Swine Production

ANS 342 (ANSC 3242)

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. John Michael Mehaffey

Room 103
Agriculture Building

OFFICE HOURS: MW 10 – 12 pm; TR 11 – 12 pm

Office: 936-468-4319
Cell: 806-790-4330
E-mail: [email protected]

LECTURE: MW 9 – 9:50 am Agriculture Room 121

LECTURE MATERIALS: PQA Plus V 4.0 Handbook

OPTIONAL TEXT: Pig Production: Biological Principles and Applications.

McGlone and Pond, 2003.

REQUIRED SUPPLIES

Students will need to purchase a pair of rubber boots and coveralls/scrubs to

wear during class. Otherwise, clean clothes that have not been exposed to other
swine must be worn when visiting the swine center. STUDENTS MUST NOT BE
AROUND SWINE FOR A MINIMUM OF 72 HOURS PRIOR TO ENTERING THE
SWINE CENTER.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will explore how the interactions of breed selection, environmental
conditions, mating systems, reproductive physiology, and nutrition all affect the
final product in the production swine. The student will gain experience and
knowledge as it applies to the commercial and show pig industries.

Course Credit Hour Justification

ANSC 3242 (ANS 341) – Swine Production (2 credits lecture, 1 credit lab). The
lecture and lab are taken concurrently. The points for the lecture and lab are
combined into one grade for the course. The class meets three times a week
(two 50-minute lectures and one 110-minute lab) for 15 weeks and also meets for
a 150-minute final exam. Students are required to take 5 major quizzes and a
comprehensive final project/presentation. Students are also required to complete
Pork Quality Assurance Certification and a video presentation to be completed
outside of normal class time. These requirements take at least 6 hours of out-of-
class student work each week to complete.
Objectives

1. To be able to identify breeds of swine.

2. To evaluate swine for breeding production and market purposes.
3. To be able to read and mark ear notches on market hogs.
4. To gain a knowledge in swine production practices including management,
nutrition, reproduction and general health, by obtaining PQA Plus certification.
5. To gain understanding of managing a swine operation.

Lecture Attendance

Attendance is mandatory, if you are late or asked to leave for any reason you will
be counted absent. You will be given three absences, for each absence after
three your grade will be reduced by a letter grade. Further absences will result in
the automatic failure of this course.

Lab Attendance

Laboratory attendance is mandatory. If a student misses more than TWO

laboratory sessions, for any reason, this will result in FAILURE of the course.
Students will be graded on lab participation.

Authorized absences: The only absences that will be authorized are:

ABSENCE FOR A UNIVERSITY APPROVED FIELD TRIP OR ACTIVITY: These
must be cleared at least one week in advance of the major examination. If not
cleared in an appropriate fashion, a grade of zero will be assigned for the missed
examination.
ABSENCE FOR A DEATH OR SERIOUS ILLNESS IN THE IMMEDIATE
FAMILY: A letter of explanation from the physician or minister who attended the
patient or was in charge of the funeral services, respectively, must verify this.
This letter must be within 14 days following the missed examination or the grade
of zero will be assigned.
ABSENCES RESULTING FROM PERSONAL ILLNESS THAT IS TOO SEVERE
OR CONTAGIOUS FOR THE STUDENT TO ATTEND CLASS: A letter of
explanation from a physician on official letterhead must verify this. This letter
must be within 14 days following the missed examination or the grade of zero will
be assigned.
ABSENCE FOR A LEGAL PROCEDURE, ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE, OR
MILITARY DUTY: The instructor must be notified at least one week in advance of
the major examination and have a verification letter on official letterhead. If not
cleared in an appropriate fashion, a grade of zero will be assigned for the missed
examination.
ABSENCE FOR A RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE: The instructor must be notified
at least one week in advance of the major examination. If not cleared in an
appropriate fashion, a grade of zero will be assigned for the missed examination.
ABSENCE FOR A MANDATORY ADMISSION INTERVIEW FOR
PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL WHICH CANNOT BE RESCHEDULED: The
instructor must be notified at least one week in advance of the major examination
and have a notification from the appropriate individual on official letterhead.

Classroom Etiquette

The instructor expects senior students to show simple etiquette in class. This
includes, the following, at least:
 Be on time for class
 Remove any hats during class
 Wear shoes, shirts, pants or skirts that you would wear if you were on a job
that included interacting with other professionals
 Do not read the paper or read on-line material while in class
 Do not check e-mail or web pages while in class
 Turn off your cell phone
 Do not eat in class. You may bring a drink if in a closed/covered cup
 Be polite and professional to other students and to guests
 Greet your fellow classmates and the instructor with a simple good morning
or hello
 Be attentive in class; participate in discussions
 We are here to learn and we require a healthy, respectful positive
environment

Violation of etiquette rules may result in loss of points or removal from class.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Student will demonstrate competence of technical subject matter in animal and

poultry sciences (ANS 131)
2. The student will demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills
3. The student will exhibit leadership and other interpersonal skills needed for
career placement and advancement
4. The student will exhibit problem-solving skills based on quantitative and
analytical reasoning
5. The student will demonstrate knowledge of farm and ranch skills. (ANS 131)

Program Learner Outcomes

1. The student will demonstrate competence of technical subject matter areas in

agriculture including plant and animal sciences, agricultural economics, and
mechanized agriculture.
2. The student will exhibit problem-solving skills based on quantitative and
analytical reasoning.
3. The student will demonstrate effective communication skills
4. The student will exhibit leadership and other interpersonal skills needed for
career placement and advancement.
Student Academic Dishonesty Policy (4.1)
Academic integrity is a responsibility of all university faculty and students. Faculty
members promote academic integrity in multiple ways including instruction on the
components of academic honesty, as well as abiding by university policy on
penalties for cheating and plagiarism. Definition of Academic
Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty includes both cheating and plagiarism.
Cheating includes but is not limited to (1) using or attempting to use unauthorized
materials to aid in achieving a better grade on a component of a class; (2) the
falsification or invention of any information, including citations, on an assigned
exercise; and/or (3) helping or attempting to help another in an act of cheating or
plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of another person as if
they were your own. Examples of plagiarism are (1) submitting an assignment as
if it were one's own work when, in fact, it is at least partly the work of another; (2)
submitting a work that has been purchased or otherwise obtained from an
Internet source or another source; and (3) incorporating the words or ideas of an
author into one's paper without giving the author due credit. Please read the
complete policy
at http://www.sfasu.edu/policies/student_academic_dishonesty.pdf

Course Grades Policy (5.5)

Ordinarily, at the discretion of the instructor of record and with the approval of the
academic chair/director, a grade of WH will be assigned only if the student
cannot complete the course work because of unavoidable circumstances.
Students must complete the work within one calendar year from the end of the
semester in which they receive a WH, or the grade automatically becomes an F.
If students register for the same course in future terms the WH will automatically
become an F and will be counted as a repeated course for the purpose of
computing the grade point average. Please read the complete policy
athttp://www.sfasu.edu/policies/5.5_course-grades.pdf

Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities Policy (6.1)

To obtain disability related accommodations, alternate formats and/or auxiliary
aids, students with disabilities must contact the Office of Disability Services
(ODS), Human Services Building, and Room 325, 468-3004 / 468-1004 (TDD) as
early as possible in the semester. Once verified, ODS will notify the course
instructor and outline the accommodation and/or auxiliary aids to be
provided. Failure to request services in a timely manner may delay your
accommodations. For additional information, go
to http://www.sfasu.edu/disabilityservices/

Responsible Use of Technology

It is expected that all students will only use cell phones, PDAs, laptop computers,
MP3 players and other technology outside of class time or when appropriate in
class. Answering a cell phone, texting, listening to music or using a laptop
computer for matters unrelated to the course may be grounds for dismissal from
class or other penalties.
Acceptable Student Behavior
Classroom behavior should not interfere with the instructor’s ability to conduct the
class or the ability of other students to learn from the instructional program (see
the Student Conduct Code, policy 10.4). Unacceptable or disruptive behavior
will not be tolerated. Students who disrupt the learning environment may be
asked to leave class and may be subject to judicial, academic or other penalties.
This prohibition applies to all instructional forums, including electronic,
classroom, labs, discussion groups, field trips, etc. The instructor shall have full
discretion over what behavior is appropriate/inappropriate in the classroom.
Students who do not attend class regularly or who perform poorly on class
projects/exams may be referred to the Early Alert Program. This program
provides students with recommendations for resources or other assistance that is
available to help SFA students succeed. Please read the complete policy
at http://www.sfasu.edu/policies/student-code-of-conduct_10.4.pdf

Farm Plan Project

Farm Plan-This project will be graded as follows:

Genetics/Breeding Program-15 points
Housing, Facilities & Equipment-15 points
Health plan-15 points
Marketing plan-15 points
Pig Flow/Cash flow-30 points
Final written report-100 points
Final oral report/Final-100 points
Total 300 points

Your project should address these core questions:

How much does it take for you to live annually?
What are your production costs per pig? (feed, facilities, health)
How much will you mkt your pigs for?
How many sows/marketable pigs will it take to hit your annual cost of living minus
taxes?
How else can you accrue money from this gift you have been given?
How will you finance expansion?

The final written report will be due on April 27th and student presentations will be
during the final on May 6th.

Each student will complete the project with a partner. You will be asked to
develop a complete production plan for a commodity or niche swine production
operation. Your grandparents have left you 100acres of Bahia grass pasture land
in Nacogdoches County Texas in a trust that stipulates you must use these
assets for pork production for five years. The farm is relatively secluded, has a
perimeter fence, a small equipment shed, a few outdoor farrowing huts, and five
3rd parity crossbred sows your Grandpa used to raise and sell a few meat hogs.
In short, you must put together a management plan detailing ALL receipts and
expenditures showing that you can operate at a profit by the 5 th year and beyond
or you will lose it all. All other capital improvements, breeding stock purchase,
equipment, etc. will be 100% financed. Each portion of the project turned in
throughout the semester is to include capital costs, operating expenses and all
expenses associated with that portion of the project. You are a recent SFASU
Animal Science graduate with an entrepreneurial spirit, you are single, have no
children, and will not have any appreciable off-farm income for these first five
years. It is up to you to develop a feasible, profitable swine operation under these
guidelines. It is now time to utilize all of the knowledge you have gained in your
college careers, plus the realistic view to make the correct management and
financial decisions. This project will be considered PROFESSIONAL. Treat this
opportunity as if it was your own operation and the profit or loss of the operation
was in your own hands.

Supporting Material:
Pork www.porkmag.com
National Pork Board http://www.pork.org
National Hog Farmer http://nationalhogfarmer.com/
Feedstuffs www.feedstuffs
Chicago Mercantile Exchange www.cme.com
Journal of Animal Science www.asas.org
USDA-AMS www.usda.gov
National Swine Improvement Federation www.nsif.com
Pork Information Gateway (PIG) www.porkgateway.com
National Daily Hog and Pork Summary
http://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/lsddhps.pdf
Daily Livestock Report www.dailylivestockreport.com
AgWebhttp://www.agweb.com/
National Swine Registry http://nationalswine.com/index.php
Stages http://nationalswine.com/pedigree_services/stages.php
American Assoc. of Swine Veterinarians https://www.aasv.org/

Attend Farrowing:

Each student must attend a sow-litter farrowing and assist with the birth of the
litter. The farrowing schedule will be made available to the students. Students will
be assigned a sow and given her estimated farrowing date. Students must check
her delivery status and be present at birth of the litter. The litter birth must be
recorded in still and/or video. The sow should be aided where necessary.
Students will document an aspect of the piglet birth process as one writing/video
assignment.

Students will be responsible for the following activities about their sow and litter:
 Be present at birth
 Dry off each piglet, ear notch it, weigh it, record the weight and time of
birth and pig sex, and place it near a teat to suckle
 At three (3) days of age, “process” the litter; this will include
 Castrate the male piglets
 Dock tails
 Give supplemental iron injection (100 mg)
 Provide antibiotics or vaccinations as directed by the swine
herdsman
 At exactly 21 days of age, weigh each piglet and the sow – this is weaning
age
 After weaning, breed the sow by AI with farm staff help
 Prepare a 1-page farrowing report, that includes the following information:
 Sow pre-farrowing weight
 Sow 21-day weaning weight
 Sow weight change (growth or weight loss)
 Time of each piglet birth and average interval between births
 Sex of each piglet
 Individual piglet birth weights, total litter birth weight and
average piglet birth weight
 Individual piglet 21-day weaning weights, total litter weaning
weight, and average piglet21-day weaning weight
 Average piglet daily gain from birth to weaning
 Causes of piglet morality
 Preweaning mortality %
 Indicate any vaccinations or treatments that the sow or
piglet’s received
 Short narrative on the birth process and the life of the litter,
and general observations
 Be sure to include a second sheet with your report that is the
results of your Biosecurity audit
 The Farrowing Report and Biosecurity Audit form are due:
April 28, 2020
Facebook Video Project

Swine Production class is a writing intensive class. This semester, teams of

students will prepare one video and upload it to the Swine Center Facebook
page. For these projects, students must follow these steps:

1. Students will assign:

a. primary writer/author, secondary and tertiary authors; the written script
must list the authors in order of contribution (the one that contributes
most will be the first author listed)
b. team members (videographer, editor, actors, etc.)
2. Write the script
3. Have script approved as technically correct
4. Shoot video
5. Edit video
6. Upload video

Each video will have the following features:

1. In one of four categories (see below)

2. 5 minutes or less in duration
3. Will contain more than one “scene” (ex., pigs, talking head, machines,
interview, computer screens, animation, graphics, etc.)
4. Must contain key words SFASU Swine Production 2020 and be up-loaded
to the SFASU Facebook page.

Categories of Video (each group will produce one from each category):
1. Society Issue
a. World hunger.
b. Environmental issues.
i. Air quality
ii. Water quality
iii. Soil health
c. Animal welfare
i. Gestation sow housing
ii. Lactation sow housing
iii. Castration
iv. Transportation
v. Space during finishing
vi. Tail docking
d. Food safety
e. Diet-health issues with pork
f. Worker health or safety
2. How-to; hands-on pig husbandry having to do with piglet birth or litter
processing
3. Science-based educational topic in the areas of:
 a. Nutrition
b. Genetics
c. Meats
d. Reproductive Physiology
e. Environmental management (air quality, ventilation, temperature)
f. Waste management
4. Open to anything creative, for example:
a. Swine Influenza
b. Farm economics
c. Pigs as a biomedical species for research
d. Xenotransplantation
e. Husbandry tasks other than litter processing (ex., handling pigs,
loading trucks, routine pig health checks, etc.).

Grading of Video Project

The grading of the Video project will be according to the following criteria:
%
50% Script (technical correctness, writing style, understandability, creativity)
10% Student peer-review of final product
10% Length (4-5 minutes target)
10% Depth of topic covered
10% Creativity and entertainment/educational impression
10% Number of views
100%
 SWINE PRODUCTION

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

Week Monday Wednesday

1 – 1/15 NO CLASS Introduction
2 – 1/20 NO CLASS World, US and Regional Pig Photo
Pork Industry Submission on D2L
3 – 1/27 Biosecurity, Herd Health Production Systems
4 – 2/3 Genetics & Breeding Genetics & Breeding
5 – 2/10 Gestation Management Gestation Management
6 – 2/17 Reproduction Reproduction
7 – 2/24 Farrowing Farrowing
8 – 3/2 Nutrition Nutrition
9 – 3/9 NO CLASS NO CLASS SPRING BREAK!
10 – 3/16 Nutrition Marketing
11 – 3/23 Nursery Management Nursery Management FFA CDE
12 – 3/30 Nutrient Management Grow/Finish
Management
13 – 4/6 Grow/Finish Carcass Merit
Management
14 – 4/13 Pork Quality Pork Quality
15 – 4/20 Efficiency Efficiency
16 – 4/27 Show pigs Industry Marketing Show pigs PQA Plus
Certification Exam
17 – 5/6 FINAL Presentations
FINAL EXAM WEDNESDAY, MAY 6th @ 8 AM!

GRADING SYSTEM:
A = 90 %
B = 80 - 89 %
C = 70 - 79 %
D = 60 - 69 %
F = LESS THAN 60 %

POINT SYSTEM:

DISCUSSION QUIZZES 250

FARM PLAN PROJECT 300
FARROWING REPORT 100
VIDEO PROJECT 100
LAB PARTICIPATION 200
ETIQUETTE, PARTICIPATION, SERVICE 50
__________________________________________

TOTAL 1000
Lecture Quizzes
Students will take 5 major quizzes throughout the semester over material
covered in lecture. These will be worth 50 points apiece and may consist of
matching, true/false, multiple choice, short answer or essay questions.

SWINE PRODUCTION LABORATORY

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Week 1 Introduction to Swine Center and Establish Partners
Week 2 Breed ID & Animal Well-Being
Week 3 Bio-Security and Public Health Risks
Week 4 Environment
Week 5 Workplace Safety
Week 6 Food Safety
Week 7 Feeding and Nutrients Requirements
Week 8 No Lab
Week 9 Parturition and Litter Management
Week 10 No Lab
Week 11 Estrus Detection and Heat Synchronization
Week 12 Estrus Detection and Heat Synchronization
Week 13 Selection and Evaluation of Market and Breeding Swine
Week 14 Site Assessment
Week 15 Lab Final