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Investment cost and payback period of a modified prototype livestock trailer

The overall goal of the work conducted was to assess the performance of an improved prototype livestock trailer with ventilation, heating, misting and air filtration systems in maintaining a welfare-friendly and pathogen-free environment during transport. Road and disease-challenge tests showed that the trailer’s ancillary system was able to maintain acceptable environmental conditions in the animal compartment during transport. In addition, the air filtration system in the trailer was able to protect pigs from exposure to airborne transmissible diseases such as Influenza A virus. Cost analysis showed financial feasibility of an air-filtered trailer, with an estimated payback period of 2.8 years for an assumed price premium of $5 per pig transported in an air-filtered trailer.

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World Pork Expo: Tackling oxidative stress at critical stages in swine production

Video: World Pork Expo: Tackling oxidative stress at critical stages in swine production

Dr. Marlin Hoogland, veterinarian and Director of Innovation and Research at Feedworks, speaks to The Pig Site's Sarah Mikesell just after World Pork Expo about how metabolic imbalance – especially during weaning, late gestation and disease outbreaks – can quietly undermine animal health and farm profitability.

In swine production, oxidative stress may be an invisible challenge, but its effects are far from subtle. From decreased feed efficiency to suppressed growth rates, it quietly chips away at productivity.

Dr. Hoogland says producers and veterinarians alike should be on alert for this metabolic imbalance, especially during the most physiologically demanding times in a pig’s life.