Decisions around sow barn remodeling, reducing sow herd inventory, and adjusting gilt flow are some of the challenges U.S. pork producers face as they explore options to make farms compliant with California’s Proposition 12 requirements. This publication provides considerations for producers who plan to transition their production to Proposition 12 housing, including how existing management practices may change.

Sow mortality, specifically as the result of pelvic organ prolapses, has significantly increased in recent years in the U.S. swine industry.

In 2018, IPIC received funding from National Pork Board to lead an industry-wide effort in identifying specific areas that may be contributing to the increasing incidence of prolapses. Additional POP research has been done through the Improving Pig Survivability Project, a 5-year collaborative grant funded by National Pork Board and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR).

This document aims to raise awareness about heat stress as it affects sow breeding herds for owners, managers, and caretakers. Additional strategies are included to minimize animal stress, along with a list of relevant research that provides insight into this production hurdle. Available for no cost from the ISU Extension Store.

Heat stress costs the swine industry about $900 million each year by reducing pig growth and reproduction.  Researchers study heat stress to find better ways to reduce its effects, including understanding how it may affect male and female pigs differently. The guide is available at no cost from the ISU Extension Store.

Pig X created a four-part series on heat stress in its different stages. Dr. Josh Selsby begins by sharing information covering the grant this research project received. Dr. Kara Stewart then takes us into more detail, discussing what heat stress is and the effects of its losses.

Selection and structure play a crucial role in gilt development, learn the importance of selecting the right gilts, the selection process, and key traits to look for when choosing replacement gilts.

Nutrition fundamentals for gilt development tailored to each critical stage of a gilt’s lifecycle, from preweaning and the growing phase to breeding and gestation.

Explore the science behind how puberty and prepubertal development are linked to reproductive success, offering producers evidence-based strategies for selecting gilts with the highest potential.

Expert advice on when to synchronize gilts, the science behind estrus synchronization, and how to use synchronization products effectively to optimize reproductive success.

The environment plays a critical role in gilt development, get detailed guidance on creating optimal conditions for replacement gilts, including best practices for stocking density, air quality, and ventilation.

As research continues to develop new ways to improve the swine industry, our farms have to find ways to feasibly implement these new developments. Some new technologies look good on paper, but are not feasible due to the cost of the extra labor. In today’s talk, Dr. Ken Stalder discusses different ways of defining sow productivity, the necessary training required to implement new technologies, and how to identify which technologies will be the most beneficial to implement on the farm.

On this episode of the PigX podcast we are talking about sow longevity. To give you a heads up, there's a lot more to longevity than you might think! Tune in as we talk about all these key components with Dr. Mark Wilson of Zinpro Corporation and Wayne Cast of PIC.

This article describes research that has been conducted to examine the effects of environmental conditions to which replacement gilts are exposed on lifetime reproductive performance and longevity, and will pay particularly close attention to effects of nursery floor space allowance.

Research funded by the Pork Checkoff and other studies clearly show that early parity sows leave the breeding herd for either reproductive failure (encompassing numerous reproductive issues such as failure to cycle, failure to conceive, failure to farrow, and other reproductive issues), or feet and leg soundness and locomotion issues.

Join Matt Romoser, field specialist with the Iowa Pork Industry Center, as he dives into the critical role of boar exposure in gilt development and reproductive success. This video provides detailed insights on how to effectively utilize teaser boars, the importance of timing in boar exposure, and the different types of boar exposure strategies.

Join us as Matt Romoser, a field specialist with the Iowa Pork Industry Center, shares his expertise on developing gilts for breeding. This video provides valuable insights into the key factors that determine breeding eligibility.

Join Matt Romoser, field specialist with the Iowa Pork Industry Center, as he delves into the process of gilt reproductive tract development. This video offers expert guidance on key aspects of reproductive development, including early puberty onset, challenges in detecting early puberty, and the science of follicular development in prepubertal gilts.

This is part three of a three part series on Gilt Selection with Dr. Ken Stalder (Swine Genetics Specialist, Iowa State University), Malcolm Turley (PIC Gene Transfer Supply Account Manager), and Marlon Tafs (PIC Quality Assurance Manager). In this episode the group discusses animal composition, selection criteria outcomes, and managing breeding animals vs production animals.

This is part two of a three part series on Gilt Selection with Dr. Ken Stalder (Swine Genetics Specialist, Iowa State University), Malcolm Turley (PIC Gene Transfer Supply Account Manager), and Marlon Tafs (PIC Quality Assurance Manager). In this episode the group discusses pitfalls and where where people can go wrong.

This is part one of a three part series on gilt selection with Dr. Ken Stalder (Swine Genetics Specialist, Iowa State University), Malcolm Turley (PIC Gene Transfer Supply Account Manager), and Marlon Tafs (PIC Quality Assurance Manager). In this episode the group discusses space, lighting, and training.

The central hypothesis of this project is that gilts demonstrating tertiary follicle development on their ovaries earlier in life are more likely to achieve puberty at a younger age compared to their counterparts. The objective of this project was to identify physiological markers and specific time-points during pre-pubertal development that could be utilized as valid indices to predict age of first puberty. Five time points (days 75, 85, 95, 105 and 115 of age) were used and at each time point from which phenotypic measures (vulva length, vulva width, and body weight) and blood were collected. These time points represent specific days in age that observations can be made to distinguish gilts with high and low probability of achieving puberty by 200 days of age. Identification of pre-pubertal markers that correlate to age of first puberty will assist producers in making earlier gilt replacement decisions.

Use of sex sorted semen to generate replacement heifers is increasingly common in the dairy industry. This same technology has also been applied to pigs, and advances towards larger scale application are being made. Dr. Brad Belstra, Reproductive Services Manager, Fast Genetics, Ames, IA, explained how altering the sex ratio of swine litters will allow our industry to accelerate genetic improvement, increase gilt multiplication efficiency, and possibly capture additional finishing efficiencies by choosing to raise all gilts, boars, or barrows. 

Practical guide covering boar fertility checks, optimal mating frequency, heat stress prevention, and a 11-point boar management summary for successful breeding programs.

The primary component traits of P/S/Y include ovulation rate, farrowing rate, number born alive, preweaning mortality, number weaned, wean-to-service interval, litters/sow/year and longevity. As we examine each of these important traits, there are opportunities and limitations to each for improvement through selection.