & Associates, Victoria covered aspects of herd health affecting reproduction in Australian piggeries by first listing the range of bacterial and viral diseases capable of limiting sow fertility and stating that most diseases travel on or with pigs. “We look into herd data when conducting an infertility investigation and often disease is an incidental finding. But it is both useless investigating poor production data and useless reporting on a poor investigation,� he said. “Non-infectious health problems like sow lameness, poor body condition and sore feet can have a big effect on reproductive efficiency.� “We are also looking into some novel uses for some exogenous hormones to assist thin or first parity sows to conceive, and to bigger litters, as well as to better synchronise ovulation to enable single, fixed-time inseminations,� Bernie added. The Day 1 program concluded with a speaker’s panel Q&A session facilitated by Graeme Pope, which generated another hour of lively discussion amongst the audience.
NEWS Minitube Artificial Breeding Seminars – Bendigo Day 2 By GRAEME POPE, Graeme Pope Consulting, Nuriootpa Minitube Australia’s second day of pig reproduction seminars held at Bendigo on May 23rd re-introduced speakers Drs Martin Schulze, Rudolf Grossfeld and Bernie Gleeson, with the audience comprising mating shed and boar stud staff, commercial AB Centre staff and DIY onfarm semen collectors. Dr Martin Schulze began by discussing aspects of boar stud management and critical control points in semen production, followed by his personal experiences through conducting AB Centre audits in Europe. Martin has audited 30 AB Centres holding 6,000 boars in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and analysed over 1,000 microbiological and spermatological samples since 2008. “Annual boar stud replacement rates are usually between 40-60%, with the main culling reasons being over 60% for semen quality, 30% are libido related and 30% due to boar age”, said Martin. “Most European AB Centres now house their boars on bedding, especially sawdust, and manually feed them to increase the opportunity for staff to carryout daily boar inspections”. “The boar’s housing environment should be stable. We target optimal temperatures of 12-25C and humidity levels of 60-80%. Boar exercise is associated with improved ejaculate volume and sperm concentration. Boar diets with additives such as iron, vitamins A and B7, biotin, yeasts and fish oils are increasingly being looked at to boost sperm concentration”, he added. “The collection pen should be designed to optimise semen collection efficiency, as well as being a safe workplace for collection staff. “Dummy sow design and the space available around CONTINUED ON PAGE 26 w
Dr Peter Langendijk
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COMPANY PROFILE Where there’s livestock there’s GE Silos GE Silos (Goornong Engineering) was established in a small Victorian rural community near Bendigo by Noel Comer in August 1978. By a happy coincidence this was the year Milne Publications, the previous owners of Pork Journal released its first issue. Lyn Comer, before she married Noel, remembers helping to convert the old shearing shed into the original premises in which silos were produced. This was a booming period for not only broad acre farming but also intensive livestock activities like pig and poultry farms. The business steadily expanded and in 1994 a new purpose built plant was erected and in 2006 a ‘tower’ extension was added to cater for larger silo construction. Sadly Noel Comer passed away in 2001 and today the business is run by Lyn Comer and her son Jason Comer. “GE manufacture a range of pellet silos with a variety of capacities from 5.8 to 66 tonnes,” Lyn explained. “The design is simple and quick to build but we have paid great attention to detail to ensure our product satisfies Australian conditions and growers requirements. “We only use top quality Australian steel supplied by BlueScope and One Steel. “Though the product range is based on standardised and proven designs we can customise our silos to suit the specifics of both the site, the industry and the growers requirements,” Lyn added. As is the case with many Australian manufacturing enterprises, imported product is a fact of life but Lyn Comer points out the obvious advantages of buying a locally manufactured product. “We can establish critical criteria for our clients on site and once in service all parts are readily available should they be required in the future. All silo frames are made from Duragal and no inferior grades of steel are used in our manufacturing process. “Cones, walls and roof are formed in our factory from Grade 300 Zincalume. “Spin formed base entry manholes and galvanized caps allow easy access and a ‘ledge free’ interior allows for complete emptying,” she said.
16 PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013
“Bagging chutes are standard on most silos and only high strength airtight ‘Avibulbs’ and ‘Monobolts’ are used by us,” Lyn stated. Apart from the pellet silos that would be a standard requirement for pig farms, GE manufactures grain storage silos and field bins for the those growers with grain growing capacity that is part of their overall enterprise. “Certainly the last 35 years of GE Silos have seen some challenges and no doubt Jason and I will see plenty more in the coming years, but like the pig industry itself we are no strangers to competition and it only makes us more determined to produce the best possible products at competitive prices,” Lyn concluded.
Top: GE range of pellet silos and field bins made from Australian Grade 300 Zincalume. Centre: Purpose built plant built in 1994, extended in 2006. Above: Lyn and Jason Comer run GE Silos today.
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PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013      17
NEWS Charles Rickard-Bell: The accidental academic Meet Charles Rikard-Bell, one of Australia’s most recent PhD graduates, whose studies have played a key role in the widespread adoption of the feed additive, Paylean, by the Australian pork industry. Besides fulfilling a number of personal and professional ambitions, his achievements have directly added tens of millions of dollars in extra profit to the Australian pork industry. Charlie’s career is an amazing story of following one’s dreams and making the most of every opportunity. Graduating from the University of Sydney in 1987, Charlie started his career as a geneticist with a major Australian poultry breeding company before venturing overseas. “The plan was to spend 12 months to learn more about swine genetics and farming with Cotswold Pig Development research station in England,” he said. “I liked it so much I stayed on and did a masters of pig production and science at the University of Aberdeen. He then spent eight years with Seghers Hybrid, a Belgian pig breeding company that supplied high performance genetics to producers throughout Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and Latin America. Charlie returned to Australia in 1998 to manage a poultry broiler farming business outside Adelaide. Four years later, the opportunity arose to join Elanco as a sales representative servicing pork and poultry producers in southern Australia. “Paylean was launched in Australia in my first few months with Elanco and as a geneticist, I was fascinated by its potential,” he said. “It offered the potential to achieve in four weeks what would probably take about five or 10 years to achieve with selection techniques currently utilised by swine breeding companies.” Paylean is an innovative feed ingredient with unique ‘nutrient partitioning’ properties. In simple terms, the active ingredient – ractopamine hydrochloride, a beta adrenoceptor-agonist – helps to divert energy away from fat deposition while increasing protein synthesis inside muscle tissue. These properties are particularly advantageous in pig production by improving growthbrates, feed efficiency and lean
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PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013
Dr Charles Rickard-Bell with his wife Jen at his PhD presentation ceremony.
carcase yield during the finishing phase. Despite its obvious benefits, the Australian pig industry was slow to adopt the technology. “No-one doubted whether Paylean worked but all of the data was based on USproduction systems,” Charlie said. “The Australian pig industry is very different from that in North America. “We have very different rations, we turn off pigs at a much lighter liveweight and a lot of our male pigs are immunocastrates (males which have been rendered infertile by inducing an immune response). “It became clear that we needed to address these concerns. “Elanco teamed up with South Australian Research and Development Institute to conduct a finishing study investigating the effect of ractopamine in gilts, boars and immunocastrates. “I was nominated as the study observer – probably because I lived 10 minutes away – but this study gave me a really good feel for how Paylean could work here in Australia.” Impressed with the initial results, key industry figures lobbied Elanco in 2006 to conduct a major study in collaboration with the newly-formed Pork Cooperative Research Centre. “In the initial meeting, one of the Pork CRC members suggested this study would be an ideal project for a PhD student,”
Charlie said. “I didn’t say anything at the time but I knew straight away that I wanted to be that person. “I talked it through with my wife, Jen, and I approached my managers to see if this was possible. “It took 12 months to work through the issues and to develop a plan that satisfied all parties. “Elanco and the Pork CRC wanted to make sure there was no conflict of interestbetween all the parties involved. “Elanco was worried about who was going to do my job and I was worried about how I was going to support my family! “In the end, Elanco agreed for me to work part-time and the Pork CRC allocated a stipend for me to undertake the experiments on its behalf. “The final outcome was the best of both worlds – I was able to pursue these studies and continue working for Elanco at the same time.” Over the next five years, Charlie investigated the mechanisms and effects of ractopamine on fat and muscle deposition in finisher pigs. The live studies involved a series of experiments to determine the effect of starting weight, lysine level, dosage and gender upon the response of finisher pigs to dietary ractopamine. Two combination studies were under-
NEWS taken to determine the effect of the metahave been peer-reviewed and have been “Elanco opened up a total new career bolic modifiers, porcine somatotropin published inthe esteemed Journal of path for me that I never expected. (pST) and Improvac (an anti GnRH Animal Science and Journal of Animal “My PhD was very transparent to the immunisation vaccine) with dietary Production Science. pig industry and during this time both ractopamine. “I always wanted to go into intensive University academics and key industry A laboratory study examined the effect farming at home,” Charlie said. bodies were impressed by the support and of ractopamine dose on the expression of “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever backing that Elanco was able to give to one specific beta-adrenergic receptor genes in think I would end up being published in of its adipose and skeletal muscle. the academic journals I used to cite as an employees. “We found that starting weight had no undergraduate. “I am very indebted to Elanco and impact on the response to ractopamine in “I guess I just kept following my core I’d like to think that this arrangement finisher pigs, which included pigs treated interest in genetics and one opportunity has been very beneficial to both parties,” with metabolic modifiers,” Charlie said. just led to another. he said. “This was pretty much what we expected but at last we had solid, independent data to validate the use of ractopamine in Australian production systems. “A big insight was that the provision of adequate levels of lysine were critical in the first week of treatment, which lead to major changes in the nutritional advice given to pork producers on how Paylean could be used to maximise response.” It is estimated that Paylean is now used to finish about 70% of the We also supply complete feed mills designed for the small or large farmer five million pigs turned off in so why not start milling your own grain today and benefit from the savings Australia each year. Charlie resumed full-time work with Elanco in June 2011 and was Need a new pencil or centreless auger we stock a large range of grain augering equipment at great prices appointed asRegional Brand Manager – Asia Pacific soon afterwards. His region includes China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Despite a demanding travel routine, Charlie says his work-life balance has never been better. “I travel overseas 16 weeks a year and it’s pretty full-on, but in many ways, I’m at home more than I ever was when I was studying and working part-time for Elanco Australia as a rep. “When I’m home, I’m home and my family appreciates that.” Home is a 40-hectare farm with a small olive grove at Redbanks, north of Adelaide, where he lives with wife, Jen, and four children, Georgia, Hugo, Caitlin and Angus. After a frantic year writing up the results of his studies, Charlie submitted his thesis to Murdoch University in July last year and was duly acknowledged as a Doctor of Philosophy in October. Three of Charlie’s experiments
PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013 19
NEWS Celebrating Australian Bacon Week Australian Bacon Week (12–19 May) is the celebration of true, blue Aussie bacon. And with it comes the announcement of the winners of the National Bacon Awards for Excellence – and Australia’s most expensive bacon and egg roll. It is often said that bacon is the meat that will tempt vegetarians to follow the carnivorous path back to sal(i)vation. And this is the week to do it. But some two thirds of the bacon sold in Australia is made from imported, subsidised pork. That equates to over 2.9 million kilograms of foreign pig meat – $9.9 million worth – arriving in Australia every week destined for processing into smallgoods like bacon. Australian Bacon Week is an initiative to highlight the pink square PorkMark label – the only guaranteed way consumers can choose 100% pure home grown Australian bacon. Australia’s Best Bacon, as well as other national and state winners was officially announced at a breakfast function in
Sydney on Monday 13 May. Celebrity chef Colin Fassnidge hosted the event at his restaurant, 4Fourteen. During Australian Bacon Week Colin Fassnidge featured what is arguably Australia’s most decadent bacon and egg roll on his menu at4Fourteen and a more modest version at all his restaurants: 4Fourteen, 4inhand and Paddington Arms. Australia’s most expensive bacon and egg roll boasts the award-winning Australian bacon, duck egg cooked in truffle butter, roasted foie gras, 18-month cave-aged cheddar, shaved truffle, semi dried smoked gourmet truss tomato with a crè me fraÎ che and caviar dressing, served on a brioche bun. And the cost – $120. Australian Pork Limited (APL) is issuing a challenge to Australia’s chefs to create their own version of the most decadent bacon and egg roll to match the Fassnidge masterpiece. Already responses to the challenge have come from gun chefs in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. Throughout Australian Bacon Week
APL Membership In accordance with the Australian Pork Limited (APL) Constitution, RQFH HYHU\ WKUHH ÀQDQFLDO \HDUV DOO $3/ PHPEHUV DUH UHTXLUHG WR UHQHZ WKHLU PHPEHUVKLS DQG SURYLGH D VWDWXWRU\ GHFODUDWLRQ WR $3/ VWDWLQJ WKDW WKH\ DUH DQ $XVWUDOLDQ SLJ SURGXFHU DQG WKH DPRXQW RI 3LJ 6ODXJKWHU /HY\ WKH\ KDYH SDLG LQ WKH ÀQDQFLDO \HDU $3/ PHPEHUVKLS IRUPV LQFOXGLQJ VWDWXWRU\ GHFODUDWLRQV ZLOO EH IRUZDUGHG WR DOO PHPEHUV DW WKH HQG RI -XQH 7R UHQHZ DQ $3/ PHPEHUVKLS PHPEHUV ZLOO QHHG WR VXEPLW WKH VWDWXWRU\ GHFODUDWLRQ ZLWK WKHLU /HY\ FRQWULEXWLRQV DQG DQ\ FKDQJHV WR WKHLU PHPEHUVKLS LQIRUPDWLRQ Please remember paying the Pig Slaughter Levy does not automatically make you a member of APL. If you have not previously been a member of APL, now is your opportunity.
SO DON’T MISS OUT $VVRFLDWH 3URGXFHU DQG $VVRFLDWH &RUSRUDWH PHPEHUVKLSV DUH DOVR XS IRU UHQHZDO 1RQ OHY\ SD\LQJ SURGXFHUV DQG LQGXVWU\ SDUWQHUV PD\ DSSO\ IRU $3/ PHPEHUVKLS DQG DUH HQFRXUDJHG WR FRQWDFW WKH 0HPEHUVKLS 2IÀFHU 3OHDVH FRQWDFW $3/ LI \RX KDYH DQ\ TXHULHV UHJDUGLQJ \RXU PHPEHUVKLS UHQHZDO For more information please contact the APL Membership 2IÀFHU RQ 7ROO )UHH
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PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013
various butchers and supermarkets around the country promoted PorkMark labeled Australian bacon. Currently, there are 384 butchers and smallgoods producers licensed to champion the PorkMark on their products. Since the inception of Australian Bacon Week in 2010, the number of licensees nationwide has continued to grow, reflecting the growing push from the Australian public to identify and buy local Australian grown produce. The National Bacon Awards for Excellence judging panel comprised fleishmeister Horst Schurger, who has a Master’s degree in Butchering and Smallgoods from the Master College in MĂśnchengladbach Germany and two chefs, Paul McDonald and Simon Bestley. Between them, McDonald and Bestley have broad international experience working in Michelin starred restaurants, cruise liners and premier teaching institutions. And the national winners are... 1. Steve Chapman from Slade Point Meat Specialists in Mackay, Queensland, won the overall prize for Australia’s best full rasher bacon, with a record score of 293 out of 300. The judges described this bacon as being perfectly presented, displaying a great smokey colour, excellent aroma, with a wood smoke flavour, very good lean to fat ratio resulting in minimal shrinkage. Mark Stapleton from Stapletons Meats in Gymea, NSW, took out the number one spot for the nation’s best short cut bacon. The judges described his entry as “Excellent looking bacon with a fantastic aroma, minimal shrinkage with a well balanced flavour and aftertaste.â€? NATIONAL WINNERS Full Rasher Bacon 1. Steve Chapman Slade Point Meat Specialists Mackay QLD Ph: 07 4955 1009 2. David Blue Kenthurst Butchery Kenthurst NSW Ph: 02 9654 1557 3. Clint Sharman Sharman’s Butchery Wivenhoe TAS Ph: 03 6431 2213 Short Cut Bacon 1. Mark Stapleton Stapletons Meats Gymea NSW Ph: 02 9525 1019 2. Tony Rapone Bertocchi Smallgoods Thomastown VIC Ph: 03 9355 5109 3. Aaron Reddy Balhanna Junction Meats Balhanna SA Ph: 08 8388 4724
PRODUCT NEWS Biomin launches FUMzyme – first purified enzyme against fumonisins the lead in the development of revolutionmycotoxins and the pH dependence of the FUMzyme – the first purified enzyme that ary strategies to counteract mycotoxins. reaction, fumonisins are often insufficiently biotransforms fumonisins into non-toxic FUMzyme is available as part of the adsorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. metabolites – was launched recently during Mycofix product line and in Australia will FUMzyme, the result of years of intenVIV Asia 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand. be submitted to APVMA for approval in sive research at the Biomin Research FUMzyme represents a great step the coming months. Center in Tulln, enables Biomin to keep forward in mycotoxin risk management, closing the gaps of adsorption amid increasing contamination levels and unidentified losses in animal performance. Ursula Hofstetter, Director of the Competence Center Mycotoxins at Biomin announced that Biomin had Location: L ocation: A Australia ustralia taken advantage of its 30 years of experience in mycotoxin EEW W Nutrition Nutrition GmbH (an affilia te of the EEW W Gr oup) is a fast affiliate Group) risk management and its g rowing company, company, globally ac tive with a str ong sciencesciencegrowing active strong know-how in biotransformabased pr oduct portfolio portfolio in the field of functional, functional, inno vative product innovative tion to introduce during VIV ffeed eed additives. additives. Headquartered Headquartered in G ermany with subsidiar ies Germany subsidiaries Asia 2013 FUMzyme, a comFor us, innovation in the US, Br azil, Japan, China, Singapore. Singapore. Brazil, pletely new approach in counT he pr oduc t por tf olio includes F unc tional E gg P r ot eins The product portfolio Functional Egg Proteins is natural. teracting fumonisins in animal ((GlobigenŽ), GlobigenŽ), TToxin oxin binders (MastersorbŽ), (MastersorbŽ), mar keting leading marketing production. pr oducts in the Br azilian mar ket, e xtracts and sec ondary plan products Brazilian market, extracts secondary plantt FUMzyme is a purified So are results. c ompounds pur ified essen tial oils ( A c tiv oŽ), MOS (BgMOSŽ). compounds purified essential (ActivoŽ), enzyme that biotransforms EEW W Nutrition Nutrition GmbH is a base pr oducer of all rraw aw ma terials producer materials fumonisins into non-toxic used in our pr oduc ts . W e pr o vide high qualit y , t echnically products. We provide quality, technically metabolites in the gastroindiff erentiated feed feed additiv es with suppor tive rresearch, esearch, dev eldifferentiated additives supportive develtestinal tract of animals. opmen t sk illed emplo y ees . opment and highly skilled employees. The detoxifying activity of To T o fur further ther str strengthen engthen our suppor supportt and links tto o the mar market ket this revolutionary enzyme was we w e are are in the process process of establishing an incr increased eased local confirmed in numerous in presence presence in all key mar markets kets ar around ound the w world. orld. IIn n 2013 w we e are are vitro and in vivo experiments. expanding expanding our foot foot pr print int in A Australia. ustralia. FFor or this we we ar are e seek seeking ing Climate change and the professionals prof ofessionals essionals ffor: or: international transportation of raw materials are only two of several factors that increase fumonisin contamination all Required Requir ed ccompetence/experience: ompetence/experience: over the world. t 5FDIOJDBM TBMFT FYQFSJFODF JO SFMFWBOU BHSJDVMUVSBM BOJNBM 5 FDIOJDBM TBMFT FYQFSJFODF JO SFMFWBOU BHSJDVMUVSBM BOJNBM Recent findings have health or animal ffeed eed sec sectors tors revealed natural fumonisin t &OUSFQSFOFVSJBM RVBMJUJFT BOE B QJPOFFSJOH TQJSJU &OUSFQSFOFVSJBM RVBMJUJFT BOE B QJPOFFSJOH TQJSJU contamination levels of 77 ppm in finished feed. Pig and t (PPE FEVDBUJPO BOE SFMFWBOU LOPX IPX (PPE FEVDBUJPO BOE SFMFWBOU LOPX IPX poultry farmers are not only t 6OEFSTUBOEJOH PG DVTUPNFS BOE NBSLFU OFFET 6OEFSTUBOEJOH PG DVTUPNFS BOE NBSLFU OFFET suffering from unidentified t &YDFMMFOU QFSTPOOFM NBOBHFNFOU NPUJWBUJPO TLJMMT &YDFMMFOU QFSTPOOFM NBOBHFNFOU NPUJWBUJPO TLJMMT losses in performance and immunosuppressive effects, T To o apply apply,, please ccontact: ontact: but also species-specific cliniDr M ark D eimel: HR D epartment, EEW W Nutr ition GmbH, Mark Deimel: Department, Nutrition cal problems. mar mark.deimel@ew-nutrition.com k.deimel@ew-nutrition.com So far, the only existing R obert N ichol: G Robert Nichol: General eneral Manager Manager EW EW Nutr Nutrition ition SSouth outh East A Asia sia / possibility of alleviating Pacific Pacific Pte Pte Ltd, Ltd, Singapor Singapore e +65 9838 4543, fumonisin intoxication was to robert.nichol@ew-nutrition.com robert.nichol@ew-nutrition.com bind fumonisins by adsorptive substances. 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PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013      21
NEWS Pregnant pause in how to feed group housed sows Recognising that pregnant sows are increasingly being managed in group housing systems, the CRC for High Integrity Australian Pork (Pork CRC) has driven the production of a manual, ‘Feeding Pregnant Sows in Group Housing Systems’. Launched by Pork CRC CEO, Dr Roger Campbell at the 2013 Victorian Pig Fair in Bendigo, it was produced with considerable producer input and in conjunction with Australian Pork Limited (APL). “The manual incorporates much of the information which emerged from earlier Pork CRC research, which has turned on its head what we previously thought. “We now have solid evidence that increasing feed intake of gestating sows in early pregnancy can increase reproduction and that by increasing feed, less dominant sows get adequate nutrition. This is very important with highly competitive group housed sows. “Conversely, Pork CRC research showed increasing feed in late gestation, even for sows with big litters, had little or no effect, so it seems consistent, early feeding is the trick,” Dr Campbell said. The manual can be viewed on the Pork CRC website www.porkcrc.com.au and hard copies will be mailed to Australian
Pork CRC CEO Dr Roger Campbell, launches the ‘Feeding Pregnant Sows in Group Housing Systems’ manual at the 2013 Victorian Pig Fair recently.
pork producers. Recent findings tended to invalidate the long-held theory that sows, particularly younger parity sows, should be fed at a low level immediately after mating. Pork CRC supported research by Pieter Langendijk and Rebecca Athorn showed that higher feeding levels in early gestation tended to reduce circulating progesterone levels, but there was adequate supply from the ovaries to maintain pregnancy. “The breakthrough came from some very intensive and innovative R&D and has been validated commercially. Indeed, their research and other R&D suggest
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PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013
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higher feeding levels in early pregnancy may improve subsequent reproduction,” Dr Campbell said. The results have particular relevance to group housed sows where aggression after mixing can result in the more submissive animals not receiving adequate feed and this has subsequent adverse effects on litter size, according to research by Paul Hemsworth and his group at the University of Melbourne’s Animal Welfare Science Centre. The launch of the sow feeding manual followed successful sow housing solutions workshops at Toowoomba, Queensland and Melbourne, Victoria, in October 2012. At the workshops, producers who had transitioned from stall to group housing revealed that group housing could be made to work but there was no ‘best’ way of doing it. There were, however, factors identified as crucial to success, including ensuring sows had adequate space, reducing aggression and stress in the period immediately after mixing, ensuring sows had adequate nutrition in the first two to four weeks after mixing and, above all, good stockmanship, appropriate supervision and smart management. According to Dr Campbell, these factors are clearly interrelated and are being investigated in more detail in current Pork CRC projects. “The good news is several Pork CRC participants are achieving excellent reproduction figures with group housed sows and we hope the new sow feeding manual will assist and inspire those who are only now operating in the group housed sow space,” he said.
PRODUCT NEWS Palram offers alternative building materials for intensive livestock housing Palram is a global company that has manufactured PVC and polycarbonate building materials for 50 years. It is probably best know in Australia for its Durashield and Suntuf products that offer builders of livestock housing an alternative to steel based roofing and cladding. In July 2009 Palram took over its Australian distributor Burnside Plastics and today operates from a new facility at Campbellfield in Melbourne as well as from its warehouses in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth where the business is growing rapidly across both the commercial and residential sectors. Amir Slijper, who is the new Business Development Manager at Palram Australia, has a lot of markets to tackle but feels very much at home with agricultural applications and intensive livestock in particular with a history of working with leading European livestock housing and equipment manufacturers to develop innovative rearing solutions using products and technology developed by Palram. “Used as a roofing material Durashield is light, easy to handle and install and we believe more resistant to corrosive elements in animal shelters that quickly attacks steel based products,” he said. “Also when we did temperature comparisons during hot summers in Israel in poultry shedding using Durashield roofing, we noticed a lowering of temperatures inside the shed when compared to coated steel products in similar conditions due to greatly reduced transmitted radiated heat. “These advantages are significant in Australia where climatic conditions in many parts of the country are similar to those in Israel,” Amir explained. “Inside livestock housing, Durashield offers similar properties with additional benefits including being easy to clean and resistant not only to corrosion caused by livestock occupation but also cleaning agents and disinfectants. “Palram PVC based HYG product range, of which Durashield HYG is one, have shown themselves to be suitable for medical facilities not only because the material is easy to clean but also because the HYG formulation has anti-bacterial properties itself. These features make the Durashield range an ideal material for intensive livestock shed interiors,” he said. “While Durashield is ideal for livestock shed roofing, wall cladding and interiors Palram’s polycarbonate material, SUNTUF, is a logical substitute for GRP roofing Skylight panels. “After prolonged exposure to the elements and other corrosive agents GRP can delaminate, become opaque and brittle. Polycarbonate is much more durable in service and is easy to install,” Amir stated. When Pork Journal visited the new Palram warehouse, staff were busy handling prefabricated car port and awning kits sold through Bunnings stores and a major component of Palram’s consumer product range in Australia. “We realise that in the agricultural product sector in particular we face stiff competition from the steel based products, which both farmers and consumers are used to. “However we think that the cost competitiveness, ease of installation and durability of both our PVC and polycarbonate based products will win them over in the future,” Amir concluded.
Top: Amir Slijper, new Business Development Manager at Palram Australia. Above: Clear demonstration of advantages of polycarbonate over fibreglass roof light panels.
PORK JOURNAL, May/June 2013 23
NEWS PigGas calculator launched at Victorian Pig Fair PigGas is a new greenhouse gas calculator for the Australian pork industry. Ian Kruger and Greg Mills, formerly of NSW Department of Primary Industries developed the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with research funding from Australian Pork Limited. At its release at the Victorian Pig Fair in April, Mr Kruger commented that farmers and their advisers now have a tool to calculate carbon emissions on piggeries. “PigGas calculates piggery greenhouse gas emissions (methane and nitrous oxide) as tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2-e) equivalents and as kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilogram of Hot Standard Carcass Weight,” he said. “These calculations are fine-tuned to individual piggery production practices based on site specific factors such as diets, feed intakes, growth rates, sale weights, feed milling, feed and pig transport distances, manure solids removal, waste treatment systems, methods of application of effluent and manure to soils and types of energy usage for each group of pigs on site.” Mr Kruger highlighted that PigGas will be useful to all pork producers who want to: • Understand what causes piggery carbon emissions;
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• Quantify their carbon emissions; • Identify potential energy savings; • Develop new income streams from trading carbon credits saved using an approved Carbon Farming Methodology such as ‘Destruction of methane generated from manure in piggeries’; • Identify and test scenarios to reduce on-farm emissions; • Market pork products based on low piggery carbon emissions; • Meet possible future government requirements for reducing on-farm emissions; • Meet Pork CRC emissions target of 1 kg CO2-e / kg HSCW. Six case studies conducted by the PigGas developers show that potential exists to greatly reduce baseline carbon emissions. Results indicated a large variation in on-farm greenhouse emissions (0.99 to 6.39 kg CO2-e / kg HSCW) depending on the various types of pig production and management from fully free range to conventional piggeries. Different scenarios to reduce on-farm greenhouse gas emissions yielded reductions from 5% to 87%! The reductions resulted from improvements to production efficiency, removing solids from the waste stream, covering lagoons and flaring methane, on-farm generation of energy, and changes to solids and effluent reuse. Download the PigGas Calculator and case studies free from Australian Pork Limited website (www.australianpork.com.au). For further information contact: Ian Kruger Consulting, phone 0401 365 488 or email iankrugerconsulting@gmail.com
NEWS PigGas extension funded Funding for the ‘National PigGas Extension’ project was recently announced by the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry in Canberra. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Joe Ludwig, announced the outcomes of the first assessment phase of the Carbon Farming Futures Extension and Outreach Program on 10 April 2013. National PigGas Extension was one of 24 successful projects totalling $21.3 million. Ian Kruger, Principal of the recipient organiSation Ian Kruger Consulting, was delighted with the news. Mr Kruger said “A lot of hard work has gone into the develop-
NZ halts import of raw pork The Supreme Court of New Zealand has ordered the Ministry for Primary Industries to halt the implementation of new regulations that would open a new export market for foreign pork processors. According to the recent order, until the court makes a final ruling, New Zealand will not allow the import of consumer-ready raw pork from the United States, Mexico, Canada and Europe. The regulatory agency recently approved the import of limited quantities (3-kilogram packages or less) of retail-ready fresh pork, but the domestic pork industry challenged those regulations in court. The new ban, which took effect at the end of May, will remain in place during the appeal process from the New Zealand Pork Industry Board. “This is not particularly surprising, nor should it have an impact on any existing exports because the regulations allowing retail-ready cuts haven’t been implemented yet,” Joe Schuele, spokesman for the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) said. “There’s been a consensus among the industry in both countries that they weren’t going to implement the regulations until there was a final say.” The board cited concerns over Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS), which costs the American pig industry more than $600 million annually. New Zealand has had restricted imports of raw pork since 2001 from countries with PRRS-infected pigs. For several years the United States has exported raw pork to designated processing facilities in New Zealand – not into the marketplace directly. Those exports are unaffected by the recent court order. Based on New Zealand’s import data through April, the US is its largest supplier with 2,919 metric tons (mt) – up 43% from last year. These imports are mostly frozen pork destined for approved processing facilities in New Zealand (2,809 mt), but they also included some already-processed products (109 mt). New Zealand’s pork imports from all sources through April were up 15 percent to 11,561 mt, with Canada (2,512 mt, +17 percent), Finland (1,924 mt, -19 percent), Australia (1,453 mt, +14 percent) and Denmark (1,442 mt, +20 percent) as the other main suppliers. PORK JOURNAL HAS MOVED. NEW ADDRESS IS NOW: 22 GERORGE ST, EAST GOSFORD NSW 2250 NEW PHONE IS: 02 4322 0799
ment of PigGas – pork industry greenhouse gas calculator. This news could not have come at a better time with the release of PigGas Calculator to the pork industry on 16 April 2013 at the Victorian Pig Fair.” “This National PigGas Extension grant now allows us to deliver carbon farming extension services to the wider pork industry. Australian Pork Limited is co-funding the project. “The grant will be used to train consultants and advisers, hold PigGas workshops for produces in each state, and provide one-onone extension to piggeries,” Mr Kruger said. “The outcomes of project will be greater producer awareness of on-farm greenhouse gas emissions followed by action on farms to profitably reduce emissions and provide a win-win for the Australian pork industry and the environment.” For further information contact: Ian Kruger Consulting, phone 0401 365 488 or email iankrugerconsulting@gmail.com
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NEWS v CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 it, non-slip flooring, semen collections conducted at regular intervals by the same operator, avoidance of ‘second ejaculates’ and reducing boar distractions or rushing will optimise boar reaction and ejaculation times. “An efficiency target with collecting boars manually would be 5-6 boars per hour, with ejaculate times of 5 minutes,” said Martin. “Warm-up pens located next to collection pens help to reduce boar reaction times and minimising the distances travelled between the boar’s normal housing pen and collection areas will reduce boar handling times and staff fatigue. The use of raised boar ‘milking pits’ and auto-semen collection systems can also assist in improving boar throughput. “Semen quality is set in the collection pen,” said Martin, “so staff should massage the boar’s prepuce and discard the first fraction of the ejaculate to reduce the level of bacterial contamination in the collected ejaculate. “All equipment and surfaces coming into contact with the ejaculate should be pre-warmed to 37-38C to avoid sperm shock and death. “High quality, clean semen analysis and
Pork Journal
processing equipment will maximise semen dose shelf life. “AB Centres should aim for maximum hygiene and minimum contamination when handling ejaculates and can check on standard work practices by laboratory testing 3-5 ejaculates each week for bacterial content and sensitivities, ensuring a good separation exists between boar collection and laboratory areas, and elimination of water baths and glasswear. “One-step dilution of ejaculates is best for sperm motility and semen doses should follow a 4C per hour cooling curve before being packed for transportation.” Dr Schulze’s parting advice was “you know when you are producing a quality product if the customer comes back and not the product!” Dr Bernie Gleeson, veterinary consultant to PorkStorks presented his views on
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Alan Smith, Minitube Australia officially closes the two day program.
aspects of boar management affecting semen quality. “Lameness, sore joints, general aches and pains and the consistency of the boar’s environment can all impact on semen quality. “We have had some success in improving feet structure by walking boars through copper sulphate foot pads,” he said. Dr Grossfeld then presented a video showing the high standard of quality management procedures implemented by Minitube Germany in the manufacture of their semen extenders. A final speaker’s Q&A session followed before Alan Smith, Minitube Australia officially closed the two-day program.
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1. Data on file. 2. Eileen L. Thacker, DVM, PhD; Brad J. Thacker, DVM, PhD; Tamara B. Boettcher, DVM; H. Jayappa, MVSc, PhD. Comparison of antibody production, lymphocyte stimulation, and protection induced by four commercial Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae bacterins. Swine Health and Production. 1998: 6(3): 107-112. 3. Davis RG et al. Onset and Duration of Immunity of a single dose of M+PAC. Proc. Leman Swine Conference 2003. 4. Jayappa H et al. Evaluation of Stability and Duration of Immunity of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae bacterin. Proc. IPVS 2000: 165.
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