Inside the Helix

In the fifth and final part of our miniseries focused on DNA Genetics' "Five Pillars of Reproductive Care," Dr. Jason Schneider, technical consultant, describes sow farrowing care. In the segment, Dr. Schneider discusses recommendations on gestation lengths, feeding rates, farrowing assistance and farrowing room temperatures.

In the fourth segment in a five part series focused on DNA Genetics' "Five Pillars of Reproductive Care," Dr. Amanda Cross, director of genetic program implementation, explains first 48-hour pig care. Dr. Cross says pig survivability is greatly impacted by the first two days of life. She also provides a simple checklist producers can follow to maximize first 48 pig care. 

Feeding for Body Condition Management is the third pillar in DNA Genetics' "Five Pillars of Reproductive Care." Joining the conversation on this topic is Brady McNeil, multiplication business lead with DNA Genetics. In this segment, Brady discusses body condition scoring methods, feeding rates and recommendations on target body condition. 

In part two of our series focused on the "Five Pillars of Reproductive Care," we discuss estrus detection with Dr. Steve Terlouw, director of reproductive physiology with DNA Genetics. Dr. Terlouw describes strategies producers can implement to ensure a smooth gilt breeding process. 

"Gilt Development" kicks off part one of a five part miniseries focused on the "Five Pillars of Reproductive Care." These five pillars, developed by DNA Genetics, were developed to ensure producer success in gilt development, estrus detection, first 48-hour piglet care, sow farrowing care and feeding for body condition management. In this segment, Dr. John Sonderman, technical services director with DNA Genetics, discusses why gilt development is arguably the most important of all of the five pillars. 

As temperatures decline, swine producers may be focusing their efforts on winter ventilation. In this episode, Andy Jakubowski, a director with Pillen Family Farms, discusses strategies producers can implement to ensure pigs are healthy and comfortable throughout the winter months.

Swine producers have long strived to optimize growth and reduce input costs. Over the last decade, DNA Genetics has been able to successfully reduce feed costs for producers by a 50 lb. bag of feed per pig in finishing. In this episode, Dr. Tom Rathje, geneticist and chief technical officer with DNA Genetics, describes what this means for producers and how this feat was accomplished through the company's genetic program. 

Creep feeding has long been a strategy for producers to transition piglets from the sow to solid feed. In this episode, Dr. Amanda Cross, director of genetic program implementation with DNA Genetics, discusses new research from DNA Genetics focused on creep feeding and its role in impacting growth. 

The body condition of each female plays a key role in her overall value. Having sows over or under conditioned can eat away at a producer's bottom line. In this episode, Brady McNeil, multiplication business leader with DNA Genetics, explains why it matters to consistently capture an accurate body condition score. He also discusses current research examining how to optimize the overall value of herds.

Defects, such as umbilical hernias, scrotal hernias and cryptorchid, can be economically damaging to swine producers. In this episode, Dr. Iara Solar Diaz, geneticist with DNA Genetics, discusses these defects. She also describes what DNA Genetics is doing through its genetic program to significantly reduce the risk of future problems.