Sow Management Considerations for Proposition 12 Changes

Nov 30, 2023

By Matt Romoser

Decisions around sow barn remodeling, reducing sow herd inventory and adjusting gilt flow are some of the challenges U.S. pork producers face as they explore and consider options to make farms compliant with California’s Proposition 12 requirements. A new resource from the Iowa Pork Industry Center offers information for producers who plan to transition their own production.

Matt Romoser, swine specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, is one of the authors. He said the goal for the publication, "Sow Management Considerations with California Proposition 12," was to provide some considerations for producers on how to manage the breeding herd under the guidelines of California Prop 12.

"This fact sheet includes what we know today on how to manage sows under these regulations," he said. "So, whether you're a sow farm manager with no group housing experience, or an owner looking to the future and considering retrofitting or building new, it can be a helpful resource."

Chris Rademacher, associate director of the Iowa Pork Industry Center and extension swine veterinarian; and Laura Greiner, director of Iowa Pork Industry Center and animal science assistant professor, are the other authors.

Source : iastate.edu

Video: Four Star Pork Industry Conf - Back to Basics: Fundamentals drive vaccine performance

At a time when disease pressure continues to challenge pork production systems across the United States, vaccination remains one of the most valuable and heavily debated tools available to veterinarians and producers.

Speaking at the 2025 Four Star Pork Industry Conference in Muncie, Indiana, Dr. Daniel Gascho, veterinarian at Four Star Veterinary Service, encouraged the industry to return to fundamentals in how vaccines are selected, handled and administered across sow farms, gilt development units and grow-finish operations.

Gascho acknowledged at the outset that vaccination can quickly become a technical and sometimes tedious topic. But he said that real-world execution, not complex immunology, is where most vaccine failures occur.