NEWS NOW from IPIC

News for you from Iowa Pork Industry Center at Iowa State University

View this email in your browser .................................................................. THOUGHTS FROM 109 KILDEE Congratulations and Best Wishes John Patience, who has been the face of applied swine nutrition at ISU Animal Science department for more than a decade, has retired. He has spoken at numerous producer and industry meetings at the area, state, national and international levels, and has mentored undergrad and graduate students, many of whom have gone on to vital roles in the same industry. Our congratulations to John on this milestone and our thanks for choosing ISU and IPIC as "home" since 2008. See an article in National Hog Farmer and share your good wishes on the ISU Animal Science department Facebook page. Also congratulations to Matt Wenger of the ISU Meat Lab for receiving the ISU Outstanding Achievement in Extension or Professional Practice, to Locke Karriker for being named a Morrill Professor in VDPAM, and to Nick Gabler for receiving the Gamma Sigma Delta Research Mission Award of Merit. .................................................................. NEWS New Composting Tips Publication Available Composting has long been an option for livestock mortality disposal. Although composting has not been standard operating procedure on many farms due to other established processes, some new or potential situation changes have led to renewed interest in composting. A new publication from Iowa Pork Industry Center can help provide the information you need, according to Dave Stender, one of the authors. --- Ractopamine FAQ and Market Hog Show Documents Introduced in 2020, two documents sharing information on ractopamine and how to incorporate the information into decision-making process by market hog shows, fairs and exhibitions offer timely info. Locke Karriker and Chris Rademacher of ISU's VDPAM developed an FAQ document  and Jodi Sterle of ISU's animal science department wrote the document on options for considerations by show organizers. Both are free pdf documents.   .................................................................. PRODUCTION TIP Sprinklers Aid in Cooling One method of cooling pigs indoors in the summer is to run a sprinkler. Because pigs don't sweat, effective sprinkling relies on evaporation to cool the pig. Set sprinklers to cycle on and off with temperature and duration. Be sure to fine-tune the duration to avoid soaking the pig and creating excess water in the pit. Also, monitor the dew point and reduce sprinkler use when the dew point is low to avoid excess humidity. If you're interested in swine building ventilation workshops, contact Brett Ramirez with ISU Ag and Biosystems Engineering or email IPIC. .................................................................. IT'S A DATE Continuing. Foreign Animal Disease Webinars. Brought to you by IDALS and CFSPH at ISU. May 18. Details and registration link on IDALS FAD webinar website. --- June 9-11. World Pork Expo. Back in Des Moines at the Iowa State Fairgrounds after a two-year absence. Register online. --- June 11. Virtual PQA Advisor Certification session. A minimum of five attendees is required to hold a session. Application deadline is two weeks prior to each session date. Applications must be approved and registration fee paid to confirm your spot in the session. Choose either word or pdf format. See other dates and find links to application forms on the IPIC website. --- June 24. Iowa Swine Day. Scheman Building, ISU campus, Ames. Returning to in-person this year, although University COVID-19 guidelines for large gatherings in effect at the time of the conference will be followed. Registration is now open. Check the conference website for agenda, topics, speakers and registration info. --- Sept. 18-21. Allen D. Leman Conference. This year's event will be hybrid. Attend in person in downtown St. Paul, MN, or take part virtually. Presentation recordings to be available for all registrants. More info later. --- Oct. 27-28. International Conference on Pig Survivability. Omaha. Registration is open on the conference website. .................................................................. DID YOU KNOW? SHIC Research Project on Rodent Transmission Risk A recently completed research project on African Swine Fever in Vietnam looked at the potential for rodents to carry that virus on hog farms. Conducted by the Swine Health Information Center and funded by USDA Foreign Ag Service and NPPC, the project was conducted on five farms ranging in size from 26 to 851 pigs, across four provinces where recent ASF outbreaks had been identified. The first experiment involved trapping rats on-farm, with necropsy and PCR testing. Results suggested rats/rodents do not serve as important ASF vectors. A second experiment looked at whether rats were susceptible to challenge and ASFV, and then whether they were able to transmit it to other susceptible rodents. Although other research has shown rodents to be disease carriers, this second experiment did not show rodents to become ill or infected with ASFV through the incubation period of 21 days. Read more about this project on the SHIC website. .................................................................. FOR THE RECORD Help for Dealing with Stress Whether financial, emotional, mental or social, stress and grief are real parts of today's world.  Events such as the Derecho and the COVID-19 pandemic can increase the impacts and effects of stress and grief regardless of the depth of personal experience. The Iowa Concern Hotline is always available at 800-447-1985, iowaconcern@iastate.edu and at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/iowaconcern/ ................................................................... NEWS NOW   Vol. 21, no. 1 May 2021 Iowa Pork Industry Center Iowa State University, 109 Kildee Hall, 806 Stange Rd. Ames, IA  50011-1178 Phone 515-294-4103  Toll-free 800-808-7675 (Iowa only) Email ipic@iastate.edu https://www.ipic.iastate.edu   Twitter   Facebook   YouTube Iowa State University Extension and Outreach policies Copyright © 2021 Iowa Pork Industry Center, All rights reserved. You're receiving this newsletter because either you've been on the recipient list for NEWS NOW in its previous format or you subscribed to this format. Our mailing address is: Iowa Pork Industry Center Iowa State University 109 Kildee Hall 806 Stange Rd Ames, IA 50011-1178 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list