In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Sam Gerrard, postdoctoral fellow at Virginia Tech, explores how immune challenges affect swine physiology and nutrient utilization. He explains key differences in metabolic responses to bacterial and viral infections and how feeding strategies can improve outcomes. Learn how better nutrition during illness can reduce production losses and enhance welfare. Listen now on all major platforms!

"The immune system diverts nutrients from lean tissue accretion toward defense, significantly altering metabolic priorities during immune challenges."

Meet the guest: Dr. Sam Gerrard holds a DVM and PhD in Nutritional Physiology, and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Virginia Tech’s Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise. His research focuses on how immune challenges affect nutrient partitioning in swine.

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What you will learn:

• (00:00) Highlight
• (01:11) Introduction
• (03:09) Swine immune response
• (04:52) Feed intake impact
• (06:00) Pair-feeding explained
• (07:07) Different responses
• (10:39) Nutritional interventions
• (12:41) Closing thoughts

The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:

* Fortiva

* Kemin

- Essential Ag Solutions

- Keys Manufacturing

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.

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In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Young Dal Jang from the University of Georgia continues to discuss the link between weaning weight and biomarkers in piglets. He explains how oxidative stress and gut health indicators impact performance and suggests targeted nutritional strategies to support low-weaning-weight pigs. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Low weaning weight pigs had higher diamine oxidase and lactate levels, indicating issues in gut barrier function."

Meet the guest: Dr. Young Dal Jang is an Assistant Professor of Non-Ruminant Nutrition at the University of Georgia. With a Ph.D. in Animal Nutrition and Biochemistry from Seoul National University, his expertise centers on swine nutrition, particularly young pig and sow development. He previously held academic roles at the University of Kentucky and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Click here to read the full research article!

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What you will learn:

• (00:00) Highlight
• (01:32) Introduction
• (02:25) Biomarkers and pig health
• (03:15) Oxidative stress markers
• (04:17) Biomarker analysis methods
• (06:31) Nutritional support strategies
• (09:56) Closing thoughts

The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:

* Kemin

* Fortiva

- Keys Manufacturing

- Essential Ag Solutions

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.

Website: The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast

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In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Jeff Hansen from Elanco shares practical strategies to reduce heat stress in grow-finish pigs. He discusses how rising temperatures affect feed intake, growth, and carcass quality, and explains how nutritional tools, such as Skycis, and environmental adjustments can help maintain performance during high-stress periods. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Technologies that reduce heat or metabolic stress in pigs deliver the greatest value during summer, when growth is challenged and profit potential is highest."

Meet the guest: Dr. Jeffrey Hansen is a Swine Technical Consultant at Elanco Animal Health. He holds a Ph.D. in Swine Nutrition from Kansas State University, along with degrees in Animal Science and Nutrition from Texas A&M University. With a passion for pork fat quality, feed management, and production efficiency, Dr. Hansen brings decades of swine nutrition and technical expertise to the industry.

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What you will learn:

• (00:00) Highlight
• (01:23) Introduction
• (02:59) Managing heat stress
• (05:08) Physiological effects of heat stress
• (06:45) Strategies and adjustments
• (08:27) Nutritional solutions
• (11:09) Supporting pigs under stress
• (12:55) Closing thoughts

The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:

Elanco

* Kemin

- Keys Manufacturing

- Fortiva

- Essential Ag Solutions

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.

Website: The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast

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LinkedIn: The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast