Swine Extension

In the podcast, Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Drs. Kim VanderWaal and Igor Paploski about PRRS virus Classification. Both are faculty members in the University of Minnesota Veterinary Population Medicine department. PRRS virus Classification is basically naming of the PRRS virus according to the genetic sequencing of the virus. Kim and Igor explain how PRRS viruses were classified previously and changes to how they are being classified based on their work.Learn more about PRRS virus classification featured in the podcastSwine Health Information Center fact sheet on the epidemiological insights on the PRRS-Loom Variant webtoolLink to PRRS-Loom Variant webtoolJournal article published in Epidemiology, Volume 10, Issue 2. doi: 10.1128/msphere.00709-24

In the podcast, Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Dr. Marie Culhane about H5 Influenza. Especially as it relates to cases in poultry and dairy, and the risk of it for pigs. Dr. Culhane is a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Veterinary Population Medicine. Her expertise is Influenza as it relates to food animals.Learn more about H5 Influenza featured in the podcastThis podcast was based on a Swine in Minnesota blog post, "H5 Influenza Q & A with Drs. Marie Culhane and Carol Cardona"Journal article talks about how susceptible pigs are to influenza.Journal article explains how pigs are a mixing vessel for influenza viruses.Minnesota Board of Animal Health H5N1 in Livestock ResourcesMinnesota Board of Animal Health HPAI hotline and responseIndividuals can contact local DNR wildlife staff or the DNR information center at 888-646-6367 to report sick or dead birds.This podcast was recorded on April 22, 2025

In the podcast, Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Rachel Schambow who is a researcher with the UMN Center for Animal Health and Food Safety at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Rachel speaks about the analysis her and her colleagues did of USDA’s Sick Pig Surveillance component at Iowa State University and the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories. She also talks about USDA’s Sick Pig Surveillance program in general and how producers and veterinarians can support surveillance for African Swine Fever and Classical Swine Fever. University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine Center for Animal Health and Food Safety have created informational sheets about the sick pig Veterinary Diagnostic Lab’s (VDL) surveillance program to help producers and veterinarians understand what it is and how they can participate. There are two versions of the informational sheets - one is aimed towards the intensive commercial swine industry, while the other is aimed more at non-s

In the podcast, Extension Swine Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Gabriella Lima who recently finished her Master of Science degree in the Department of Animal Science. Gabriella speaks about a research project she worked on. The research project was very comprehensive in what it all looked at, but specifically, Gabriella looked at the effects of growth performance and carcass characteristics when feeding hybrid rye to organically raised growing-finishing pigs. Gabriella does briefly share the other aspects of the research project that were studied by others, but didn’t share those results.Learn more about research featured in the podcastAbstract published in the Journal of Animal Science, volume 102, Issue Supplement 2, Pages 58-59. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skae102.068Organic pigs & rye: The rest of the story article was originally printed in The LAND publication (July 5, 2024) and reprinted on the UMN Extension Swine blog.Article featured in UMN Extension's Source magazine Fall 2024 issu

In the podcast, Extension Swine Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Courtney Archer who is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Animal Science. Courtney speaks about a research project she completed to identify the tail biter pig in a pen of pigs with intact tails. She shares how her findings can help identify pigs responsible for tail biting behavior at an early stage so farmers can implement timely interventions to mitigate the issues and improve overall well-being.Learn more about research featured in the podcastAbstract published in the Journal of Animal Science, volume 102, Issue Supplement 2, Abstract 209. DOI: 10.1093/jas/skae102.005. This podcast was recorded on October 24, 2024.

In the podcast, Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Rachel Schambow who is a postdoctoral researcher with the UMN Center for Animal Health and Food Safety. Rachel speaks about a “Vet to Vet” project presented at the 2023 Leman Conference and about recent work on African Swine Fever (ASF) in the Dominican Republic and Philippines. She shares how these experiences and lessons learned can be applied to improve our ASF preparedness in the U.S.Learn more about research featured in the podcastVet to Vet (V2V) African Swine Fever Workshop report featured on UMN Extension Swine Blog.Center for Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) - www.cahfs.umn.eduThe podcast was recorded on June 11, 2024.

In the podcast, Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with associate professor Maria Pieters about her research investigating the antimicrobial susceptibility of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is a bacterial pathogen of the respiratory tract of pigs. 

In the podcast, Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with pathologist and assistant professor Albert Canturri about his research on the detection of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in processing fluid. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is a bacterial pathogen of the respiratory tract of pigs. 

In the podcast, Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Ph.D. student Marcello Melini about his research on environmental sampling of farm surfaces to assess contamination of PRRS (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome) virus at various places both in and outside the barn. 

In the podcast Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with PhD student Marcello Melini about his research on the infectivity of PRRS virus variant 1-4-4 as it comparies to other PRRS virus variants. The podcast was recorded on October 20, 2023.

In the podcast Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Guilherme Preis about his graduate research on the seroprevalence of Senecavirus A in U.S pig farms and biosecurity procedures to prevent indirect transmission. 

In the podcast Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Mariana Kikuti, University of Minnesota researcher in the Department of Veterinary Medicine about her research on the length of time farms stay naïve of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) since last outbreak. Learn more about research featured in the podcastPublished in Animals, Volume 13, Issue 2, article 310, doi: 10.3390/ani13020310.

In the podcast Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Mariana Kikuti, University of Minnesota researcher in the Department of Veterinary Medicine about her research on sow mortality in midwestern USA pig production: reasons for removal and factors associated with increased mortality. Learn more about research featured in the podcast Published in Vet Record, Volume 192, Issue 7, article e2539, DOI: 10.1002/vetr.2539 Summarized on the Swine in Minnesota blog, February 1, 2023

In the podcast Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Zach Uter, University of Minnesota graduate student about research he did looking at estimating the impact of swine feedlots on residential values in southern Minnesota. This research was completed through a collaboration agreement with Minnesota Pork.A summary of this research can be found on pages 8-9 of Minnesota Pork's Checkoff Report November/December 2022 publication.

To learn about the Minnesota Alternative and Outdoor Pig survey talked about in the podcast visit the UMN Extension Swine blog or reach out to Miranda Medrano directly by email (medra036@umn.edu) or phone (612-440-5859).To complete the survey visit https://z.umn.edu/OutdoorSwineSurvey. The survey is open for responses from December 2022 - March 2023.

In the podcast Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Erin Cortus, University of Minnesota Extension engineer about environmental sustainability initiatives in the swine industry and elsewhere in agriculture. Erin helps explain the science and communication related to environmental sustainability initiatives.

Learn more about research featured in the podcast Published in Journal of Animal Science, Volume 100, Supplement 2, Abstract 72 Published in Journal of Animal Science, Volume 100, Supplement 2, Abstract 264

Learn more about the information shared in the podcast Visit National Pork Board's Sustainability webpage to learn more about the On-Farm Sustainability Reports and to get started on your farm's report. The 2021 Pork Industry Sustainability Report can be found on the Pork Cares webpage as well as the goals and metrics of the Pork Industry's Sustainability initiative.

Learn more about the information shared in the podcast Information about Edema Vac can be found on ARKO Lab's website. Visit Animal Science Product Inc.'s website to learn more about administering vaccines to piglets in sow stalls using Underline and Pig-E Gel products

In the podcast Swine Extension Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke speaks with Kaitlyn St. Charles with the Secure Food Systems team at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine about the results of a survey on trucker biosecurity and communication she worked on that was aimed at pig haulers.