Kansas Swine Research Facilities

New swine facility will expand research capabilities at K-State and benefit producers.

The Kansas swine industry is a vigorous business with producers marketing approximately 2.5 million pigs at a gross market value of over $3 million. Being the 9^th top pork producing state and turning out 2.8% of the nation’s total production is no easy task; in fact it’s a team effort.

Leading the way through research, the K-State Swine Team works with producers and industry leaders to develop, evaluate, implement and disseminate the latest technology to increase the profitability of Kansas pork producers. Based out of K-State’s Department of Animal Sciences and Industry and armed with the support of the Kansas Pork Association, the KSU Livestock and Meal Industry Council, direct swine producers and allied industry donations; the Swine Team aims simply to educate producers.

“It’s a fairly applied program,” says Extension specialist, Bob Goodband. “We do a lot of research that we feel producers will find helpful and benefit from. We have the opportunity and ability to progress the industry, and that is something that we try very hard to do.”

To provide the best research requires the best facilities. The researching center is in the process of making an addition with a wean-to-finish facility.  Extension specialist, Joel DeRouchey says the building will have the capability of weaning directly into this facility for research purposes.  “This new building replaces an existing facility that was built in 1968, and also expands the number of pigs that can be housed indoors,” DeRouchey says.  “Currently, dirt lots house pigs not used for research due to space limitations of the previous barn and those pigs for teaching purposes. This increase in barn size will allow for the removal of all outdoor lots, improving the environmental aspects of the farm by eliminating the need to contain rain runoff of the outdoor pens and reduce odor coming off of the dirt lots.” DeRouchey adds that the outdoor lots will be converted into crop ground with adjoining land currently in production.

DeRouchey says two of the four rooms will be identical in size and design, with 40 pens each capable of housing up to eight pigs per pen (320 total per room).  “These research rooms will be fed with a state of the art computerized feeding system, FeedLogic, which delivers feed on a rail system and has capabilities of blending diets together as feeders are filled. This offers more flexibility in research design for nutritional trials.”

The other two rooms which are also identical in design, will have 22 pens capable of housing eight pigs per pen.  “One of these rooms will house pigs for exploratory and pilot study research,” DeRouchey says. “The other room will house pigs that will be used for education and evaluation in the numerous undergraduate classes that utilize swine here on campus in our Weber Hall Arena.  This room will also serve as the primary marketing room for additional pigs of various weights from the remainder of the university swine farm.”

DeRouchey also notes that the building itself will have the latest technologies of equipment, ventilation and feeding systems.  The facility will also be utilized for educational training to graduate and undergraduate students to help prepare them for similar management techniques used in commercial operations.

Pushing the pork

U.S. Pork Exports Jump 200% In 10 Years 

 (From the U.S. Meat Export Federation)

“One of Every 3.3 Pounds of Pork Traded Globally Is Ours”

Ten years ago, the United States exported 1.116 billion pounds of pork, making our nation the source of about 1 pound of every 6 pounds of pork traded globally.

How times have changed.  In the first four months of 2008 alone, the U.S. pork industry already has exported 1.389 billion pounds of pork products to trading partners around the globe.   What that means is that for every 3.3 pounds of pork traded in the world, 1 pound came from the United States.

The consistent taste and quality of U.S. pork products and decades of campaigns and promotions to bring the message of the high quality and reliable attributes of U.S. pork to the attention of the world have made the United States the dominant player in the global pork industry.

“It’s clear that future growth and prosperity for the U.S. pork industry are inextricably tied to our ability to grow exports,” said Danita Rodibaugh, USMEF executive committee member, a pork producer from Rensselaer, Ind., and past president of the National Pork Board. “The increasing presence and importance of U.S. pork in the global marketplace is a tribute to the quality of product, in addition to how well we are marketing it overseas.”

U.S. pork has set export records for 16 consecutive years, the best two months ever for U.S. pork exports were both in 2008 and this year exports have accounted for 22 percent of total U.S. pork and pork variety meat production, versus 16.5 percent last year.

Total pork exports for January-April 2008 are up an impressive 52 percent over January-April 2007, and are valued at $1.4 billion.  USMEF forecasts total 2008 pork exports at 3.34 billion pounds – a 200 percent increase over exports in 1998 – which could be conservative if exports continue at the torrid pace of the first four months, according to Erin Daley, USMEF manager of research and analysis. Unprecedented volumes of pork exports to Japan, the China/Hong Kong region and Russia have resulted in record-breaking monthly volumes during 2008. Click to view release.