Projects
The USPCE was formed with the mission to add value to the pork industry by facilitating research and learning for U.S. pork producers through national collaboration. Our many projects are helping to do just that. Click the links below for more information.
The Pork Information Gateway (PIG) contains a PIG Library with peer-reviewed Factsheets, How-To’s, Questions and Answers, and other references; a calendar of educational, pork-related events; a listing of pork industry internships; descriptions of careers in the pork industry; and images, definitions, research results, and much more.
The Swine Science Online Program is funded by a Higher Education Challenge Grant and is intended to help replace the disappearing swine science curriculum at our universities. The Swine Science courses are delivered via Distance Education through Ag*Idea with resident lab instruction. This program was beta-tested and launched in the Fall of 2010.
The Professional Swine Managers Program is funded by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) grant through the Department of Education and a Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge (SPECA) grant through USDA - NIFA. The Professional Swine Manager Program focuses on technical skills and will be rooted in hybrid distance education courses with hands-on learning provided by on-farm experience. The major objective of the program is to connect pork production knowledge and hands-on application with information acquired for certification. Courses are being beta-tested at two-year colleges and a national certification is being developed with the National Pork Board set to launch Summer of 2012.
The National Swine Nutrition Guide is a collaborative effort among the USPCE, land grant universities, and feed companies. The guide contains thirty-five Factsheets on all aspects of swine nutrition, as well as diet formulation and evaluation software. Regional conferences were held in 2010 to help producers and consultants learn to use the guide. The National Swine Nutrition Guide was funded by a grant from the United Soybean Board.
Work on the
National Swine Reproduction Troublshooting and Management Guide has begun. A group of nearly 20 researchers at the major state agricultural universities, USDA-ARS and related businesses have gathered together to build a guide that will assist producers in finding solutions for reproduction issues on their farm.
Learn more!
This document was developed in collaboration with National Pork Board and is an exhaustive needs assessment on air and water quality. Soon, we will begin an assessment on nutrient management.