Selection and Judging of Swine

1. Selection and Judging of Swine Animal Science 1 Unit 21

2. Selection of Breeding Stock • Consumers want lean meat and less fat • Producers use modern technology and improved breeding programs to produce that pork • The kind of environment and health management techniques used by the producer also influence the rate and efficiency of lean growth in market hogs.

3. Selection of Breeding Stock • Market hogs today are produced using some sort of crossbreeding program • Terminal crossbreeding tends to produce leaner pork and is used to produce the majority of the market hogs in the U.S. • Good quality, heavily muscled hogs bring a premium price at the market

4. Use of Ultrasound • Used to measure the fat and lean pork content of live hogs and carcasses • 2 types are currently used

5. A-Mode Machines • Use sound waves from a transducer • Measure the time required for these waves to reflect back to the machine • Measurement is then converted into a distance measurement • Less expensive • Less accurate

6. Real-time Machines • Sometimes called B-Mode machines • Use sound waves at the same time to create a two dimesional image that can be viewed on a monitor as it is created. • Higher costs • Better choice for making genetic selections for lean content

7. Parts of the Hog: Live Animal

8. Parts of the Hog: Carcass • 4 primal cuts • Ham • Loin • Boston shoulder (Boston butt) • Picnic shoulder • These four cuts are the most valuable part of the hog carcass.

9. Parts of the Hog: Carcass

10. Assingment • Read p. 400-405 • You do not have to read Judging Hogs • Outline those pages.