The U.S. Pork Center of Excellence last week launched the National Swine Reproduction Guide, a web-based application offering valuable information to hog producers. The guide offers producers more than 1,000 fact sheets and references.

"This guide is designed to help producers identify the source of the reproductive problem they are experiencing and, through research-based fields, provide information directly related to that problem," said Chris Hostetler, animal science director at the National Pork Board.

The National Swine Reproduction Guide is only available as a web application and is accessed through personal computers, smart phones and tablets.

Online tool from U.S. Pork Center of Excellence also offers producers education, information resources

The guide includes a reproductive decision tree, which begins with three categories: gilts, sows and boars (semen). After selecting a category, a list of potential issues are available from which to choose, such as "low farrowing rate" or "too small of a gilt pool." Once the topic is selected, the decision tree will help narrow the search on the issue through a series of available questions. After choosing the question that best fits the original problem, an answer is provided in the form of a fact sheet with viewable references.

The U.S. Pork Center of Excellence is a collaborative public/private partnership providing academic expertise in research, teaching and extension to address the complex issues facing the pork industry.

USPCE partners include governmental agencies, national pork industry associations, 17 state pork producer associations and 24 land-grant universities.

Source: USPCE