Swine & U

Today’s consumers seek to know the origin of their food; and in response, more and more small and niche farms are raising pigs to supply natural pork or organic pork for local customers.

Very little university research has been conducted in this area of pig farming. The University of Minnesota’s Yuzhi Li, funded by a succession of National Institute of Food and Agriculture grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has investigated alternative feed grains for organic pigs, the prevalence and control of parasites in pastured pigs, and has embarked on a new organic rye and swine research study.

What is organic?

All pigs grown in the early 1900s could have been considered ‘organic’ by today’s definition. The USDA manages the U.S. organic crops and livestock program and issues certification to farms who meet the organic livestock standards.

USDA’s organic livestock standards include these elements: Pigs must be managed organically from the last third of gestation. Animals must be allowed year-round access to the outdoors except under specific conditions (i.e. inclement weather). Pigs must be raised on certified organic land meeting all organic crop production standards. Animals must be fed 100 percent certified organic feed, except for trace minerals and vitamins used to meet the animal’s nutritional requirements. Pigs must be managed without antibiotics, added growth hormones, mammalian or avian byproducts, or other prohibited feed ingredients (urea, manure or arsenic compounds). Bedding used in organic livestock must come from organically produced crops (i.e. straw or corn stalks).

Some vaccines are allowed in certain stages of breeding swine, and breeding sows are allowed to be treated with synthetic de-wormer in the first and second trimester of gestation.

In organic production, some prohibited substances are allowed if preventative strategies fail and the pigs become ill. Those pigs are not allowed to be marketed as organic after they recover.

In addition, organic animals must be raised in a way that accommodates their natural behavior. Organic animals must have access to outdoors, direct sunlight, shade and shelter with clean dry bedding. Farmers raising organic-certified animals must provide space for exercise, fresh air and clean drinking water

For details on the USDA’s organics program, visit www.ams.usda.gov/organicinfo):

Meeting the needs of producers

Managing swine intestinal parasites is an obstacle for organic pig farmers because there is a lack of organically-approved options for controlling parasites. Dr. Li’s 2019 project was developed to identify what kind of parasite load exists on organic swine farms, and to determine the effectiveness of some

SWINE & U By Diane DeWitte

UniversityofMinnesota EXTENSION SWINE&U

organic-friendly parasite management strategies.

Dr. Li worked with researchers at the Rodale Institute and Kutztown University (both at Kutztown, Penn.) and set up a series of parasite mitigation practices to learn how effective these would be for

organic pig farmers.

In one of these studies, manure and swine bedding was amassed into compost piles in January, June and November to learn what amount of time and temperature is required to inactivate worm eggs. This could be a manure-handling step which could neutralize eggs/larvae and reduce the parasite load on pasture or cropland where the manure is spread.

When considering the effect of parasite infection on pig performance, this study found there is no obvious effect when infection load is low, but younger pigs may be more vulnerable to infection

Brassicaceae is a family of plants which contain a compound, glucosinolate, which, when the plant is chopped up, is transformed into isothiocyanate (ITC). ITC is toxic to bacteria, fungi and nematodes, and has promise as a killer of intestinal parasites in soil. Examples of Brassicaceae include mustard, rapeseed, cress and many more. The plants are mulched or pulverized with a flail mower at flowering, when the glucosinolate levels are high. The broken plants are then immediately incorporated into the soil for maximum ITC effectiveness.

Parasites in pastured pigs

During the previous organic swine project, Dr. Li and her team visited nine organic swine farms in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. On these visits, samples were collected from feeder/ growing pigs, finishing pigs, and the breeding herd. Manure, soil and bedding were gathered at each farm and analyzed for the presence of parasites.

Three common swine worms were identified in the samples collected.

Ascaris suum is known as roundworm and is a common parasite in pigs. A pig consumes the roundworm egg from the soil or pasture, after which it develops and hatches in the intestines. It can travel to the pig’s lungs or liver, and a common symptom of roundworm infection is that the pig has a cough.

Tricuris spp is another familiar swine parasite commonly known as whipworm. The pig becomes infected with Tricuris by consuming eggs found in the environment. The worm hatches and grows within the pig and sheds eggs via feces. In adult pigs, this parasite causes decreased growth and thriftiness.

Oesophagostomum spp are a nematode which in swine are common nodular worms. These worms are generally consumed by the pig in the larval form.

These three are the most well-recognized swine intestinal parasites and are very regularly found in pigs raised on pasture and outdoor settings.

Results from the parasite project

Fecal sample collection at nine organic farms this summer showed eight of the nine farms were infected with parasites. Fifty-six percent of the farms were infected with Oesophagostomum; 78 percent of the farms were infected with Ascaris; and 44 percent of the farms were infected with Tricuris.

Of the animals on infected farms, 60-70 percent of the pigs/sows were infected with Oesophagostomum; 50 percent of the pigs were infected with Ascaris; and 25 percent of the sows and 40 percent of the pigs were infected with Tricuris.

Sows had a higher load of Oesophagostamum than pigs (371 eggs per gram vs. 60 and 176 eggs per gram). Pigs showed a heavy load of Ascaris (1,733 eggs per gram for feeder/growing pigs and 1,198 eggs per gram for finishing pigs); but no Ascaris was found in sows

Trichuris was found in all stages, although at relatively low levels: 55 eggs per gram in sows, 67 eggs per gram in feeder/growing pigs, and 79 eggs per gram in finishing pigs.

These results showed there is a large variation among farms. Organic farms have a wide variety of management protocols, including deworming within USDA organic standards, and care and cleaning of the barn and bedding environment. When considering the effect of parasite infection on pig performance, this study found there is no obvious effect when infection load is low, but younger pigs may be more vulnerable to infection

Hybrid rye studies

Dr. Li and a multidisciplinary team of University of Minnesota associates recently were awarded a

See SWINE & U, pg. 13

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variable and depends on many factors such as the severity and timing of moisture deficiency, heat stress, soil type, management practices and environmental stress as well as disease and pest pressures. All products may exhibit reduced yield under water and heat stress. Individual results may vary.

Roundup Ready® is a registered trademark used under license from Monsanto Company. Liberty®, LibertyLink® and the Water Droplet Design are registered trademarks of BASF. Agrisure® and Agrisure Viptera® are registered trademarks of, and used under license from, a Syngenta Group Company. Agrisure® technology incorporated into these seeds is commercialized under a license from Syngenta Crop Protection AG.

Pioneer® brand products are provided subject to the terms and conditions of purchase which are part of the labeling and purchase documents. TM ® Trademarks of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. © 2021 Corteva.

LAND MINDS, from pg. 2

to consumers at the point of sale.

There are 34 more items. Conclusion of this committee: Each of these 42 bullets is enough to vote against the bill. Taken together, it’s mind-blowing corruption. “It’s not an understatement to say that this bill, if passed, will fundamentally change our country forever. Americans will wake up and wonder what happened to their freedom. We can’t let that happen,” says Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks.

n

And now ponder a bit on this question: How many coal-fired power plants are there in the world today?

The European Union has 468 and is building 27 more — Total 495

Turkey has 56 and is building 93 more — Total 149

South Africa has 79 and is building 24 more — Total 103

India has 589 and is building 446 more — Total 1035

Philippines has 19 and is building 60 more — Total 79

South Korea as 58 and is building 26 more — Total 84

Japan has 90 and is building 45 more — Total 135

China has 2,363 and is building 1,171 more — Total 3,534

That’s 5,615 projected coal powered plants in just eight countries. The United States has 15 and is building zero more for a total of 15.

Whatever the United States does or doesn’t do won’t make a Tinker’s Dam regarding CO2 unless the rest of the world — especially China and India — reduce their coal-fired power plants as well. This climate change and global warming debate is a federal government power-grab to increase taxes and control of the privately-owned power industry of America.

And now you have the rest of the story … just saying.

Dick Hagen is the staff writer emeritus of The Land. He may be reached at rdhagen35@gmail.com. v

Unqualified parties awarded aid

GUEBERT, from pg. 3

called Ben Holtz Consulting, Inc. When the USDA application asked the company to list references, the applicant — presumably Mr. Ben Holtz himself — replied “I don’t have any,” noted the investigators.

The company’s honesty didn’t pay. USDA canceled the contract “before any payments were made.” Maybe, investigators suggest, because its proposal “pitched an unusually broad range for delivery capacity: between 5,000 and 200,000 16 to 18-pound boxes of produce per week.”

In releasing the “Farmers to Families” report Oct. 13, Subcommittee Chairman James Clyburn (Democrat from South Carolina) noted the program “was marred by a structure that prioritized industry over families … cutting corners over competence, and … politics over the public good.” That’s another truism in Washington: Policy drift usually leads to political grift. The Farm and Food File is published weekly through the United States and Canada. Past columns, events and contact information are posted at www.farmandfoodfile.com. v FBM scholarships available

GREENSEAM, from pg. 6

The 2020 Annual Report data shows that on average, a farmer spent almost $960,000 in the greater community. That’s an enormous ripple effect and one of the reasons why SACE continues to support farmers and provide means for them to operationalize their business.

To learn more about FBM, go to www.centerofagriculture.org and click on the Farm Business Management tab. There are a variety of scholarships available for this program along with opportunities to connect with a FBM instructor near you. A copy of the 2020 Annual Report is available on this site as well.

The website https://www.minnstate.edu/ AFNRcareers is a chance to view AFNR career pathways, salary and education information about that career, colleges which offer career programs, as well as videos related to that career pathway.

For assistance or further information about SACE, contact Brad Schloesser, Natalie Compart, Nathan Hanel or Shelly Kitzberger at www.centerofagriculture.org

Talent in the GreenSeam focuses on developing talent and promoting careers in agriculture and food. Dr. Shane Bowyer is the Director of AgriBusiness and Food Innovation in the College of Business at Minnesota State University, Mankato and is on the GreenSeam Talent Committee. He can be reached for comments or talent ideas at shane.bowyer@mnsu. edu. v

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PIONEER® HYBRID/BRAND CRM COMPETITOR HYBRID/BRAND

NUMBER OF COMPARI SONS PERCENTAGE OF WINS PIONEER YIELD ADVANTAGE (BU/A)

P8736AM™ brand P9193AM™ brand P9489AM™ brand P9492AM™ brand P9540AM™ brand P9823Q™ brand P0075Q™ brand P0404Q™ brand P0507Q™ brand 87 91 94 94 95 98 100 104 105 DeKalb DeKalb DeKalb DeKalb DeKalb DeKalb DeKalb DeKalb DeKalb

12 28 36 45 55 167 262 190 200

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83% 57% 58% 67% 73% 78% 71% 81% 54% 12.9 4.7 3.3 4.3 8.4 9.1 5.9 10.9 2.4

Income/A Advantage is calculated with the price of corn at $5.00 per bushel and drying cost of $0.04 per point of moisture. Data is based on an average of 2021 comparisons made in Minnesota through November 5, 2021. Comparisons are against any number of products of the indicated competitor brand unless otherwise stated, and within +/- 4 CRM of the competitive brand. Product responses are variable and subject to any number of environmental, disease and pest pressures. Individual results may vary. Multi-year and multi-location data are a better predictor of future performance. DO NOT USE THIS OR ANY OTHER DATA FROM A LIMITED NUMBER OF TRIALS AS A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN PRODUCT SELECTION. Refer to www.pioneer.com or contact a Pioneer sales representative or authorized dealer for the latest and complete listing of traits and scores for each Pioneer® brand product. Pioneer® brand products are provided subject to the terms and conditions of purchase which are part of the labeling and purchase documents. TM ® SM Trademarks and service marks of Corteva Agriscience and its a liated companies. © 2021 Corteva. 21D-1467-51_TLN_corn_1119_CU2