Transitioning the gilt into a successful sow is not always a simple task. They require particular attention and we cant treat them just like any other finishing pig. Similarly, graduate students often need quality education and preparation for their next step in their career. In this episode I talk with Dr. Crystal Levesque about raising the developing gilt as well as how to best prep graduate students to enter the industry.

"The developing gilt is not a finishing pig. The way we create value in management and feeding on the finisher side does not apply to developing gilts." - Dr. Crystal Levesque

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻:

1. How do we change the sow

2. Raising the developing gilt

3. Assisting growth through health improvements in gilts

4. Sow feeding programs going forward

5. Training and educating students

6. What students are missing coming into the industry

𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁: Dr. Crystal Levesque was born and raised on a broiler and mixed grain farm in central Saskatchewan, Canada. She completed her PhD at the University of Alberta followed by post-doctoral training at Prairie Swine Center and University of Guelph prior to accepting a position of Assistant Professor of monogastric nutrition at South Dakota State University. Her main research interests are protein and amino acid metabolism during pregnancy and maternal nutritional influence on offspring growth and development. She is actively involved in collaborative research on the impacts of alternative feeds and dietary additives on piglet growth, immune function, and gut health post-weaning and the use of the pig as a model for human health.

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.

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