Elwyn R. Miller Michigan State University

Publish Date: April 9, 2012

Baby pig anemia has been a potential problem since swine producers first farrowed litters in confinement, denying the nursing pig access to iron in the soil. Iron is a vital component in forming hemoglobin, a protein comprising about one-third the weight of the red blood cell. Hemoglobin within the red blood cell has the unique function of carrying oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the body in support of cellular metabolism and transporting carbon dioxide resulting from cellular metabolism back to the lungs.

Publish Date: June 4, 2006

Marketing is a major challenge for pork producers. In most markets, carcass weight and predicted amount of fat-free lean in the carcass are used to determine value. Lean is usually predicted from measures of carcass weight, backfat and longissimus muscle area or muscle depth. However, procedures to measure these traits vary greatly among packers. Optimum…