porcus - sappo

PORCUS
April/Mei 2011 Vol 29 no 3
• Promosies op die regte pad
• SAPPO’s recommended biosecurity measures
• Forum for young farmers

Inhoud/Contents
PORCUS
april/mei 2011 Vol 29 no 3
Aktueel
SAVPO se promosies op regte pad, sê navorsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Mededingingswet: NAMC ondersoek verspreiding van inligting . . . . . . 11
International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Biosecurity on pig farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Sow selection can beat heat stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Agricultural sector not immune to energy losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Alltech envisions bright future for algae fermentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
MG2Mix Information day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Resistance patterns of Salmonella isolated from pigs and pork
in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
To taste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Quick guide to: Pneumonic Pasteurellosis (Pasteurella) . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Promotion ladies on refresher course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
CD oor Suid-Afrika se varkrasse vrygestel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Rubrieke
Market conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Pondering Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
PORCUS is die amptelike tydskrif
van die Suid-Afrikaanse Varkvleisprodusente-organisasie
(SAVPO).
Redaksionele Komitee
James Jenkinson (voorsitter: SAVPO),
Peter Mockford (vise-voorsitter:
SAVPO), Simon Streicher (hoofbestuurder:
SAVPO)
Redaksie
Derick van der Walt (redakteur),
Tel: (012) 332 1589 of 082 770 5111
E-pos: ccomc@mweb.co.za
Salomé Schutte. Tel: (012) 329 3764
Uitleg: Yolandé van Zyl
Advertensies
Doreen Jonker, Millerstraat 3, Pierre
van Ryneveld 0157.
Tel (012) 662 1006.
Faks (012) 662 1006
Reproduksie
Mandi Repro en Print
Gedruk deur
Business Print Centre, Pretoria.
Uitgegee deur die Suid-Afrikaanse
Varkvleisprodusente-organisasie,
Posbus 36207, Menlo Park 0102.
Tel: (012) 361-3920.
Faks: (012) 361-4069
E-mail: info@sapork.com
Web-bladsy: www.sapork.com
SAVPO aanvaar nie verantwoordelikheid
vir enige aanspraak wat in
advertensies en artikels gemaak
word nie. Menings uitgespreek in
artikels word nie noodwendig deur
SAVPO onderskryf nie.
Opinions expressed in articles are
not necessarily endorsed by SAPPO.
Porcus April/May 2011 3

4
saVpo
Registrasievorm
Porcus April/Mei 2011

Registration Form
sappo
Porcus April/May 2011 5

utrition
The international stock levels of the key cereals raised major
concerns in the previous two months. As a result of these low
stock levels the price of soybeans and maize as important
ingredients in the feed industry, rose steeply towards April. The
US maize plantings will cover the second largest area since
World War II, but could still fail to replenish low global stock
levels (Business Report, 30-03-2011). According to this article,
demand is out-running normal production expansion. High
prices for cattle and pigs further encourage the demand for
feed products. The rising oil price will result in more ethanol
production from soybeans and maize. These cost variables
have an impact on the domestic maize price, which infl uence
the input cost for the production of livestock.
Farm level analysis
6
Market conditions
Information supplied by Divan van der Westhuizen of the Bureau of Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP)
Figure 1: Index for requisites and auction prices
The requisites and auction price index focuses on the pork auction
price on the hook and the pork input cost index. The main
driver in the pork requisites index is the yellow maize SAFEX
price. The latest update from the BFAP pork industry index
analysis for April includes the new projections for 2011 based
on the BFAP model. The latest projections remained relatively
the same from the previous analysis in March. The higher maize
price forced the requisites index to increase from 2010 to 2011
by 9.20%. For the same period, the auction price index for pork
products increased by almost 15%. The requisites and auction
price indexes for 2011 are 271.8% and 212% respectively
(Base year = 2000).
The pork to maize price ratio for BP quality products have
declined by ten percent from January to February and then
recovered slightly by 3.41% to reach a ratio of 9.91 in March.
The ratio for PP quality products followed the same trend and
decreased by eleven percent from January to February and
then increased by two percent towards March. The ratio at the
end of March was 10.04. The main driver for this signifi cant
decrease is the bullish trend in the yellow maize price as can be
seen in Figure 2.
A marginally stronger Rand/US dollar exchange rate could
not stop the bullish trend in the maize markets as stipulated in
Figure 3. In April, the maize price reached its highest level since
December 2008. The yellow maize SAFEX price averaged at
R1 679.54/ton in April, almost 20% higher than price levels in
December 2010. The maize price, however, is still below export
parity. The main drivers of the higher maize price are low global
stock levels and an increasing demand for food, feed and biofuels.
Mid-summer drought conditions in the eastern and central
Figure 2: Pork to maize price ratio
parts of South Africa caused lower production estimates for
the main cereals, which could further infl uence the maize price.
The price for PP quality pork has decreased from January to
February and then had a sideways movement towards March.
The price for PP pork meat averaged at R16.28/kg in February,
which is 0.78% lower than price levels in January. Towards
March, the price recovered slightly to R16.31/kg. On a year-toyear
basis, the price is still two percent higher.
Figure 3: Pork price and YM SAFEX price
In the sample of pork producers for sow and sale numbers,
the quantity of sows had a sideways movement from January
towards March. The moving average (four month average)
in February was 30 981 sows. During March the number was
marginally lower at 30 960. The actual sow numbers in the
sample space was 30 988 and 30 773 for February and March
respectively. The number of sales has decreased by 0.7% from
January to March. The moving average for number of sales was
53 995 in March, 0.8% lower than in January. Actual sales for
February and March was 53 473 and 53 491 respectively. On
a year-to-year basis, the actual sow and sales numbers were
0.5% and 2.6% lower.
The moving average (MA) trend for the number of services
and piglets born has decreased marginally from the beginning
of the year towards March. The moving average for the number
of services was 0.47% lower than in January, to reach a number
of 7 131 in March. Actual services for February and March
were 7 171 and 7 002 respectively. The number of piglets born
(MA) followed the same trend and has decreased slightly by
0.4% from January towards March. In actual terms, the value
remained relatively the same. Actual piglets born in the sample
for February and March were 64 456 and 64 262 respectively.
On a year-to-year basis the number of services was 2.63%
lower and the number of piglets born was almost one percent
higher for the same period in 2010.
Porcus April/Mei 2011

Figure 4: Sow numbers vs sales 1
Abattoir level analysis
Market conditions
The abattoir analysis focuses on two aspects, namely the
total number of pigs slaughtered and number slaughtered per
province.
The total number of pigs slaughtered for the third levy period
has decreased by 7.11% from January to February. Towards
March, the number of slaughterings recovered, increasing
by 16.68%. The total number of pigs slaughtered in February
and March were 182 036 and 212 395 respectively. When
considering a three-month moving average (MA), the number
of slaughterings in March reached 196 798 animals, 1.46%
lower than the MA in January as indicated in Figure 6. There
was a sharp decrease in the slaughter of other livestock. The
number of cattle slaughtered, decreased by 6.4% from January
to March. The total number of sheep slaughtered, has declined
by 11.62%. The actual slaughterings for cattle and sheep in
Figure 5: Services vs piglets born 2
March were 191 694 and 389 162 respectively. When considering
provincial slaughters, the number of slaughters in Gauteng
had a sideways movement from January towards March with
87 247 animals slaughterings. There was a sharp increase in
the number of slaughterings in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western
Cape from January to March. Slaughterings have increased
by 14.33% and 23.47% in KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape
respectively, to reach values of 33 127 and 30 461 animals
slaughtered. National slaughterings could increase in the short
term, due to an increased demand for the Easter holidays.
During January towards March, all meat classes had sideways
movements and then increased marginally towards the
end of March except for PP quality pork, which followed a relatively
constant trend. BP pork was the best performer in terms
of marginal movements. The price in the last week of January
was R15.71/kg. BP quality pork prices then moved sideways
Figure 6: Total numbers slaughtered (national estimates)
towards the end of February, then increased by 2.54% towards
the week of the 25th of March, at a price of R16.13/kg. For the
same period in 2010, the price for BP pork was R15.36/kg. The
prices for BO and BR classes followed a similar trend, where
both had a sideways movement towards 25th of February
and then increased by 2.62% and 1.65% respectively towards
the end of March. The price of BO and BR quality pork was
R16.06/kg and R15.38/kg during the week of 25 March. As
stated earlier, the price for PP pork products have decreased
by 1.45% from the 7th of January to the 4th of February. PP
prices then remained constant to the end of March where the
price was R16.26/kg.
Figure 7: Slaughterings per province
Figure 8: Average price for various classes 3
Wholesale and retail price analysis
Index levels
The margin analysis in the sample for porker and baconer prod-
Continued on p 8
Porcus April/May 2011 7

nutrition
Market conditions continued from p. 7
8
Market conditions
ucts focuses on retail and wholesale prices and the respective
margins between them. The combined basket for porker
products remained the same from February to March. On the
other hand, the index for baconer products has increased by
almost four percent, due to an increase in shoulder and back
bacon. In the wholesale sample, prices for porker and baconer
products had mixed trends from February towards the end of
March. There was a decrease in the price for porker products
by approximately 4.55% and an increase of 12.20% for baconer
products. As a result of these trends, the index margins
for porker and baconer products changed. The index margin
for porker products has increased by 6.68% to reach an index
of 103.68 (base year = 2008). On the other hand, the index
margin for baconer has decreased almost three percent, due to
a rise in wholesale prices. The value of the index in April was
137.74% (base year = 2008).
Figure 9: Margin analysis for porkers and baconers,
2010 and 2011.
Import analysis
There was a signifi cant increase in the import of pork meat
to South Africa in the period January to March. Ribs, ham/
shoulders and other cuts contributed to the 37.33% increase in
imports. The total tonnage of imports to South Africa in March
was 3 512 tonnes. Ribs imports increased by almost 50% to
reach a value of 2 467 tonnes. Ham/shoulder and other cuts
also increased considerably. For the same period in 2010,
imports were 4.64% lower at 3 357 tonnes. The three main
countries of imports were Germany, Canada and Spain. The
total imports from Germany were 2 254 tonnes, 83% higher
than in January. Imports from Canada and Spain were 505 and
217 tonnes respectively.
Figure 10: Total imports to South Africa
Figure 11: Imports of pork to South Africa
1 SAPPO pork producers farm survey (2010/11)
2 SAPPO pork producers farm survey (2010/11)
3 May 2010 price data has been estamated and may not be completely representative
Porcus April/Mei 2011

Marieta Human
promosies
SAVPO se promosies op regte
pad, sê navorsing
Die promosies wat tot dusver
deur SAVPO gedoen is, het reeds
‘n baie positiewe verskuiwing in
die organisasie se teikenmark
tot gevolg gehad, sê Marieta
Human, SAVPO se promosiekoördineerder.
Sy sê ‘n projek waarin TNS Global
SAVPO se reklame vir varkvleis geëvalueer
het, wys duidelik dat swart mense
baie meer bewus is van varkvleis se
Foot and mouth
disease: Legal
opinion awaited
positiewe eienskappe as voorheen. Hulle
weet dat varkvleis gesond en veelsydig
is, dat dit ‘n wit vleis is en dat dit deur
die Suid-Afrikaanse Hartstigting onderskryf
word.
SAVPO het ses fokusgroepe en verskillende
konsepte aan TNS Global voorgelê
vir evaluering. Die doel daarvan was
om die reklame-konsepte te toets en te
bepaal watter konsepte die beste werk.
In die evualering het die teikengroepe
aangedui dat SAVPO se DVD met kooklesse
loshande hul gunsteling item is. Dit
was ook duidelik dat die swart verbruikers
glad nie weet hoe om varkvleis gaar
te maak nie. Dié feit is as die grootste
struikelblok geïdentifiseer en is ook die
grootste uitdaging wat SAVPO se Promosiekomitee
in die gesig staar.
Die Promosiekomitee het daarom
besluit om nog tien DVD’s met kooklesse
te vervaardig, sodat daar op die ou end
‘n reeks van 12 beskikbaar sal wees.
Dit sal op SAVPO se webblad en by die
organisasie se kantoor beskikbaar wees.
Omdat dit egter vir die teikenmark
moeilik is om die DVD’s te bekom, is
daar besluit om ‘n verkorte stap-vir-stap
weergawe in familie-tydskrifte te publi-
“A comprehensive report compiled by Agri Inspect,
commissioned by the Red Meat Industry Forum (RMIF),
is being studied by senior advocates and the RMIF
awaits a recommendation on possible legal action, says
Dave Ford, chairman of the Forum. The report deals
with border controls, roadblocks and vaccination actions
in the demarcated foot-and-mouth areas.
“The red meat industry has in the past years often raised concerns
regarding the state of border fences and the serious danger of
diseases spreading from neighbouring countries to South Africa,”
Ford says.
He points out that the KZN Department of Agriculture recently
said: “We regret allowing the foot-and-mouth disease fence to fall
apart” and in an article Mr Mkhize from the Department said: “The
fence started falling apart in the early 1990’s”.
seer. Die teikenmark het aangedui dat
televisie en tydskrifte hul kommunikasiemedium
van voorkeur is.
Die advertensies sal in die tydskrifte,
Drum, Huisgenoot, True Love, Bona en
Oprah gepubliseer word in dubbelbladformaat.
Daar sal ook aan die begin van
Julie afgeskop word met ‘n reeks van 13
insetsels oor varkvleis op die betaalkanaal,
TOP TV.
Met die publisering van die artikels
word nie net die swartmark nie, maar
ook die varkvleisbedryf se bestaande,
lojale varvkleismark geteiken. Dit is
waarom die advertensies ook in You en
Huisgenoot, wat met twee miljoen lesers
spog, geplaas word, het Human gesê.
Porcus April/May 2011 9
-

10
production
Porcus Januarie/Februarie 2011

VoorGrond
Mededingingswet: NAMC
ondersoek verspreiding van
inligting
Dawie Maree, ekonoom: Agri SA
Markinligting is noodsaaklik vir
boere om volhoubaar en mededingend
te produseer. Dit was die
gevolgtrekking van ‘n werkswinkel
wat in Februarie deur die Nasionale
Bemarkingsraad (NAMC)
in Pretoria aangebied en deur
verteenwoordigers van verskeie
bedryfsorganisasies bygewoon is.
Die werkswinkel vorm deel van die
Nasionale Landboubemarkingsraad
(NAMC) se ondersoek na die inwinning,
gebruik en verspreiding van inligting in
opdrag van die CEO Forum. Die saak
het vir bedryfsorganisasies ‘n groot kopseer
in die lig van die Mededingingswet
geword.
Die NAMC het vraelyste aan 107
instansies (soos bedryfsorganisasies
en maatskappye) gestuur en terugvoer
teen ’n koers van 34%, wat as statisties
geloofwaardig beskou word, is ontvang.
Die inligting wat die NAMC op dié wyse
bekom het, word in verslae vervat wat
aan die deelnemende organisasies
teruggestuur is. Dit handel hoofsaaklik
oor die soort inligting wat deur die organisasies
ingesamel word, hoe gereeld
dit plaasvind en hoe die inligting weer
gebruik en versprei word.
Bedryfsorganisasies (onder meer
SAVPO) was goed by die werkswinkel
verteenwoordig en verskeie aspekte van
die hantering van inligting is bespreek.
Sagis het ‘n voorlegging gedoen oor
hoe inligting suksesvol op onafhanklike
vlak bestuur kan word. Sagis versamel
en versprei kerninligting onafhanklik om
te verseker dat die Mededingingswet
nie oortree word nie. Inligting word ook
gelyktydig aan belanghebbendes via
hul webwerf beskikbaar gestel om geen
persoon of instansie te bevoordeel nie.
Die grondwet van verskeie bedryfsorganisasies
en ander instansies is by
die werkswinkel onder die soeklig ge-
Alltech leads the battle in Europe
against Mycotoxins
In a media statement Alltech welcomed
the innovative Regulation (EC) 767/2009
of the European Parliament, which
enables the EU feed industry to be more
competitive and permits companies who
have invested in scientific research to
capitalise on this investment.
“Alltech is firmly committed to continuous
research and development, and
upholding regulatory values in Europe
and throughout the world,” said Marc
Larousse, vice president of Alltech
Europe. “We have invested significant
resources to ensure that we can scientifically
substantiate our claims as per
Article 13 of Regulation (EC) 767/2009
of the European Parliament, so our customers
can be secure in the knowledge
that they are using a product that is not
only high quality and traceable, but one
that provides the best proven performance.”
The efficacy of Mycosorb from Alltech
has been shown in over 55 peerreviewed
in-vivo (in animal) trials and is
plaas om vas te stel hoe die verspreiding
van inligting daarin uiteengesit word. Die
gevolgtrekking was dat organisasies die
saak duidelik in hulle grondwet moet
uiteensit om te verseker dat die Mededingingswet
nie oortree word nie.
Die NAMC sal die aanbevelings wat
uit die werkswinkel voortspruit in ‘n finale
verslag vervat, waarna die NAMC die
saak met die CEO Forum en die Mededingingskommissie
sal bespreek.
Die uiteindelike doel is om regulasies of
riglyne daar te stel om landbou-organisasies
in staat te stel om belangrike
markinligting in te samel, te verwerk en
te versprei tot voordeel van die produsent.
supported by 16 PhDs and 19 Masters
theses. Mycosorb has also been awarded
two patents which protect its novel
composition and methods of production.
“Alltech’s goal is to completely eliminate
mycotoxins from the food chain.
Mycosorb is a broad spectrum mycotoxin
binder, and using it is the first step
towards this ultimate goal,” said Alltech’s
founder and president Dr Pearse Lyons.
For more information on mycotoxins,
visit: www.knowmycotoxins.com
Porcus April/May 2011 11

12
Quality assurance
Animal Health
®
Improvac Reg No.: G3643 (Act 36/1947)
Porcus Januarie/Februarie 2011

The UK will be better protected against
animal diseases like avian fl u and footand-mouth
thanks to a global network
of scientifi c research to be launched by
Defra, leading an international network,
funded by the EU, linking thousands of
scientists across the world.
Increasingly globalised movements of
animals, people and food have raised
the risk of animal diseases spreading to
the UK. It will allow them to exchange
research, establish common goals and
collaborate on developing future con-
The Japanese government plans
to cull a vast amount of pigs,
cattle and poultry in the nuclear
evacuation zone surrounding the
country’s damaged nuclear plant,
several news sources report.
Livestock producers in Fukushima, in the
North East of Japan had to leave behind
their animal herds when a 20 km evacu-
For the third time in a little more
than a month, the United States
National Pork Producers Council
(NPPC) testifi ed before the US
Congress in support of pending
free trade agreements that will
add signifi cantly to pork producers’
bottom line.
NPPC, at a hearing held by the House
Agriculture Committee, urged passage
of the free trade agreementes (FTAs) with
Colombia, Panama and South Korea.
The deals, when fully implemented, will
generate more than $770 million in additional
pork exports, increase hog prices
by more than $11 per head and create
more than 10 000 US pork industry
jobs, according to Iowa State University
economist Dermot Hayes.
International
Global science network to protect
against animal diseases
Japan culls thousands of pigs,
cows, poultry in no-go zone
US pork council
once more urges for
passing of FTAs
trols. It will also underpin early warning
systems by identifying what emerging
diseases are being picked up abroad.
The one million EU-funded network will
include Canada, USA, Mexico, Argentina,
Brazil, China, India, Japan, Australia,
New Zealand, Russia, Italy, Germany,
France, Spain, Denmark and the UK. It
will be divided into three regions – the
Americas, Asia and Australasia, and
Europe – and surrounding countries are
expected to feed in. It is hoped that an
Africa region will follow.
ation zone around the nuclear power
plant was imposed after the tsunami and
earthquake had happened on March 11.
The disaster had knocked out the plant’s
cooling systems.
The departure of farmers from the nogo
zone resulted in the abandonment of
an estimated 31 500 pigs, 3 400 cows,
and 630 000 chickens – at least, these
fi gures were reported prior to the crisis.
One in two
Dutch say no to
so-called mega
livestock
complexes
Almost half of the members of
the public in the Netherlands
says “no” to the construction of
so-called “mega livestock complexes”
– another 42% is positive.
A public enquiry, carried out by the
Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs,
Agriculture and Innovation has indicated
that a broad majority is not in favour of
continuing economies of scale in the livestock
industry. An earlier research had
yielded identical results.
It is however difficult to explain
what is considered to be “mega live-
Sources: Pig Progress, ???? The PigSite,
Pork Australia
Two snouted pig
avoids the chop
This little piggy certainly will not go
to market, says her owner Bai Xuejin,
from Zhangjia in the Jilin province, in
China. The piglet was born with two
functioning mouths. She eats and
drinks through both of them.
“We knew something was different because
her head was so large we had to help when
her mother gave birth. I’ve been raising pigs
for 15 years and I’ve never seen anything like
this before,” Xuejin said.
The piglet could not suckle its mother
because of its unique facial fi gure, so it had
to be raise by hand until it was old enough to
eat solid food. Xuejin says he is planning on
saving the piglet from the chop and putting
her on show at his farm because people are
fascinated by her. “She is too special to end
up on a plate,” Xuejin said.
stock complexes” in the Dutch context.
A country in which animal husbandry
was performed predominantly
in family operations, the Netherlands
have been going through a phase of
intensification and professionalisation
as a result of European Union initiatives
and various legislative adjustments
after foot-and-mouth disease
and classical swine fever outbreaks in
the late nineties.
One defi nition given is having one
location with at least 7 500 fi nishers, 250
dairy cows or 120 000 layers. Rather
large for a densely populated country as
the Netherlands, but fairly moderate in
comparison to farm sites in e.g. the USA
or China.
Animal welfare organisations in the
Netherlands have been calling for a national
ban on mega livestock complexes
and for more sustainability in animal
husbandry.
Porcus April/May 2011 13

14
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Porcus April/Mei 2011

SAPPO’s ten
recommended
biosecurity
measures for
pig farms
1. Fence your piggery effectively to
prevent access by people and animals.
If possible prevent animals being able to
dig under the fence.
2. Don’t allow other types of animals or
pets within your piggery fence.
3. Don’t allow visitors into your piggery
if they have been in contact with other
pigs the past two days.
4. You should provide all visitors with
overalls and boots before entering your
farm. They must leave these overalls and
boots on your farm when they leave.
5. Don’t allow people to eat within the
piggery and especially not to bring pork
or pork products into the piggery.
6. Make sure that vehicles and goods
you bring into your piggery are not a
risk. Always disinfect vehicles and goods
before they enter the piggery.
7. Only bring pigs in from a piggery,
which have a known disease status.
International
Water contaminated?
Bottle water produced in the
northern Gyeonggi Province of
South Korea may be contaminated
with the foot-and-mouth
disease (FMD) virus plus other
harmful organic substances, says
an environmental group.
According to the Citizens’ Institute for
animal HealtH
What is biosecurity?
Biosecurity on pig farms is a
set of protocols and standards
designed to reduce the risk of
diseases not present within
the pig population from entering
the pig farm and preventing
diseases within the pig
population from leaving the
unit and infecting other pig
farms.
The basis of biosecurity measures is
demarcating the biosecure unit with
a physical barrier and then restrict-
That piggery’s health status should be
the same or better than your piggery’s
status. Never bring pigs from auction
facilities into your piggery.
8. Do not feed swill (including dead
poultry, poultry offal and animal offal).
The use of vegetables is not a risk but
feeding meat products to pigs is risky.
9. Dead pigs must be disposed of so
that they do not pose a possible source
of disease to pigs outside of your piggery
and must not be used for human
Environmental Studies, 32 FMD burial
sites for more than 23 000 pigs and
cows were made near four drinking
plants in Pocheon and Yeoncheon. The
plants in those areas produce bottle
water by purifying underground water.
The group has urged the government to
launch a full-scale inspection into FMD
burial sites to check whether polluted
fl uid leaked from the sites and penetrated
into underground water sources.
Federal data show meat and poultry
safe, says AMI
The recently published Pew
study misleads consumers about
the public health signifi cance of
Staphylococcus aureus from food
sources, says the American Meat
Institute (AMI).
A new Pew Commission-funded study
misleads consumers about US meat
and poultry, which is among the safest
in the world, according to AMI. Authors
of the new study, which involved a small
number of samples from retail stores,
claim that their fi ndings suggest that a
signifi cant public health risk exists. However,
federal data from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
show steady declines in foodborne illnesses
linked to consumption of meat
and poultry overall and indicate that
human infections with Staphylococcus
aureus (“Staph”) comprise less than one
percent of total foodborne illnesses.
ing access through the barrier. Thus,
only essential people, animals and
goods are allowed into the unit.
Furthermore, anything entering
the unit is disinfected and its origin
carefully controlled to reduce the risk
of it bringing a disease into the unit.
Feeding of any swill is strictly
prohibited. Swill is any leftover food
from the catering industry, including
restaurants, hotels and hospitals,
especially if it contains any form of
meat.
Dr Peter Evans
consumption.
10. If you think doing/allowing anything
to happen in your piggery is a disease
risk – don’t do it.
These recommendations are available on
SAPPO’s website www.sapork.com.
400 SOW
PIGGERY TO
CLOSE!
2ND HAND PIGGERY
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE!
PHONE LANCE ON
(036) 488 1200 OR
082 614 5623
FMD in Taiwan
A new outbreak of foot-andmouth
disease has been discovered
in Taipei.
Dr Kwo-Ching Huang, the chief veterinary
offi cer and deputy director general
in Chinese Taipei said that 14 cases
and 123 susceptible cases had been
discovered.
During the routine active FMD serological
surveillance, NSP antibodies
were detected on a pig farm.
The investigation showed that all
pigs on the farm were clinically healthy.
Porcus April/May 2011 15

Sow selection can
beat heat stress
By Saskia Bloemhof, TOPIGS
Research
The modern breeding of sows are
already highly productive, but the
potential still exists to achieve
even better results for reproduction
by selecting lines that are
particularly robust and which
therefore perform well under a
range of environmental conditions.
Reproductive performance in sow lines is
affected by several factors. In our experience,
only one – three percent of the total
variation in sow fertility shown by differences
between farm-month averages
are due to service sire effects. Genetics
account for about eight percent. There
are also influences from parity, lactation
length and nutrition to be considered.
However, we have found that some
ten percent of fertility variation may be
explained by the environmental aspects
relating to farm management and factors
such as the season of the year.
Pig producers
As all pig producers worldwide, we were
also confronted by the reality of seasonal
effects when evaluating the reproductive
performance of our sow lines in Spain
and Portugal. Data from 19 359 sows
on 28 breeding farms had revealed an
increase of almost one piglet per insemination
from 2005 to 2007. However, a
seasonal decrease in results during
summer and early autumn could be seen
in all three years. The highest number of
piglets born per first insemination came
from sows inseminated in December.
Seasons obviously differ in terms
of temperature as well as in number of
hours of daylight. One of the challenges
of pig production in Spain and Portugal
and other countries with a warm climate
comes from the high temperatures in
parts of the year. Heat stress is a limiting
factor, especially for production in these
conditions.
Literature and pig farming text books
indicate that sows are exposed to heat
stress when temperatures exceeds 20º
C, which is the upper critical temperature
of a sows thermo-neutral zone. It is
known that heat stress decreases the
expression of oestrus behaviour and also
alters how ovulation follicles, compromises
oocyte competence and inhibits
embryonic development.
Management practices such as cooling,
offer one way of protecting performance
during hot seasons. An alternative
is to select animals for increased heat
tolerance. This selection approach has
the advantage that the changes in the
genetic composition of the pig population
are permanent. Compared with the
use of cooling, it is also more sustainable
in terms of its impact on the earth’s
resources.
To investigate the selection possibility
in more detail, we conducted a study with
the aim of estimating the genetic variation
in heat tolerance expressed in reproductive
traits.
Analysis
A previous analysis of data from 11 935
sows on 20 farms in Spain, collected from
2003 to 2005, showned a huge effect
of heat stress on farrowing rate and litter
size, but also a clear difference between
two sow lines represented. These lines
were a Dutch Yorkshire (DY), used mainly
for production in temperate climates and
an International Large White (ILW), producing
mostly in warm climates, with their
reciprocal crosses.
According to that analysis, the
temperature on the day of insemination
affected the litter size of ILW-line sows but
not their farrowing rate. By contrast, both
traits were affected linearly by temperature
for the DY-line sows. Another difference
was that the decrease in reproductive
performance with increasing outside
temperature was greater in the DY line
than in the ILW line. The result was that,
above 22ºC, ILW-line sows had a higher
reproductive performance than DY-line
sows.
A first trait affected by heat stress
could be farrowing rate, so our next study
of sows originating from the same two
purebred lines also looked at their farrowing
rate as well as litter size according to
the maximum outside temperature on the
day of insemination. Temperature again
had an apparent effect – it seemed that
inseminating on a day of 30º C might result
in 0.4 fewer piglets per insemination.
Once more, however, important differences
were found in the relationship between
temperature and reproductive traits in
the two genetically different sow lines.
One of the lines showed no influence by
temperature on performance, whereas
the other suffered a decrease equivalent
to 0.1 piglets per degree Celsius rise in
temperature.
Apparently, therefore, the lines differed
in their genetic ability to tolerate heat
stress as measured by differences in
reproductive performance. This was valuable
information from our point of view,
not least because of its indication that
there might be a genetic component of
heat stress tolerance.
Heritability
breedinG
Our estimates of heritability as part of
the same study reinforced the idea that
genetic selection on sow heat stress
tolerance may be possible. We found
large differences in heritability between
sow lines. At 10ºC above the sow’s upper
critical temperature, the heritability of heat
tolerance with regard to farrowing rate
was 0.06 for line DY, but only 0.02 for line
ILW. Heat stress had less impact on the
litter size of the sows in the study and the
Continued on p 19
Porcus April/May 2011 17

18
Porcus April/Mei 2011

electricity
Agricultural sector not immune
to energy losses
A national audit of South Africa’s
medium to large power users
has revealed that the agricultural
sector has the highest incidence
of electricity theft, with farmers
being responsible for up to
48 percent of electricity theft
incidents, says Maboe Maphaka,
Eskom’s Project Sponsor for
Eskom’s Energy Losses Management
Programme (ELP).
“Investigations have revealed that syndicates
are operating on a large scale
across the country, enticing farmers
to tamper with their electrical installations,
with some electricians and Eskom
employees implicated in the practice,
charging up to R3 000 per meter or
point for their ‘services’”.
Maphaka says that in areas where
tampering, bypassing or illegal connections
at meter or transformer points were
found, further investigation revealed that
up to 80 percent of points in the area
were also tampered with.
“The bottom line is that we all need
to shoulder some responsibility. As a
Sow selection continued from p 17
heritability estimates relating to heat tolerance
of litter size were only 0.03 and 0.01
respectively, but the results in total clearly
indicated possibilities for improving sow
performance by selecting for heat tolerance.
We have also examined 93 969
insemination and farrowing records from
24 456 sows of the same two lines that
were inseminated between January 2003
and July 2008, on 20 farms in Spain and
on 13 farms in Portugal.
The average farrowing rate across all
breeds was 83%. On average, crossbred
sows had the highest farrowing rate
(86%) and purebred DY-line sows had
the lowest (82%). Farrowing rates from
an insemination day when the maximum
temperature was below 23ºC were highest
for DY-line sows and lowest for those
of the ILW-line. At insemination temperatures
above 23ºC, however, the farrowing
rate of DY-line sows decreased whereas
the rates of the ILW-line and crossbred
sows stayed similar to their performance
at lower temperatures. Our heritability
farmer, your impact and role is probably
far more signifi cant than you realise.
Not only will your business benefi t
from becoming more energy and cost
effi cient, but you are important to the
South African economy, which stands
to benefi t from sensible use of important
resources.”
“The fact that electricity theft has
evolved over the years from a crime
committed by a few to a common practice
that is justifi ed in many ways contributes
to our problem, making it all the
more important for the entire agricultural
sector to speak out clearly and loudly
and say that electricity theft will not be
tolerated. It’s only this kind of community
pressure that will create a culture of
legal power use that will benefi t individual
farmers and the sector as a whole.”
Eskom has joined forces with Agri
SA, Business Against Crime (BAC),
Business Unity SA (BUSA), Proudly
South Africa, Primedia, Shout SA, Metal
Recyclers Association, the South African
Chambers of Commerce and Industry,
as well as the South African Local Government
Association (SALGA) to build an
estimates were lowest for ILW-line sows
and highest for the crossbreds.
Available evidence
Overall, the available evidence shows that
both farrowing rate and heat tolerance
are heritable traits and can be improved
via breeding. This raises the obvious
question of whether these traits can be
improved simultaneously without one
upsetting the other.
The answer is not yet straightforward,
although my previous studies had shown
a negative genetic correlation between
heat tolerance and production. In the later
examination the correlations between
farrowing rate and heat tolerance were
found to be close to zero.
Improvement
While we may not be able to aim for simultaneous
improvement, however, there
remains an important message in this
work. I would say that when you improve
understanding of the impact of electricity
theft within the agricultural community
and to drive energy effi ciency. “All of
these organisations will play a pivotal role
in mobilising the business and agricultural
sectors for legal power use and to
take a stand against electricity theft.”
either farrowing rate or litter size without
taking heat tolerance into account,
this will lead to animals which have high
performance but that are more sensitive
to heat stress.
This possibility of selecting for heat tolerance
is exciting, not least because most
genetic selection of pigs takes place currently
in nucleus herds located in temperate
zones. Commercial pig production occurs
all over the world, including hot climates.
Selecting sows to be more tolerant of
heat must hold out the promise of a further
improvement of reproductive results
also under those conditions.
Breeding
This is currently the approach adopted by
the TOPIGS breeding programme, where
heat tolerance is considered constantly
in the continuous search for even better
production. The programme is already
applying the knowledge gained from our
research to the benefi t of our customers.
Porcus April/May 2011 19

promotion
Alltech envisions bright
future for algae fermentation
Alltech recently began operations
at its re-designed algae
fermentation facility in Winchester,
Kentucky. The facility, which will
produce value-added feed products
derived from algae as well as
algae-derived biofuel, is seen by
Alltech as a tremendous opportunity
to move forward in the development
of algae fermentation.
This is expected to be a crucial
component of tomorrow’s agriculture.
Dr Pearse Lyons, founder and president
of Alltech, recently claimed that Alltech’s
advances in algae technology would
provide the world with incredible opportunities
in the areas of food, feed and fuel.
“We have already been working in this
area for several years and see it playing
a major role in both human and animal
health and nutrition. I am confident that
this will be one of the key pieces that will
help our company pass the USD one
billion revenue threshold in 2014,” he
stated.
In addition to the scaling up of the
Winchester plant, Alltech has continued
20
its efforts to use its educational knowhow
to inform customers and other industry
players of the potential that algae technology
has to offer the world.
Upon his return from a bio-energy
event in the Asia Pacific region, Dr Mark
Lyons, son of founder Dr Pearse Lyons
and International project director of
Alltech, spoke about algae’s untapped
potential and shared some interesting
new data and facts as well as some
company perspectives on its future in the
world of algae.
Firstly, Dr Lyons believes that the
opportunity to acquire the Winchester
plant and establish “Alltech Algae” was
a tremendous boost for the company.
Providing an update on the facility, he
said: “We are now successfully running
commercial fermentations at the facility
in Winchester and are already moving
to commercialisation of products that
we had developed on a pilot scale over
the past number of years.” “Today, we
have one of the largest algae plants in
the world up and running and that is very
valuable in terms of our ability to market
products. At the Winchester plant we
also have one of the best pilot plants we
Dr Mark Lyons
have ever owned that scales perfectly to
the production systems. This speeds up
development greatly,” added Dr Lyons
Alltech also argues that its Winchester
algae fermentation facility can be considered
as a “farm of the future” – a concept
gaining in popularity, not only due to its
highly innovative nature, but also due to
the forward thinking and beyond traditional
boundary approach needed, qualities
that also inspire Alltech.
He further said: “Algae is a key
component of the farm of the future. The
broad range of algae species means that
we can create products that carry specific
traits and properties that will be most
interesting to our customers and that
could be the key link between the various
processes that will be operating in the
farm of the future.”
“Algae production certainly is a great
example of thinking differently. While there
has been some work carried out with
algae, we believe that we are unique in
our approach. We are looking to this production
system as a way to feed and fuel
the world with value-added productions
that fit into our ACE principal of improving
the health, welfare, and performance of
Porcus April/Mei 2011

the animal, satisfying the consumer, and
improving the environment,” he added.
Alltech’s International project director
also argues that the time is right to consider
algae as a potent alternative source
of energy.
Dr Lyons explained that corn prices
will likely remain high and supply tight.
Other commodities’ attractiveness is
also causing a war on acreage that will
continue to maintain high prices. Cotton,
for example, is a concern in the US and
high sugar prices are a principal driver in
South America. He also pointed out that
right now in the US, wheat will be fed in
traditional corn diets from July. However,
its planting is behind schedule, so the end
of price volatility is not near.
However, according to Alltech’s estimates,
one acre of chlorella algae could
produce as much protein as 21 acres of
soybeans; 49 acres of corn; 95 acres of
wheat; or 994 acres of barley. With this
data in mind algae would represent a
promising alternative.
He also highlighted the fact that
15 000 sq miles (about the size of the
the Mojave desert, in Southern California)
would provide enough algae to supply all
of the transportation fuel needed in the
US and biomass to feed 100 000 cows.
“While that is a sizable amount of land,
it is far less than is required to produce
maize, soybeans, wheat, and other
crops used today as feedstuffs. Algae is
far more efficient in respect to the area
required for production,” he said.
It is also expected that the ongoing
pressure on fuel supplies could force the
development of fuels from algal biomass.
It is understood that growth rates of
algae can be as much as 30 times faster
than terrestrial plants, therefore harvest
rates can be as short as 1 to 10 days.
Consequently this would allow for 300
times more oil per acre.
“Just as food will be produced from a
wide variety of food systems, energy and
fuel must also have diversity in production.
Dependency on one principal source
of energy is not only dangerous, it is
inherently unstable. We must broaden our
approach to incorporate all of the costs
of energy use, not simply what we pay at
the pump. I believe the stage has been
set by corn to ethanol and sugar cane to
ethanol production for other systems to
follow suit. We should not be looking at
corn to ethanol as being a failed system
but as being a stepping stone to future
production systems, including algae,”
commented Dr Lyons.
When asked what would kick start the
development of algae-derived biofuel, Dr
Lyons said that there will likely be a need
for proactive incentives from governments
to really help entire industries move.
“Incentives to use ethanol worked very
effectively with blenders of gasoline and
petrol, so if these were transferred over
time to algae, it can be assumed that the
same thing would happen. I believe the
promotion
marketing edge will help support producers
to start up, and incentives for users
will speed up this process considerably.
Keep in mind that ethanol is presently
used in the United States and Brazil at
levels that are higher than mandated and
expected rates. So while it may not be
popular, the incentives that were put in
place have had their desired impact,” he
said.
Alltech’s main area of focus at its
Winchester facility is value-added feed.
However, biodiesel certainly remains an
area of interest. Dr Lyons said that in
all likelihood Alltech would work with a
partner in this specific area. Still, the company’s
research, which started five years
ago with its Biorefinery project, continues
to bear fruit.
Despite its potential, the amount of
algae produced today is fairly insignificant
for the feed and food markets. Most production
is narrowly focused on specific
attributes and extracted products such
as certain oils and fats. However, Alltech
aims to change the picture, not only
by catering for the increase in demand
for algae-derived products, but also by
further pushing forward its educational
and marketing initiatives to promote their
value.
Dr Lyons said: “The Alltech Algae facility
in Winchester is so important to us simply
because we can produce the volumes of
product required to really move people in
this direction. We now have 31 production
facilities around the world and we will be
able to expand, as we have in the past, to
meet our customers’ requirements.”
In the meantime, he stressed the fact
that Alltech will continue to improve the
efficiency of its production and the widespread
applicability of its products derived
from algal fermentation.
“In fact, during our visit to Asia we
were able to visit our new production facility
in China and speak to groups about
algae production in the region. As the
market grows we will be there to meet it,”
he commented.
Moreover, the company held the First
Annual International Algae Conference in
February, which enjoyed a great reception
and generated very valuable discussions.
The follow-up from this event has helped
Alltech to get the word out to a much
broader audience.
“From the interest generated in our
discussions on the area of algae and from
the general media interest in the topic, I
believe that we will see more projects and
scientific interest in the near future,” he
said.
Porcus April/May 2011 21

22
Quality assurance
Porcus Januarie/Februarie 2011

Quality assurance
Porcus January/February 2011 23

24
FeedinG
Porcus November/Desember 2010

mG2mix inFormation day
The Premix company, MG2Mix, (a local affiliate of the international feeds company DSM) gathered young pork producers in Pretoria
in April for the first information day of the Young Pig Farmers Forum. Young producers from all over the country attended the information
day.
Short transport times can increase
the incidence of PSE
Short transport times can increase
the incidence of PSE, said Dr
Peter Fisher (DSM South Africa) at
the information day. He said that
transport periods of less than two
hours result in not enough time for
pigs to adapt from loading stress.
“Short feed withdrawal and lairage
periods also cause higher incidence of
PSE. DFD can however be present on
pigs with longer lairage times. Unfed pigs
kept with short lairage periods prior to
slaughter and fed pigs kept for four to six
hours prior to slaughter can reduce the
incidence of PSE and DFD,” he said.
He provided the following hints to
prevent PSE:
•Provide adequate pen space in holding
Chris Müller (Inhoek) and Gerhard
Oberholzer (Zeerust)
pens at the plant.
– 55sq meters per 113kg pig.
– All pigs must have room to lie down.
• During hot weather, wet animals with
sprinklers.
• Allow two to four hours of rest prior to
stunning.
• Handle and drive animals quietly and
reduce or eliminate electric prod usage.
Excited pigs are more likely to have
poorer quality pork. Pork quality can be
ruined during the last five minutes prior
to stunning.
• Never fill the forcing pen more than one
half to three quarters full. Animals need
room to turn so they can enter the race
more easily.
• Pigs must always have access to
water.
Products for producer needs
“MG2Mix aims to develop products
from producer’s needs. We think
local and act local, but we always
listen to the advice of others here
and abroad to the benefit of all,”
said Chris Beghin, Managing Direc-
tor of the company, at the information
day.
“We have invested in the South African Pig
Industry in order to develop uncomplicated
concepts that are beneficial to all. We are
Werner van Vuuren and James Ellis, both
of No 2 Piggery
Kobus Raath (Walt Landgoed), Manfred Süllwald (RK Boerdery), Kobie Weideman
(Walt Landgoed) and Phillip Hörstmann (Philippi)
also dedicated to continue our investment
in Research and Development to keep our
new products innovative. It is our responsibility
to invest in your future,” Beghin said.
He also said that producers should be profit
thinkers and not merely cash thinkers.
Mike Fysh (Riverside Piggery) and Jon
Gill (Gilltford Piggery)
Conrad Buchner (Paterson) and Sonja
Troskie (MG2Mix)
Continued on p 27
Porcus April/May 2011 25

26
promotion
Porcus Januarie/Februarie 2011

MG2Mix Continued from p 25
Porcus April/May 2011
Dieter Filter (Penvaan) and Reon
Oosthuizen (Kanhym)
mG2mix inFormation day
Vitamins play important role in
optimising growth potential
New genetic developments in
pig breeding demonstrate that
vitamins play an important role
to optimise a pig’s growth potential,
said Dr Matthias Weimann of
DSM, Switzerland at the information
day.
“OVN (Optimum Vitamin Nutrients) supplementation
ensures that the animal’s
diet is fortified with all the necessary
vitamins at levels required to achieve
optimum productivity and health.”
Dr Weimann pointed out that the
effect of vitamins play an important role
in stress conditions or in high lean meat
genetic strains.
Peter Fischer (DSM), Eugene Pienaar (Alzu)
and André le Roux (Rust Varkboerdery)
“The B-Vitamins especially, have
specific functions and should not be
neglected. Our product, Hy-D is an
improved source of vitamin D3 and is
beneficial to bone health, immune status
and growth of piglets.”
Andrew Campbell and Annekie O’Rouke,
both of DSM
He said that the DSM Vitamin Supplementation
Guideline offers handy
information on the recommended use of
vitamins.
Paul Burden (Howick Vet) and Eugene
Greyling (JC Greyling Varkboerdery)
Dr Friederich Osterhoff (DSM Germany),
Dr Matthias Wiemann (DSM Switzerland),
Chris Beghin (MG2MIX), Hans Peter Witt
and Wiebeke Witt, farmers from Germany
Feeding for 30 piglets/sow/year
Dr Friedrich Osterhoff of Ahrhoff
GmBh in Germany said that 30
piglets/sow/year is possible, but
that producers must first buy into
the concept. Farmers and their
consultants need to establish
farm targets.
These being:
• >12 piglets weaned per litter
• >13 piglets born alive at 1,4 to 1,7 kg
birth mass
• >double birth mass at day 7
• >90% farrowing rate
• >70 kg per sow/litter weaned at day 20
• Lactation back fat loss

28
studieGroepe
Porcus Januarie/Februarie 2011

Porcus January/February 2011

30
Porcus November/Desember 2010

Feed
Resistance patterns of
Salmonella isolated from pigs
and pork in Germany
Andreas Schroeter; Annemarie Kaesbohrer;
Reiner Helmuth; Christina Dorn;
Kirsten Heckenbach; Bernd-Alois Tenhagen
Federal Institute for Risk Assessment
(BfR), Berlin, Germany
Antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella
spp. is a major public health concern in
Europe and worldwide. Although in the
majority of cases Salmonella is not associated
with clinical disease in pigs, studies
have shown that they are prevalent
at slaughter and enter the food chain. S.
Typhimurium from pigs is estimated to
be a major source of human salmonella
infection. It was the purpose of this study
to compare the resistance patterns of
Salmonella spp. isolated from pork with
those isolated from pigs.
Materials and methods
Salmonella isolates from pigs and pork
submitted to the National Reference
Laboratory for Salmonella between
2000 and 2008 were analysed for their
susceptibility to antimicrobials using the
broth microdilution method according to
NCCLS/CLSI standards. Minimum inhibitory
concentrations (MIC) were evaluated
according to the epidemiological cut of
values (www.eucast.org). Isolates with
MIC above the cut-offs were considered
resistant, otherwise susceptible.
Results
Overall 1 595 isolates from pork and
3 820 isolates from pigs were tested.
The majority of isolates from pigs were
from three serovars, namely S. Typhimurium
(67%), S. 1,4[5],12:i:- (9%) and S.
Derby (8%). The proportion of S. Typhimurium
decreased from above 80% in
2000-2002 to 44% in 2008. In the same
period, the proportion of S. 1,4[5],12:i:increased
from 0 to 21%. S. Derby on
the other hand was constant in its share
of the submitted isolates.
In pork, the same serovars dominated.
S. Typhimurium had a proportion
of above 60% in 2000-2002 that decreased
to 43% in 2008. Overall, 53% of
all isolates from porc were S. Typhimurium.
S. 1,4[5],12:i:- (9% of the isolates)
was practically not observed in 2000 but
had a share of above 20% in 2007 and
2008. S. Derby (10% of the isolates was
fairly constant between 5 and 12% of
the isolates over the years.
The proportion of isolates that were
susceptible to all anti-microbials tested
increased over the years in animals (10%
in 2000-2002 to 22% in 2006-2008)
and the proportion of isolates resistant
against more than one group of antimicrobials
decreased slightly (78 vs. 71%)
In isolates from pork the
changes were less
pronounced. The number
of isolates that were
susceptible against all antimicrobials
tested
increased only slightly
(from 25 to 31%). In
contrast to the situation in
animals, the proportion of
isolates resistant against
more than one group of
substances increased
slightly over the years
(from 56.6 to 60.2%).
in the same time period.
In S. Typhimurium from pigs, the
resistance situation did not change very
much over the years. From 2000-2002
to 2006-2008 the proportion of susceptible
strains increased slightly from 6.0
to 10.5% in pigs, but the high proportion
of multiresistant strains remained unchanged
(86.6 vs 85.2%). In food, a different
situation was observed. The proportion
of susceptible strains decreased
from 21.5 to 14.8% and the proportion
of multiresistant strains increased slightly
(69.5 to 73.3%).
Trends in resistance for S. 1,4[5],12:i:-
cannot be described as there were
practically no isolates in the fi rst years.
However the vast majority of strains from
pigs (86%) and pork (83%) were multiresistant
and only few isolates (3 and 4%)
were susceptible to all antimicrobials
tested.
S. Derby was less resistant to antimicrobials.
Overall, 47% of the isolates
from pigs and 57% of the isolates
from pork were susceptible against all
tested antimicrobials. The proportion of
multiresistant strains was substantially
lower than in S. Typhimurium and S.
1,4[5],12:i:- (28% in pigs, 22% in porc).
The highest resistance rates were
observed for ampicillin, streptomycin,
sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline. The
resistance rates to these antimicrobials
were higher in isolates from pigs (60 to
90%) than in isolates from pork (40 to
60%). The lowest resistance rates were
observed against gentamicin, colistin,
and third generation of cephalosporins (0
to 5%).
Discussion
The results underline that colonised or
infected pigs are a likely source of contamination
for pork indicating the need
to control Salmonella pre- and at harvest
to reduce this contamination.
S. Typhimurium and S. 1,4[5], 12:i:-
show multiresistance in the majority of
the isolates which hampers treatment
of infections in humans. Resistance to
antimicrobials that are administered via
animal feed, such as tetracycline and
amoxicillin is widespread.
It has been pointed out that the use
of these antimicrobials is associated with
a higher risk of slaughter pigs to harbour
S.Typhimurium in their ileocaecal lymph
nodes (Tenhagen et al. 2009).
Public health – Salmonella
Porcus April/May 2011 31

32
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Porcus Januarie/Februarie 2011
L/2054 www.lara.co.za

promotional
Understanding Coccidiosis in Piglets
by Dr Marion Booysen BVSc, Technical Services Veterinarian, Bayer Animal Health
Coccidiosis, caused by Isospora suis, is a wide-spread protozoan
infection responsible for diarrhoea in suckling piglets. Both clinical and
subclinical infections lead to economic losses.
The major causal agent of swine coccidiosis is Isospora suis, an
intracellular protozoan parasite. Isospora suis usually infects piglets
orally within their first week of life and diarrhoea occurs between
1 and 3 weeks of age. It is mostly seen in 10 days old piglets
(“10-day scour”), but early outbreaks are possible. The parasite
goes through complex development stages both inside the animal
and in the environment. This causes intestinal damage which takes
time, sometimes lifelong, to be repaired, leading to poor weight gain
and lower growth rates. Not only the digestive function but also the
protective function of the small intestine is affected so secondary
pathogens (e.g. E. coli, Rotavirus) may easily invade. Isospora suis
is highly resistant to environmental conditions and can survive in
farrowing houses for a prolonged period. Once introduced to a
farm, the parasites are easily spread from one litter to the next via
the faeces. Older pigs are not as susceptible to coccidiosis.
Sick piglets show a pasty to watery, fatty or creamy, bloodless
diarrhoea. Faeces are white to yellow, sometimes brownish or
greyish, in colour. Piglets become dehydrated, develop a rough
hair coat, have a low weight gain, but usually continue to nurse.
Mortality is low but secondary infection by viruses and bacteria
can complicate the course of the disease and lead to a fatal end.
Although morbidity is high, both piglets with diarrhoea and some
with normal faeces are found in the same litter. As a result, herds
are uneven at weaning age. Coccidiosis is not easy to diagnose,
especially in mild or subclinical cases. Faecal samples taken from
sick or semi-recovered animals in the second or third week of life
are helpful for diagnosing the disease on a farm. These samples
should be submitted to a laboratory familiar with the technique to
detect Isospora suis, such as Protozoology Diagnostic Services
at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Onderstepoort. Subclinical
coccidiosis, without observable clinical signs, is responsible
for serious economic losses e.g. poor growth rates and feed
conversion, higher rates of secondary infections and increased
drug costs. Subclinically infected piglets act as a source of infection
because they excrete high numbers of oocysts in their faeces.
Treatment programs to control coccidiosis combine good
management, hygiene and chemotherapy. Complete eradication of
Isospora suis is impossible, but infection pressure and spread of
disease can be limited in a clean and dry environment. Removal of
faeces, high-pressure cleaning and the control of potential vectors
(e.g. rodents) help to minimize a build-up of infectious oocysts.
The other mainstay of control is the proper use of anticoccidial
drugs. The coccidiocidal drug toltrazuril (Baycox ® 5%) is
therapeutically effective and safe: a single oral dose is sufficient for
effective treatment and also preventing coccidiosis in suckling pigs.
Metaphylactic treatment with toltrazuril (Baycox ® 5%) before onset
of disease – at the age of 3 to 5 days during routine piglet handling
– has shown excellent results, preventing diarrhoea and oocyst
excretion. Subclinically infected piglets treated with toltrazuril
www.animalhealth.bayerhealthcare.com
(Baycox ® 5%) gain more weight compared to untreated animals
because of the maintenance of intestinal function. Toltrazuril
(Baycox ® 5%) does not inhibit the development of lifelong immunity
against Isospora suis, thus promoting resistance to re-infection.
Recently it has been confirmed that Isospora suis is prevalent in
commercial piggeries in South Africa, with oocysts detected in
37.5% of the 80 litters of 12 to 28 day old piglets sampled 1 . Forty
eight % of the litters with diarrhoea were positive for Isospora suis.
Additionally, the role of Isospora suis as a predisposing factor for
secondary infection with Clostridium perfringens has recently been
investigated 2 . Results showed that bringing metaphylaxis with
toltrazuril (Baycox ® 5%) forward to the first day of life resulted in
a significant additional weight gain to weaning of 326.6 g/ animal
for the piglets treated early with toltrazuril (Baycox ® 5%) on the first
day of life. Diarrhoea morbidity was significantly reduced by 48.5%
and piglet mortality by 64.3%. The results obtained confirmed the
presence of mixed infection with Isospora suis and Clostridium
perfringens immediately post-partum under field conditions, with
the authors postulating early infection with Isospora suis increases
the susceptibility for secondary Clostridium perfringens infection,
and that a decrease in multiplication of Clostridium perfringens is
likely to result from early control of Isospora suis.
In summary: Suckling piglets have a high susceptibility to diarrhoea
caused by Isospora suis. Intensive housing systems create
conditions favourable for outbreaks of this economically important
disease. Coccidiosis may be present at a subclinical level, resulting
in poorer development and reduced weight gain. Uneven growth
in litters can indicate a subclinical infection. Effective control of
the disease is based on good sanitation and anticoccidial drugs.
Careful cleaning and disinfection of the surroundings are essential.
A single oral dose of toltrazuril (Baycox ® 5%) in the first week of
life effectively interrupts the development cycle of the parasite.
The main benefits of this treatment are a decrease in clinical
diarrhoea, better weight gain, a decrease in the use of antibiotics
for secondary infections and more uniform weaning batches.
References:
1. Page, P, et al. 2008 Occurrence of Isospora suis in suckling piglets in South Africa.
Proceedings of the 2nd International Pig Veterinary Society Congress Durban,
South Africa, June 2008. 50
2. Ullrich, M, et al. 2008 Mixed infection with Isospora suis and s in piglets immediately
postpartum. Proceedings of the 2nd International Bayer Pig Symposium, Durban,
South Africa, June 2008. 24-27.
3. Deniz, A, and Siebert, S. 2008. Coccidiosis: Beware of subclinical infections.Bayer
Animal Health internal publication.
Porcus January/February 2011 33
L/2054 www.lara.co.za

34
to taste
Kassler strips in a wrap with
mango
Ingredients
Salad:
• 800 ml lettuce, chopped
• 250 ml julienned carrots
• 500 ml chopped red sweet
pepper
• 6 spring onions, chopped
• 30 ml fresh mint leaves,
chopped
• 15 ml rice wine vinegar
• 15 ml olive oil
Salsa:
• 1 mango, finely chopped
• 30 ml sweet chilli sauce
• 60 ml soy sauce
• 15 ml fresh mint leaves,
chopped
Steaks:
• 8 kassler steaks
• 5 ml olive oil
• 250 ml mango juice
• 6 torillas
• 20 ml toasted sesame seeds
Method
• Mix all the salsa ingredients together.
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom pan, add the olive oil and brown the kassler
steaks on both sides.
• Reduce the heat, add the mango juice and cook the steaks on medium heat until
cooked.
• Remove from the pan and cut into slices.
• Heat the wraps. Fill the wraps with the salad and meat and sprinkle some sesame
seeds on top.
• Fold and serve with the mango salsa on the side.
Spiced pork belly with mash
1 large cut pork belly (about 2,5kg), skin scored
3 apples, peeled and sliced
500ml cider or apple juice
250ml chicken stock
250ml white wine
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 chilli (if you feel like a little heat)
1 t allspice
2 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1 T brown sugar
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T canola/veg oil
• Preheat oven to 140°C.
• Sautee the onion and then the garlic in the oil. When the
onion is soft, add the spices, sugar and balsamic and cook
for about a minute to infuse.
• Let it cool.
• Rub the spice mix all over the pork and into the scored skin.
• Place the apples on the base of a deep baking tray or casserole
dish.
• Place the belly on top and pour the liquid all around it.
• Cover tightly with foil and place in the oven.
• Cook for 3.5 hours. Remove the foil and turn the belly over.
• Cook for a further 1/2 hour with the foil off.
• This does not crisp the skin, it makes it sticky and gorgeous.
• Do watch your liquid, add more cider if you need to.
• Serve with creamy mash and greens.
Porcus April/Mei 2011

animal diseases
Quick guide to: Pneumonic
Pasteurellosis (Pasteurella)
Dr Andrew Tucker – Charles
Street Veterinary Consultancy
What is Pasteurella?
Pasteurella multocida is a bacteria
that can colonise existing lung lesions,
increase their severity, resulting in
pneumonic pastuerellosis. P. multocida
pneumonia is difficult to reproduce
experimentally unless there are already
existing lung lesions such as those
caused by A. pleuropneumoniae (APP)
and M. hyopneumoniae (Mycoplasma).
Pastuerellosis is transmitted by aerosol,
contact and ingestion and is most common
under poor husbandry conditions
like overcrowding, dusty or ammoniacal
atmospheres etc.
How do you know if it’s on your
farm?
Pastuerella affects predominantly the
grower phase but can also affect the
breeding herd. It is often more preva-
lent after a stress incident like mixing,
weighing or transport. Affected pigs may
be lethargic and show difficult breathing
(abdominal type breathing), coughing,
nasal discharge, fever and cyanosis of the
extremities. Clinical signs often last for five
to ten days and may end in recovery or
death. Recovered pigs often remain thin.
Clinical signs, post mortem and histological
findings suggest the presence
of P. multocida and this can then be
confirmed by culture of the organism.
How do you treat or prevent it?
Severely affected pigs should be treated
by antibiotic injection, type dependant
on the on-farm situation. Euthenasia
should be carried out on collapsed and
severely congested pigs as well as thin
pigs with severe respiratory distress.
Water and in-feed medication can both
be used at specific times as part of a
medication plan.
One of the most effective ways of
controlling this disease is by implement-
ing an all-in all-out system to reduce the
spread of disease. Controlling the predisposing
pathogen like M.hyopneumoniae
is also very important. Lastly, husbandry
conditions such as stocking density
should be improved and dust and ammoniacal
levels reduced.
References:
Pig Diseases – D.J. Taylor; Diseases of
Swine – Straw, Zimmerman, D’Allaire,
Taylor
Porcus April/May 2011 35

36
promotions
Promotion ladies on refresher
course
Teams of promotion ladies have
been functioning in the Free
State, KwaZulu-Natal and in the
Western Cape for many years
now.
Since they are employed on a provincial
level, there has been minimal contact
between the teams on a national level for
a long time.
Shane Cotty chairman of the Free
State Pork Producers Association, the
Free State suggested that a “refresher”
training course be organised on a
national basis, and the Western Cape
offered to host this programme on 9 and
10 March.
Hennie Cronjé of Sweetwell Butchery
was responsible for an in-depth discussion
of the pig carcass and all relevant
cuts. Raedun Malherbe of Malu in the
Northern Cape discussed aspects of
production and the role of the abattoir in
the value chain of pork.
Marieta Human, SAPPO’s promotion
Lydia Jacobs from the Western Cape teaches a group of new ladies how to grill
pork chops in a pan.
coordinater, explained topics such as
cooking methods, different and interesting
pork dishes and the nutritional
value of pork, and also the pork team’s
mission statement in easy-to-understand
terms.
All 24 ladies used the same kitchen
to prepare a tasty and excellent pork
dish. The challenges every promotion
lady faces in the shops, has also been
thoroughly discussed.
The teams all agreed that it was a
very worthwhile trip to Cape Town and
expressed their renewed inspiration and
passion for keeping pork promotions on
a high level.
Porcus April/Mei 2011

Sally Wilson of KZN helps some newcomers with chopping
onions and peppers.
Marieta Human explains the benefits of boneless roasts.
The carcases was cut up and put together again and analysed
in detail by the promotion ladies.
aktueel
CD oor Suid-Afrika
se varkrasse
vrygestel
Dr Danie Visser,
landbou-adviseur en
strategiese analis,
oorhandig ‘n kopie
van die CD “Die Varkrasse
van Suid-Afrika”
aan Hennie Cronjé,
president van die Varktelersgenootskap
van
Suid-Afrika. Die CD,
‘n aanwins vir elke
vark-liefhebber, bevat
interessante en opgedateerde
inligting oor
die ontstaan van varkrasse,
hul geskiedenis
en hul rol in die land.
Die rasstandaarde van
elke ras word volledig
bespreek met foto’s
of kunswerke van elke ras, terwyl funksionele doeltreffendheid
ook bespreek word. Die agt rasse wat bespreek word, is die
Groot Wit, SA Landras, Chester Wit, Duroc, Hampshire, die
Kolbroek, Groot Swart en Piétrain. Dit is tweetalig en interaktief
in Afrikaans en Engels. Die CD kan by die Varktelersgenootskap
in Bloemfontein (051-410090 of pigs@studbook.co.za) bestel
word teen R150, posgeld inge-sluit.
Porcus April/May 2011 37

38
production
Pondering Points
More strange world
stories – how is it
going to end and
like when?
Well, after we lost the world
cricket quarter-fi nal against Sri
Lanka and then the sevens rugby
fi nal against New Zealand and
the sun continued to rise and set
in the usual way, we do have to
admit that life can carry on and
the world may need more of a jolt
to come to an end than that – ask
any Indian or Kiwi.
This Armageddon/cataclysm/grand fi nale
for what we often think of as the world,
namely our little planet, has occupied
the minds of scientists, philosophers and
religious leaders ever since our ancestors
decided that their lives were infl uenced,
if not ruled, by external forces bigger
than they were, and started worshipping
and placating the sun, moon, rains and
anything else their leaders could think of
to frighten them with.
Inevitably, lists have appeared with the
most likely ten or twenty catastrophes
(that is catastrophes for humankind) that
might extinguish our earth or most of
what we recognise as useful on it, and
PP has selected a few to keep us all
awake while we ponder our exit lines.
How about—
• Global warfare: Ja, selle ou storie,
but just remember there are 20 000
nuclear weapons hanging around waiting
to be used, as well as tanks full of very
nasty biological cultures with no easy
treatments simmering away in hidden
labs.
And: Ever heard of prions? They are
smaller than viruses, devoid of DNA, almost
indestructible by usual disinfectants
and heat treatments, non-immunogenic
(i.e. do not produce an immune response
in the host) and not too fussy about
which host animal they fi nd themselves
in. They cause invariably fatal diseases
with a very long incubation periods and
an unpleasant preference for nervous
tissues, especially the brain.
That’s right, it’s mad cow disease/
Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease and a new
one or two in man/scrapie in sheep/
chronic wasting disease in caribou and
moose. So far nothing in pigs or cockroaches.
It will only take two maniacs far
enough apart geographically and politically
with access to the red button to
take us all out, quickly or slowly.
And what about the Large Hadron
Collider, that atomic race track in
Switzerland that can gee-up sub-atomic
particles like protons to speeds within a
whisper of the speed of light and then
send them on a head-on collision
course? Whose idea of fun is that?
Don’t they know Roger Federer lives
there?
• Natural disasters: Take your pick.
o a collision with an asteroid bigger
even than Bruce Willis and Harrison Ford
between them can handle;
o a really good volcanic eruption blotting
out the sun and changing the temperature
of all the surfaces on earth; inhibiting
the metabolism of the marine plankton
that generate most of our planet’s
oxygen (how many of us thought we only
had trees doing that?) and wiping out
99% or more of the existing species;
o solar fl ares similar to those that have
been seen in other of the billion or two
visible solar systems; a big one will fry us
like bacon or, if for some not altogether
unlikely reason our sun’s radiant heat
output drops by one percent we will go
into an everlasting ice age and wish we
had the present global warming back.
We may well be exercised to keep our
study Group
creep and weaner temperatures within
small limits and we should continue to do
so until the sun gives up on us;
o black holes and colliding dead stars:
the fi rst you can’t see coming (being black
and all) until they suck us and everything
else within a few million light years into the
bottomless pit until the whole universe is
back in its original box, the size of a small
suitcase. Dead stars collide with more of a
crash than all the nuclear weapons plus all
the solar fl ares times a trillion or two – let’s
not stand too close if the astronomers tell
us it’s going to happen!!
• Divine Intervention: Many religions
seem to have this concept as a
sort of default answer to the puzzles of
apparent and inexplicable indifference
on the part of the all-powerful creator towards
what we see as injustice or heroic
and wonderful achievement deserving
of immediate omnipotent attention. Did
the creator plan it all for eternity, making
all the laws of physics, chemistry and
biology just before lighting the blue paper,
waiting for the big bang, seeing that it
worked ok and then just walking away
from this universe?
Not at all we are told the day will
come when all is revealed, all is explained,
justice is done and we will all get
our just deserts.
So why don’t we all start being
kind to each other (not forgetting
our pigs)? It certainly can’t do any
harm in this life, and it just may be
our best investment for a long – very
long — happy experience in the next
one, whether it comes in October
2012 or after a million years.
It’s all rather nerve-wracking; PP will
take his time pondering the chances of
the Bokke in the rugby world cup in the
hope that they can do it again and that
there will not be a head-on stellar catastrophe
in the neighbourhood at half-time
in the fi nal with us 20 points ahead of
New Zealand — or worse still an all-black
hole!
Porcus April/Mei 2011

traininG
Porcus April/May 2011 39