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Poultry fat can be added to pig feeds with not much effect on pork quality, despite poultry fat's unsaturated fatty acid content compared to other fat sources. Poultry fat or choice white grease significantly increased feed efficiency of finishing pigs but does not affect carcass quality, including backfat thickness or muscle quality. Swines given poultry fat showed a firmer belly than those given choice white grease. Bacon sensory evaluation shows a slightly increased off flavor for pigs given poultry fat, indicating that only 6% of poultry fat can be given to finishing pigs with not much effect on pork quality.

Research results presented at the 1996 Cornell Nutrition Conference for Feed Manufacturers show that the optimum activity of two selenoperoxidases in the tissues of weanling pigs may be achieved only with a minimum of 0.2 mg selenium/kg supplemented to their diets. The amount of the selenium requirements of young pigs, which some researches prefer to be at 0.1 mg/kg, has been a growing concern due to risks of environmental pollution.

A feasibility study on farmer-owned hog kill facilities is expected to be presented at the agricultural institute scheduled to take place in Nov. 15, 1995, at the University of Missouri. The report, which was prepared by university researchers Dennis DiPietre and John Moorehead, deals on how producers can exert control over pork products from the farm to the table.

The government's decision not to go ahead with its plan to cut $9 million from the funds for the National Swine Research Center (NSRC) was politically motivated. Although the appropriation appears to be a big boost to agricultural research, most animal scientists did not welcome this development. They believe that centralizing swine research under the NSRC would deprive other productive facilities of much-needed funds and would benefit only the independent swine producers of Iowa.

Veterinary pathologists Howard Gelberg and Mark Kuhlenschmidt have teamed up to isolate the rotavirus and determine ways of controlling it in the host intestine. The researchers used 'flag molecules' to attract the virus and thus, allow it to pass out of the system harmlessly. Experiments were made by using actual fetal pig intestines which were taken from slaughter plants. Infection-resistance was observed in the tissues.

A chemical engineer in North Carolina may be close to finding an effective system for managing hog odor. David Ollis has been conducting experiments using catalytic converters as a means of cleansing air capsules, thereby effecting reduced odor. Ollis' research is focused on using a converter specifically sized for a facility housing 1,000 hogs. Previous efforts to manage hog smell had focused on animal nutrition and housing design.