2025-26 SowBridge Educational Series Registration Open for Swine Producers

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Registration is now underway for SowBridge. The educational series is provided through a cooperative effort of 15 colleges and universities from the nation’s major swine-producing states. The distance educational series is for those who work with sows, boars, and piglets and begins its next program year in early February 2025. The series is provided online through the Zoom platform and each session is recorded for later viewing.

“SowBridge provides all participants with the opportunity to hear directly from experts, and to contact those experts following the individual sessions,” says Dr. Joel DeRouchey, Kansas State University extension swine specialist.

Sessions generally are hosted on the first Wednesday of the month and run from 11:15 a.m. to about 12:15 p.m. Central Time. One exception this year: the fifth session is moved up one week to May 28 to avoid conflicts with World Pork Expo.

During each session, participants can ask questions of the industry expert presenter from the comfort of their home, office, or swine unit. Each registration provides access to one Zoom connection per session and all program materials provided by presenters.

The cost is $200 (US$) for the first registration and half that amount for each subsequent registration from the same entity.

Registration is due Jan. 20, 2025, to ensure participants have access to materials for the first session on Feb. 5. Full program information and the registration form is available on the KSUSwine.org website.

The 2025-2026 program session dates and topics are as follows.

· Feb. 5. H5N1 as it Relates to Pigs

· Mar. 5. Feeding Frequency Pre-Farrow: Impact on Farrowing Duration

· April 2. Your Farm Broke with PRSS/PED: Now what?

· May 7. Overcoming Barriers and Understanding the Psychological Impact of Pig Euthanasia

· May 28. Iron Status of Sows: Impacts on Farrowing Duration

· July 2. How to Manage Gilts not Cycling

· Aug. 6. Diagnostic Testing

· Sept. 3. Depopulation Preparedness

· Oct. 1. Where’s the draft coming from?

· Nov. 5. Farrowing Stall Environment Management

· Dec. 3. Heat Synchronization Protocols

· Jan. 7, 2026. Treating Sows According to Farm SOP

For more information on registration, contact Joel DeRouchey at jderouch@ksu.edu or Sheri Hoyer, Iowa State University, at 515-294-4496 or shoyer@iastate.edu.

###

The Kansas State University Animal Sciences and Industry department serves students, livestock producers and the animal and food industries through teaching, research and education. The K-State ASI department prepares students for careers in the animal and food industries. The curriculum includes the study of nutrition, reproduction, genetics, behavior, meat science, food science with production, management, and agribusiness skills. For more about the K-State's ASI department visit asi.ksu.edu.

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.