POSTER 86: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 12:00 – 1:00PM CST
Surveillance of microbial virulence genes in over 5,000 pigs reveals associations between gene abundance, health status and production stage
Presented by Beth Galbraith, M.S., Research Manager, Animal Health – Microbial Discovery Group
Understanding relationships between enteric pathogen abundance, health status and production stage is crucial in development of strategies to prevent disease, reduce morbidity and mortality, and improve the efficiency of pig production. An updated rectal swab surveillance of over 5,000 pigs from more than 200 flows between 2016-2019 extends an earlier pilot study characterizing the abundance of opportunistic enteric pathogen genes in pigs throughout the production process including sows, newborn and late lactation piglets, nursery, and grow finish animals. Using quantitative PCR, relationships between health status or production stage were confirmed and strengthened for genes associated with E. coli, C. perfringens, C. difficile and Salmonella, while new patterns of association with L. intracellularis and Aspergillus species are revealed.
CONCURRENT SESSION #3: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2:00PM CST
The power of big data analytics to generate data-driven production decisions.
Presented by Greg Krahn, Ph.D., Manager of Research Operations, United Animal Health
Implementing technologies to capture individualized pig performance data opens the door to deeper understanding of factors driving performance in swine production systems. The result of this is the ability to gain insights that can help make informed, data-driven decisions. United Animal Health’s utilization of the LeeO Individual Animal Identification System and Big Dutchman feed system allows for routine collection of precise, individualized data that is not commonly found across the swine industry. The focus of individual pig information is to gather distinct results, gain a deeper understanding into production metrics and deliver insights to help producers make data-driven decisions. Leveraging the capabilities of LeeO technology and United Animal Health’s research farms, big data analytics are used to investigate the effects of body weight impact on lifetime performance, and gain understanding into the importance of lactation feed intake on lactation performance and subsequent reproductive performance. This information lends to identifying appropriate strategies to drive system-wide performance in swine production systems.