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The objective of this experiment was to determine the effect of conditioning temperature on pellet durability index (PDI) and pellet hardness. A nursery pig diet was formulated to contain 25% spray-dried whey. Treatments consisted of three different conditioning temperatures: 54, 63, and 71°C. Diets were steam conditioned (245 mm × 1397 mm Wenger twin staff pre-conditioner, Model 150) for approximately 30 sec and pelleted using a 1-ton 30-horsepower pellet mill (1012-2 HD Master Model, California Pellet Mill) with a 4.8 mm × 31.8 mm pellet die (L:D 6.7). The production rate was set at 900 kg/h. Treatments were pelleted at 3 separate time points to provide 3 replicates per treatment. Samples were collected directly after discharging from the pellet mill and cooled in an experimental counterflow cooler. Samples were analyzed for PDI using the Holmen NHP 100 for 60 sec (TekPro Ltd, Norfolk, UK). Pellet hardness was determined by evaluating the peak amount of force applied before the first signs of fracture. Although conditioning temperature was increased in a linear fashion, a quadratic increase (P < 0.002) in hot pellet temperature (HPT) was observed. The HPT were 68, 72, and 74°C for diets conditioned to 54, 63 and 71°C, respectively. Increasing conditioning temperature resulted in increased (linear, P < 0.045) PDI and pellet hardness. As conditioning temperature increased from 54, to 71°C PDI increased from 87% to 92% and the force required to crush pellets increased from 13.5 to 15.9 kg. There was a tendency for a correlation (P < 0.076, r = 0.618, r2 = 0.382) between pellet hardness and PDI. Overall, increasing the conditioning temperature increased pellet hardness and pellet durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of liquid blueberry juice (BJ65) or blueberry puree (BP30) used as a binding agent on pellet durability and palatability of a typical equine concentrate when included at 4% of the pellet. Molasses was used as a control. Production data, pellet durability and moisture content were evaluated in 1 replicate for each treatment. Because moisture content of condition mashes were 17.59% and 18.11% for BJ65 and BP30 treatments, respectively, greater inclusion of blueberry product would likely cause roller slippage and complicate the pelleting process due to increased liquid (Fahrenholz, 2012). Pellet durability met industry standards for all treatments. Pellets were fed in a 3 x 3 Latin square design to 9 two-year-old horses to determine the effect of blueberry products on acceptability. All animals were allowed 10 minutes to consume 1.36 kg at 0700 h and 1700 h each day for 3 d. Consumption time and amount consumed were recorded to calculate intake, intake rate, and intake ratio (IR). No horse consumed all pellets within the allotted time, and thus, there were no differences between intake rate and intake. Period tended to impact intake (P = 0.0909), with horses consuming less during period 1 than period 3 (P = 0.0317), but period had no effect (P = 0.2881) on IR. Treatment influenced intake (P < 0.0001), with decreased intake of BP30 compared to control and BJ65 (P = 0.0001). Intake ratio was greater (P = 0.0075) for BJ65 than BP30 with IR of 0.5069 and 0.4227, respectively. Consumption of BJ65 was no different than control. Fahrenholz, A. 2012. Evaluating factors affecting pellet durability and energy consumption in a pilot feed mill and comparing methods for evaluating pellet durability. Doctoral thesis. Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As endemic and foreign diseases threaten the U.S. swine herd, producers are scrutinizing on-farm biosecurity practices. Environmental monitoring may help inform biosecurity compliance. Unfortunately, the Kansas State Swine Teaching and Research Center suffered an outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) in March 2019. The objective of this research was to use environmental monitoring to evaluate biosecurity risk on a farm experiencing a viral outbreak. In a completely randomized design, environmental swabs were collected after barn sanitation on 14, 28, and 42-days after initial PEDV diagnosis from four zones: 1) pig contact surfaces within barns, 2) non-pig contact surfaces within barns, 3) outside barns and inside offices, and 4) transition areas. Swabs were analyzed for PEDV, rotavirus, and Enterobacteriaceae at a veterinary diagnostic laboratory. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedures of SAS, v 9.4 (Cary, NC). There was a significant time × zone interaction for PEDV (P < 0.0001), where swabs from non-pig contact areas within barns on d 28 (Zone 2) had greater (P < 0.05) levels of PEDV than pig-contact areas (Zone 1) on d 14, 28, or 42. No other interactions existed, and they were therefore removed from the statistical model. Time did not affect (P > 0.05) any measured response criteria. No PEDV was detected (45.0 Ct) from Zone 1 due to recent sanitation, but viral presence was highest (P < 0.05) in non-pig contact areas inside barns and was tracked outside of barns and through transition zones (32.9, 34.3, and 38.5 Ct for zones 2, 3, and 4, respectively). There was no detected difference (P > 0.05) for rotavirus or Enterobacteriaceae in time or zone. In conclusion, producers experiencing a PEDV outbreak may successfully decontaminate pig-contact surfaces, but still have risk throughout the farm. Biosecurity practices should support preventing cross-contamination from other contaminated areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment determined the effects of die thickness and conditioning temperature on pelleting and starch characteristics in diets containing conventional or Enogen® feed corn (Syngenta Seeds, LLC). Treatments were arranged as a 2 × 2 × 3 factorial of corn type (conventional [CON] and Enogen® feed corn [EFC]), die thickness (5.6 and 8.0 length:diameter [L:D]), and conditioning temperature (74, 79, and 85°C). Diets were steam conditioned and pelleted (CPM Model 1012-2) with a 4 × 22.2 mm or 4 × 31.8 mm pellet die. Conditioner retention time was set at 30 s and production rate was set at 15 kg/min. All treatments were replicated on 3 separate days. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure in SAS (v. 9.4, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). Increasing die L:D improved PDI (P=0.01) and increased (P=0.02) energy consumption. Increasing conditioning temperature from 74 to 85°C increased (linear, P< 0.03) PDI (84.2, 84.9, and 88.2%, respectively) and tended to decrease energy consumption (quadratic, P=0.07). There was a corn × conditioning temperature interaction (P=0.01) for gelatinized starch in conditioned mash. Enogen® feed corn diets steam conditioned at 85°C had the greatest quantity of gelatinized starch. Cooked starch of conditioned mash was greater (P< 0.01) for EFC diets compared to CON diets and increased (linear, P< 0.01) with increasing conditioning temperature. Starch gelatinization was greater (P< 0.01) in pelleted EFC diets (13.4%) compared to CON diets (11.7%) and was increased (linear, P=0.05) by increasing conditioning temperature from 74 to 85°C (12.0, 12.1, and 13.4%, respectively). Pelleted diets containing EFC had increased (P< 0.01) cooked starch compared to CON diets. In conclusion, increasing die L:D and increasing conditioning temperature improved PDI. Starch gelatinization was increased when diets were pelleted at the highest conditioning temperature of 85°C, and EFC diets resulted in greater gelatinized starch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of Azomite (AZO) and 30% distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS) on pellet mill (PM) electrical consumption (kWh/MT), production rate, and pellet quality. Experiment 1 was conducted as a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial with main effects of diet formulation (0% or 30% DDGS), PM (1 or 2), and AZO (0% or 0.25%) with 4 replications per treatment. PMs were equipped with a 4.4 × 39.0-mm (L:D 8.9) or 4.4 × 35.8 mm (L:D 8.2) die with PM production rates held constant at 31.8 metric ton (MT)/h and conditioning temperature was held constant at approximately 82 °C. Experiment 2 was designed as a 2 × 2 factorial of treatments with 4 replicates per treatment to evaluate the impact of AZO and DDGS on PM production rates and pellet quality. PM production rate was adjusted by the feeder screw to maintain 70% motor load, a 4.0 × 35.8-mm (L:D 8.75) PM die was used, and conditioning temperature held constant at approximately 82 °C. For experiment 1, a DDGS × PM interaction ( P =  0.040) was observed. Diets containing 30% DDGS had a decreased kWh/MT compared to the control when using PM-1, whereas no differences were observed for kWh/MT between 0% and 30% when using PM-2. A DDGS × PM interaction ( P  = 0.019) was observed for kWh/MT standard deviation (STD). Diets containing DDGS increased STD compared to the control when pelleted with PM-2; however, there was no evidence of difference between the DDGS and control diets when pelleted with PM-1. There was an AZO × DDGS interaction ( P  < 0.05) for kWh/ton STD. No differences were observed in kWh/ton STD when pelleting corn-soy diets with or without AZO while AZO reduced kWh/ton STD in 30% DDGS diets. Diets containing AZO had reduced ( P  < 0.05) kWh/MT and pellet durability index (PDI) compared to diets pelleted without AZO. PDI was improved ( P  < 0.05) for diets containing DDGS. For experiment 2, diets containing AZO had increased ( P  < 0.05) PM production rate compared to those without AZO. The inclusion of 30% DDGS reduced ( P  < 0.05) PM production rate compared to the corn-soy diet. There was a tendency for an AZO × DDGS interaction ( P  = 0.083) for PDI. Azomite inclusion to corn-soy diets reduced PDI while there was no evidence of difference in diets containing DDGS. In conclusion, the addition of 0.25% AZO to the diet improved PM efficiency; however, this potentially leads to a reduced PDI depending on diet type and PM settings., Competing Interests: The authors affirmatively acknowledge that they were free from influence by any company and its employees that would result in any conflict of interest. J. Ferrel is a current employee of AZOMITE Mineral Products, Inc. AZOMITE Mineral Products, Inc., provided partial financial support for the project. He was involved with the initial discussions pertaining to experimental design and final review of the publication but did not conduct the experiment., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science.)

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious diseases in domestic pigs and wild boars with up to 100% mortality. ASF virus (ASFV) is a causative agent responsible for ASF and highly resistant in environments, which creates a significant challenge for the control and eradication of the virus. Despite the geographical expansion of ASFV and international movement of products to sustain the swine production system, there is limited knowledge on the use of environmental samples to perform surveillance to prevent the introduction of ASFV into ASFV-free areas and for control of transmission in affected areas. Therefore, this study aimed to develop and optimize sampling techniques for environmental samples for ASFV detection. The stainless steel surfaces were contaminated with ASFV-infected blood, swabbed using different devices, and then processed through different techniques. The environmental samples were processed and tested using qPCR analysis. The results showed that the use of pre-moistened gauze surgical sponges, sweeping pads, and sponge sticks resulted in increased sensitivity, when compared to either dry sampling devices or Dacron swab. In particular, the combination of the sponge stick and the commercial nucleic acid preservative supported the best detection of ASFV DNA on the clean stainless steel surfaces evaluated. Pre-incubation for the short period of time and centrifugation at low speed were sufficient to provide satisfactory diagnostic sensitivity of ASFV detection using qPCR for environmental samples. Our findings contribute to the development of techniques for environmental samples for ASFV surveillance to prevent the introduction and dissemination of ASFV., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Kwon, Gebhardt, Lyoo, Gaudreault, Trujillo, Woodworth, Paulk, Jones and Richt.)