SWINE FACILITIES WILL BE DISCUSSED HERE

Sound nutrition, control of swine diseases, facilities matched to production, and adequate records, help to make swine herds profitable and productive say swine experts.

`Birth-to-feeder pig diseases will be discussed during swine seminars, to be conducted today at the New Trends in Agriculture program, which gets under way at 9 a.m. today in the Show Me Center on Southeast Missouri State University campus.

Dr. Jerry Applegate, DVM, at Smith Kline Beechan Animal Health Center in Exton, Pennsylvania and Dr. Rick Tubbs, veterinarian for the commercial ag swine program at the University of Missouri will present tested programs and ideas about diseases control in swine herds.

Dr. John Rea, Extension swine nutritionist, will present new Lysine research increasing profits through feeding and new nursery feeding practices. Feed is the major expense in hog production and ways to keep sound and efficient nutrition while including fat, testing feed ingredients and using whole soybeans will be discussed.

New trends in swine facilities will be addressed by Dr. Joe Zulovich, University of Missouri Commercial Swine Ag Engineer and Glenn Fry, Manager for Ham Hill Farms in Marshall. Zulovich will talk about moving towards gestation buildings, new finishing designs, and building to meet the flow of pigs.

Fry will present data from a farm on Cargill-type building, Nebraska Modified open front and the New North Carolina Building. He will compare the data for thousands of pigs and also bring along flow charts they use for their hog operation. Slides of the buildings and tips for production will also be presented.

Frank Essner of Triple E Pork in Chaffee will present the record-keeping system he uses on his 270-sow herd and why and how to use records. Essner's records can be adapted to any size herd and will show advantages for areas of production.