Water is the most precious element on Earth. Access to clean water is fundamental for all living creatures, and for farm animals, the quality of the water they drink can have a direct impact on performance and productivity.

Like humans, most of the pig’s body is water, making up 82 percent of a young pig’s bodyweight and 55 percent of grown pig’s bodyweight (Kober, 1993).

In general, pigs tend to drink about 10 percent of their bodyweight per day or roughly two times the amount of feed they eat. Mortality, feed intake, growth rates and feed efficiency rates are known to be affected by the quality of the water provided (Stull et al., 1999).

Five points of water quality in pig production

In general, the quality of the pig’s water can be determined by measuring the presence of the following organic and inorganic elements:

1.Total bacterial count

Water contamination by bacteria is estimated by measuring the level of coliforms per milliliter of water. A total bacterial count of 50 colony forming units (cfu)/ml is considered good. If coliform levels are higher than 100 cfu/ml, then it is recommended to use a chlorine treatment.

When dealing with bacteria in the drinking water, it is important to consider the cleanliness of the water lines. Biofilm in pipes can be a considerable source of microorganisms in the water, but chlorine-based disinfectants have little to no effect on biofilms.  It’s important to flush out all buildup regularly.

2. pH

Water pH ranging from 5.5 to 8.5 is considered acceptable. If water is too acidic (lower than 5), it can create corrosion and damage pipes and waterlines; on the other hand, a basic pH (higher than 8.5) can leave scaly deposits.

3. Hardness

Calcium and magnesium are the two predominant minerals that make water “hard.” In pig production, hard water can contribute to the formation of scale deposits. The optimum water hardness in pig production is below 60 parts per million (ppm) of calcium carbonate (CaCO3).

4. Total dissolved solids

Total dissolved solids (TDS), also known as water salinity, is the amount of soluble salts and minerals dissolved in the water. Contaminants are usually measured in parts per million (ppm). The majority of the time, the amount of minerals or salts dissolved is well within the acceptable ranges, but sometimes very high levels can damage performance or equipment.

5. Nitrates and nitrites

Nitrates and nitrites are usually present in the water because the water supply is exposed to material with high nitrogen levels, such as animal waste, nitrogen fertilizers or decomposing organic material. Especially in monogastric animals, nitrites are 10 times more toxic than nitrates (Emerick, 1974). Levels as low as 0.10 mg/l of nitrite can impact performance in pigs.

There are various methods for treating water based on the type of issue as well as its severity:

Good water quality starts by implementing a program for testing as well as training farm personnel on spotting issues. It is recommended to test water quality in the pig barn at least twice a year and to test both at the beginning and at the end of the water lines. Over time, a biofilm will form inside pipes; it is important to treat waterlines with hydrogen peroxide and organic acids to flush out any buildup.

Water is the single most important nutrient, yet sometimes it can be taken for granted. By implementing a program that monitors and maintains proper levels of the five water quality indicators and by carrying out proper equipment maintenance, pig producers will be able to avoid costly problems that can negatively affect the performance of their herd.

Quality norms for water

I want to learn more about nutrition for my pig herd.

The new Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) has caused many changes for farmers, ranchers and their dealers this year, both in how they feed their animals and in how they keep track of their records. But the big picture also affects other groups like veterinarians and how they manage antibiotics for their clients.

With many affected by these changes, it is important that the industry as a whole maps out the issues and works together more closely to reduce any risk of errors or additional challenges in this process. To help address some of these issues, we asked our team in the field:

What are the most frequently asked questions across the U.S. following the new VFD?

1. How does my VFD look?

This one is a big worry for a lot of people, and for good reason. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will eventually start auditing to ensure the VFD is working and that people are in compliance. This means it is important for dealers and their customers to have a proper recordkeeping system and accurate information in their VFDs. The FDA has provided examples of properly filled out VFDs that you can reference on pages 12–16 of the Common Format Q&A. 

It is also very important to make sure your figures are accurate. With no feed amount specified in the VFD, number of head and days are the two most important figures. It is important that the vet knows the approximate number of animals for the VFD, which should include any animal that has the potential to be fed a VFD feed, and it is also good for your vet to have an understanding of the capacity and normal animal turnover in your facility. This enables them to make sure the amount of feed sold under the VFD is consistent with the number of head covered. During inspections, VFD orders may be compared to manufacturing records, so these need to match up.

You also want to make sure to include everything that is required when filling out the form. For example, there is a cautionary statement that should be included on all invoices for customers. The FDA wants feed distributors to ensure all labeling and advertising prominently and conspicuously displays the following cautionary statement: “Caution: Federal law restricts medicated feed containing this veterinary feed directive (VFD) drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian.”

2. Can we store VFDs digitally?

Dealers and farmers can store their VFDs in any format, including digital or paper. However, errors seem to be more common with handwritten VFDs. To help reduce the risk of an error, it may be beneficial for veterinarians to use an electronic VFD. This can make storing your VFDs digitally even easier. Additionally, since you have to retain a copy of the VFD for two years, this will help reduce the amount of paper you have to have on file.

3. Can I use a VFD for multiple groups?

You can use a VFD for multiple groups, provided the veterinarian has a VCPR  and is comfortable with the health and management of each of the sites covered by the VFD.

This is why making sure you have a good relationship with your vet is so important. They need to have a strong understanding of your animals and their conditions to make the best decisions for you and your operation.

Many other challenges are going to come up as the VFD continues, so it is vital that you are able to discuss these matters with your vet. For example, you may need a second VFD for different feeding periods, or a VFD may expire and the vet will need to write a new one. This is a process that requires constant communication with your veterinarian to ensure accuracy and that your animals are kept as safe and healthy as possible.

As our industry comes together to deal with the VFD, we are learning more about what works and what we need to change.

“Though it comes with its challenges, the VFD has created a great opportunity for the industry to review what they are doing in terms of feeding their animals,” says Lori Stevermer, marketing specialist for Hubbard Feeds. “Often, antibiotics were fed because that’s what was done in the past. Now, we need to work more closely with our veterinarians to determine what is best for our animals, and our future.”

By requiring us to take a closer look at our feeding processes and our relationships, the VFD presents an opportunity to strengthen our industry. This will help us determine what is best not only for our animals, but what is best for our families and the consumer.

For more information on or questions about the VFD, the frequently asked questions at the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) is a great resource. Also, feel free to reach out to your local Alltech or Hubbard Feeds representative for assistance with your nutrition.

Agriculture is not immune to the changes of the digital age. Technological innovations have the ability to transform every link in the food chain, from seed to fork.

The need to embrace the opportunities these innovations offer is real. In order to feed the nearly 10 billion people with whom we will be sharing this planet by 2050, crop and livestock productivity improvements are essential.

Agricultural efficiency is still relatively poor: 7 tons of feed are needed to produce just 1 ton of meat. It takes 880 gallons of water to produce one gallon of milk.

Further, climate change is already requiring changes to crop management, and access to fresh water and good soil are becoming serious limitations for agriculture.

Finally, there are competing food requirements. In wealthier areas, food is a relatively small part of the household budget, and consumers are becoming prosumers, with high expectations for the standard and types of food they want. At the same time, global hunger and food scarcity are serious challenges - nearly 800 million people are undernourished. Connecting both is the global food chain: ensuring that there is transparency, traceability and trust between producers, processors and prosumers.

Digital disruption drives the next agricultural revolution

Fortunately, the makings of a fifth agricultural revolution are here, with the potential to reduce or eliminate all of these issues.

Eight emerging digital technologies each have the potential to transform agriculture. They range from specific technical tools to new ways of seeing the existing system. Some, especially the first ones, sound familiar but their use in agriculture is novel.

These eight digital technologies can be categorized into four each of hardware and software and, when combined with the IoT (Internet of Things), can profoundly change the way food production works.

To discover Aidan Connolly’s list of the eight digital technologies disrupting agriculture, view his original post on LinkedIn.

The countdown to 2017 began for many producers back in 2015 when it was announced that new regulations limiting the use of antibiotics, called the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD), would go into effect Jan. 1, 2017. Since then, many questions have been top of mind for producers and feed suppliers: Do I need a VFD for my feed? Is there anything I need to change? How do I get prepared for the new regulations? Dr. Chris Rademacher, senior clinician at Iowa State University, explored these questions and more in the webinar “The VFD. What does it mean for me?”

“One of my jobs in extension is to work with and educate how producers get programs implemented,” said Rademacher when opening the webinar. “This is probably one of the bigger ones we have had from a regulatory standpoint in my 20 years in professional practice…the focus now is to help get producers, veterinarians and feed suppliers ready for these new regulations.”

In the webinar, Rademacher covered the following topics:

• What exactly the Veterinary Feed Directive means
• What changes will have to occur with your feed company
• A list of antibiotics that this new regulation affects
• The necessary actions that producers will need to take as a result of this new regulation

Rademacher emphasized that in order to make sure we get things done right, producers need to be having these conversations with their veterinarians right now. To learn more, click the link below and view the webinar.

http://go.alltech.com/vfd-webinar-signup-pig

The following is an excerpt from a post by Chief Innovation Officer Aidan Connolly on LinkedIn.

It all starts in the pig’s mouth

Fun fact: The pH during this phase is between 1.5 and 2.5. Lemon juice, which is acidic enough to irritate your skin, has a pH around 2.2.

Getting things ready in the stomach

Nutrients find a home

Making every bite count

• Routinely monitor and develop a list of pathogens in a pig population, which is vital to the success of an antibiotic-free system.
• Identify the challenges affecting productivity and profitability on-farm, as well as aspects of housing, husbandry and management that may be causing issues.
• Re-evaluate biosecurity both internally and externally. Examine herd flow, cleanliness, transportation and employee traffic.
• Establish and implement an effective vaccination program with the veterinarian that supports herd health and safety.
• Build a nutritional platform in the pigs’ diet that includes technologies to reduce the risk of pathogens and improve immunity.
• Be ready to adapt. Reducing antibiotics or implementing an antibiotic-free program takes time. Observing how these changes impact the animals’ health and production is an important part of this process. Make sure there is room in the plan to make improvements.

The following is a preview of Aidan Connolly's post, which you can find on LinkedIn. 

Question 1: Why are antibiotics in animal feed in the first place?

Antibiotics have been good for the world. They have been instrumental in allowing humanity to enjoy a standard and quality of life unimagined prior to their discovery. Initially, antibiotics allowed us to control life-altering and fatal diseases in humans.

Secondarily, they have facilitated the development of a modern, safe and efficient agricultural system that produces food economically, affordably and plentifully for most of the 7 billion people on the planet. 

When farmers began putting antibiotics in the feed of animals in the 1950s they did so initially because it resulted in lower mortalities but quickly they also noted their animals grew faster, requiring less feed. Veterinarians later observed better intestinal health and less inflammation during autopsies and surmised that the improved animal performance was most likely due to the more efficient absorption of nutrients in the intestine of those animals.

Question 2: Where does resistance come from?

The simple definition of resistance is “the ability of microbes to resist the effect of antibiotic drugs” and the mechanisms by which bacteria become resistant and pass on that resistance to other bacteria are relatively well known. Bacteria adapt very quickly to the environment, so when antibiotics are used continuously, the bacteria they are meant to kill can adapt, survive and replicate making it extremely difficult to kill the remaining bacteria. Resistance can develop through selective pressure (that is, when antibiotics kill some but not all of a bacterial group), mutation and gene transfer. These three mechanisms can also combine, as when bacteria not only become resistant to antibiotics, but also start to pass that characteristic on to other bacteria present in the gut. 

There are many sources of resistance with examples in humans and animals, including the inappropriate use of drugs or inadequate diagnostics in hospitals or veterinarian situations, the use of antimicrobial soap in bathrooms, the use of zinc oxide or copper sulfate in the diets of animals, and the use of chlorine in water of humans and animals alike. Scientists have demonstrated that these and any substances that create pressure on a microbial population lead to changes similar to the passage of resistance. 

Overall, humans are the main source of resistance, due to the misuse of antibiotics, not using them for the time period recommended by their doctors, or not using the recommended dose. Hospitals and homes for the elderly have become hot spots of resistance, which puts older people, very young people and immune-comprised people who are the least capable of fighting off infection without antibiotics at the highest risk.

It is clear that antibiotic use in humans is not uniform. For example, looking at a map of the U.S., antibiotic misuse per 1000 people tends to be concentrated in the eastern part of the country rather than the west, with over-prescription particularly prevalent in the South and Midwest. Recent studies indicate that an average of 506 antibiotic prescriptions are administered per 1000 doctor visits, while experts concluded that only slightly more than half of these prescriptions were actually necessary or appropriate.

In animals, resistance works the same way, and the passage of resistance from animals to humans can occur through contact with live animals or environmental contamination. (In 2005, the CDDEP found that when antibiotics are fed to animals 90% go through urine and 75% were found in feces; more recently antibiotic resistant bacteria have been found in water systems, waste treatment and in dust carried by air.) It also seems to be possible for resistance to be passed through the consumption of meat, milk and eggs from contaminated animals (for example, a U.S. study found that 53% of grocery chicken contained antibiotic resistant E. coli). 

Farmers are often irritated that activists focus on antibiotics in animal food, when the majority of resistance come from human misuse/overuse/abuse, but the general public finds it easy to agree with Prince Charles (speaking to the Royal Society in London) when he said, “I find it difficult to understand how we can continue to allow most of the antibiotics used in farming, many of which are also used in human medicine, to be administered to healthy animals.”

Read the rest of Aidan Connolly's post, including the next five questions and answers, here.