This research addresses vexing problems in swine production and health with an eye towards keeping Pennsylvania swine farmers competitive and opening doors to sustainability, or expanding the number of pigs in Pennsylvania. The checkoff funding was used to study the placement of ropes in sow gestation pens for both the collection of oral fluid diagnostic samples for PRRS testing and as a source of enrichment for the sows. Preliminary results indicate the more exposure the animals have to the ropes, the more the sows interact with the ropes on subsequent exposures; thus the time required for biological sampling can be shortened by pre-exposure for the sows to the ropes used for collecting...
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#sustainability