Peak Swine Genetics, Inc. (Newsletters

July, 2004 Vol. 7, No. 7
PEAK OF PERFORMANCE NEWS

General Manager Comments

The shortage of slaughter hogs available for the Canadian demand drove prices up substantially in the month of May to over $2.00/kg dressed. There have been several slaughter capacity expansions in Western Canada, where the bigger plants need additional hogs to complete their weekly kill. Supply contracts for assured delivery are becoming the norm – the grading and pricing benefits are determining the marketing direction these hogs take. Current US demand is high for southern Alberta hogs, while other local farms are delivering to plants in Saskatchewan and even Manitoba. It will be interesting to see how these various plants compete, in order to assure a constant supply of hogs.

An interesting visit to China for PEAK Swine Genetics and Polar Genetics was completed in May. China continues to grow its modern pig production, adding to the annual volume from small-farm production of some 800 million hogs. China is looking for long-term arrangements with suppliers of genetics and raw materials so as to be able to fulfill its commitments in producing sufficient pork (zhu rou) for the Chinese population. Pork is the meat of choice in China by a wide margin compared to other meats.

PEAK Growth Summit

GROWTH in Marketing Consistency

Enchant Colony has been able to enhance its OLYMEL marketings through judicious weighing of hogs. In market loads of 95 head each, 99% of barrows and 96% of gilts hit a core weight range.

Market weight	85-89.9 kg	90-94.9 kg	95-99.9 kg
Gilt index	113.5	113.5	109.8
Barrow index	111.0	110.2	103.0

Clients Choose PEAK Swine Genetics

We’re pleased to have had Frank Brown, BC order Summit ^® gilts and Duroc boars and Mountainview Colony on its Summit ^®gilt order.

Thank you to all our regular clients!

PEAK Book Of World Records

Larry Jakubec farrowed six purebred gilts in March with an average of 13.2 live piglets, ranging from 10 – 16 live pigs.

Hutterville Colony averaged 13.25 and 13.50 live pigs from 24 farrowings in a January and a February week.

Three gilts at Hutterville Colony weaned 13 piglets/litter in the week that 24 sows weaned an average of 11.6 piglets.

Acidifying Water for Weaned Pigs
Summary and Recommendations
Robyn Harte, M.Sc., A.Ag., Science Officer, PEAK Swine Genetics

Generally low feed intakes, coupled with changes to their environment at weaning, leave the weaned piglet open to bacterial infection or at the very least, stall growth for 3 days or up to 2 weeks. Swine producers, who are eager to optimize pig growth, look for ways to minimize the impact of that weaning growth lag or bacterial infection. Some swine producers have adopted acidifiers in their early weaning barns to help combat low feed intakes and in their whole barn to combat alkaline water pH.

Most bacteria have a specific pH range within which they grow and flourish. Normal water has a pH between 6.8 to 7.3.

Products such as BIO SAVOR^®use organic acids to lower the pH of alkaline (high pH) water to create an environment that prevents bacterial growth. Animals that drink acidified water generally eat more and gain more than their non-acidified water-drinking counterparts. However, the increases are relative to each other and rarely result in increases to feed conversion.

Producers should first get the water quality tested. Your water may already be acidic. (Your PEAK Swine Genetics territory manager now has the capability to measure water acidity with a pH meter.) However, in many areas of Alberta, especially with the recent drought, water has been generally very alkaline. Understanding the quality of your water may influence whether or not you want to use acidifiers.

When adding water acidifiers to their management strategy, producers should keep in mind that gains to production will be greater for poor-producing herds than observed in healthy and well-performing herds. A well-performing herd may see fewer “poor doers” generally but may observe no increases in feed intake or daily gain. Also, producers should test which pH is ideal for their herd and should further test to see which level of pH is ideal for each production group. Generally, the younger the animal the more acidic the water should be, but acidification should not go below 5.5 for any production group.

Recommendations:

Test water quality with a pH meter.
Evaluate what you hope to achieve through water acidification; increased daily gain or decreased bacterial infection.
Shop around for an acidifier that meets your needs; for example Swine SI or BIO SAVOR.

Test various pH levels for each production group to ensure optimum results.

Territory Managers

For more information, contact:

Manager	Territory	Cell Telephone
Les Robinson	Southern & Central Alberta	(250) 833-6196
Paul Klingeman	Pacific Northwest	(509) 989-1347
Mike Miller	Saskatchewan and Montana	(403) 317-0543

Recent Issues

2007		2006		2005		2004

January	(Vol. 10, No.1)	January	(Vol. 9, No.1)	January	(Vol. 8, No.1)	January	(Vol. 7, No.1)
February	(Vol. 10, No.2)	February	(Vol. 9, No.2)	February	(Vol. 8, No.2)	February	(Vol. 7, No.2)
		March	(Vol. 9, No.3, No.3a)	March	(Vol. 8, No.3, No.3a)	March	(Vol. 7, No.3, No.3a)
		April	(Vol. 9, No. 4)	April	(Vol. 8, No. 4)	April	(Vol. 7, No. 4)
		May	(Vol. 9, No. 5)	May	(Vol. 8, No. 5)	May	(Vol. 7, No. 5)
		June	(Vol. 9, No. 6)	June	(Vol. 8, No. 6)	June	(Vol. 7, No. 6)
		July	(Vol. 9, No. 7)	July	(Vol. 8, No. 7)	July	(Vol. 7, No. 7)
		August	(Vol. 9, No. 8)	August	(Vol. 8, No. 8)	August	(Vol. 7, No. 8)
		September	(Vol. 9, No. 9)	September	(Vol. 8, No. 9)	September	(Vol. 7, No. 9)
		October	(Vol. 9, No. 10)	October	(Vol. 8, No. 10)	October	(Vol. 7, No. 10)
		November	(Vol. 9, No. 11)	November	(Vol. 8, No. 11)	November	(Vol. 7, No. 11)
		December	(Vol. 9, No. 12)	December	(Vol. 8, No. 12)	December	(Vol. 7, No. 12)

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