COVID-19 brought about many challenges to the livestock industry, one of which was the temporary shut-down of slaughter facilities. Bottlenecks at slaughter facilities created ripple effects throughout the industry, leaving many farmers scrambling for places to go with barns full of market-size pigs. These shutdowns brought light to the fragility of the food supply chain, leading to questions of why farmers were euthanizing pigs while grocery store shelves were empty. Additionally, with foreign animal diseases such as African Swine Fever looming on the horizon, stop movement orders may become a reality in the future of the US swine industry.

Hear about the research on the efficacy of using ammonium chloride supplements during crisis management as a strategy to limit or stop growth in various ages of pigs. Learn about the optimal ammonium chloride dosage for water or feed to limit any negative effects in the recovery phase. Discover the answer to if there is compensatory growth after ammonium chloride supplementation or if there is normal growth to know when animals will achieve market weight.

Kadence Walsh is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and assistant swine manager at the Swine Research and Teaching Center in Arlington. If you are interested in her research, please email her at kmwalsh4@wisc.edu.