News from the National Pork Board (Mar ’17)
Building upon its previous series on Sow Housing Options fact sheets, the Pork Checkoff has introduced a new series called “Sow Housing Management Guides.” Six experts from various universities collectively wrote the six new booklets, each over 30 pages, which provide checklists and troubleshooting sections for in-depth practicality. The printed guides are in English and can be ordered free at www.pork.org/porkstore. The PDF versions are in English and Spanish and can be found at www.pork.org/sowhousing.
For more information, contact Sherrie Webb at SWebb@pork.org or 515-223-3533.
Swine welfare symposium coming in November: Abstract-poster submission now open
The inaugural Pig Welfare Symposium will be held November 7 to 9, 2017, in Des Moines, Iowa. It will be a forum for sharing ideas, learning from other segments of the industry, and fostering dialogue on pig welfare-related issues. For those professionals and students interested in submitting abstracts for a technical poster presentation, please visit the symposium site at www.pork.org/pws. Students who submit also can chose to participate in a poster competition. All submissions are due by June 15, 2017.
For more information, contact Sherrie Webb at SWebb@pork.org or 515-223-3533.
Checkoff offers four educational modules to assist with the Common Swine Industry Audit
The Pork Checkoff is now offering four new educational modules to help producers prepare for the Common Swine Industry Audit and the PQA Plus Site Assessment. The modules are titled “Timely Euthanasia,” “Standard Operating Procedures,” “Willful Acts of Abuse,” and “Medication and Treatment Records.” Each module is about 10 minutes long and offers background information on the topic, goes over what auditors evaluate, and then asks producers to complete exercises to confirm their knowledge. Modules can be completed individually or as a series. The English-based modules are available on a flash drive, and the Spanish-based modules will be shortly, as well. Both are available via download at www.pork.org/commonaudit.
For more information, contact Jamee Amundsen at JAmundsen@pork.org or 515-223-3534.