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Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the possible interaction of nursery space allocations and grow-finish space allocations in swine. In Exp. 1, crowding was achieved by varying the number of pigs per pen. During the nursery phase, decreasing the space allocation (0.16 [m.sup.2]/pig vs 0.25 [m.sup.2]/pig; 8 and 12 pens per treatment, respectively) by increasing the number of pigs per pen (18 vs 12) resulted in a decrease in daily feed intake (0.609 vs 0.683 kg/d; P [is less than] 0.001) and daily gain (0.364 vs 0.408 kg/d; P [is less than] 0.001). Pigs were mixed within nursery treatment groups and reassigned to grow-finish pens (6 pens per treatment) at the end of the 35-d nursery period providing either 0.56 [m.sup.2]/pig (14 pigs/pen) or 0.78 [m.sup.2]/pig (10 pigs/pen). Crowding during the grow-finish phase decreased daily feed in-take (P [is less than] 0.003) and daily gain (P [is less than] 0.001). In Exp. 2, space allocations of 0.16 [m.sup.2]/pig vs 0.23 [m.sup.2]/pig during the nursery phase (24 pens per treatment) resulted in a decrease in daily feed intake (0.612 vs 0.654 kg/d; P [is less than] 0.005) and daily gain (0.403 vs 0.430 kg/d; P [is less than] 0.001). Pigs remained in the same (social) groups when moved to the grow-finish phase. Unlike Exp. 1, there was no effect of crowding during the grow-finish phase (0.60 [m.sup.2]/pig vs 0.74 [m.sup.2/pig) on daily feed intake or daily gain. The difference in results between experiments suggests that the response to crowding during the grow-finish phase may depend in part on whether pigs are mixed and sorted following movement from the nursery. Key Words: Mixing, Pigs, Spacing

Effluent pollutant concentrations and volumes were collected from uncovered, intact carcass, dairy cow mortality compost piles subjected to successive simulated 10.2 cm storm events after: (1) composting one cow in fresh sawdust only; (2) turning that pile, adding fresh amendment, adding a second cow, and composting it; and (3) turning the pile again, without an animal tissue addition. Phosphorus leaving an active mortality compost pile in runoff as produced by a 10.2 cm storm simulation ranged from 4.6 grams to 0.1 grams. Total COD in runoff ranged from 94 to 888 grams. Data indicated that the majority of nutrients in effluent leaving a pile from a 10.2 cm storm event infiltrate the soil surface. Total nitrogen mass load infiltrating the soil was estimated to range between 362 and 1778 grams under various management stages. With the exception of NO3, the nutrient concentrations in groundwater at 1.2 m soil profile depth were reduced by nine fold or more when compared to direct pile effluent, indicating that soil provided treatment of infiltrating pile effluent. No significant accumulation of soil nutrients below mortality compost piles occurred during the study. However, pile effluent nutrient characteristics indicate that soil nutrient accumulation may occur over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents experiments that were conducted to determine the effect of lightweight pig removal and remixing on performance to slaughter. Economic impacts for producers of managing variation in weight in nursery and grow-finish facilities; Materials and methods used; Results of the experiments; Discussion and implications.

The ingestion of undercooked pork infected with Toxoplasma gondii is considered an important source of transmission of this parasite. While T. gondii infection in confinement raised market pigs (market pigs are typically used for fresh, unprocessed pork products) in the USA has decreased significantly over the last 20 years, infection levels in pigs with access to the outdoors can be quite high. An upsurge in consumer demand for 'organically raised', 'humanely raised' and 'free range' pork products has resulted in increasing numbers of hogs being raised in non-confinement systems. To determine T. gondii infection rate in these organic pigs, prevalence of T. gondii in organically raised pigs in two establishments (Farm 1, Farm 2) in Michigan was investigated. Serum and tissue samples from 33 pigs on the farm were available for T. gondii evaluation at slaughter. Serological testing was performed using both ELISA and the modified agglutination test (MAT). Antibodies to T. gondii were detected by both ELISA and MAT in 30 of 33 animals with MAT titers of 1:25 in three, 1:50 in six, 1:100 in seven, 1:200 in 13, and 1:400 in one. Hearts of all 33 pigs were bioassayed for T. gondii in mice; T. gondii was isolated from 17 pigs including one from a seronegative (both ELISA and MAT) pig. Genetic typing of 16 of the 17 T. gondii isolates using the SAG1, SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29-2, L358, PK1 and Apico loci revealed clonal Type II from Farm 1 and clonal Type III on Farm 2. These results revealed very high prevalence of T. gondii in organic pigs for the first time in USA, indicating potentially increased health risk of consuming organic swine products., (Published by Elsevier B.V.)