The NSR office will be closed December 24th through January 1st. Regular office hours will resume Thursday, January 2nd.
When recording your pigs, please keep in mind the National Swine Registry has requirements for all purebred sires. These standards help maintain the integrity of the breeds and ensure that proper DNA specifications have been met on sires.
If you artificially inseminated your sow with purchased semen, you will need to contact the boar stud where you obtained the semen and request an AI certificate before recording your litter. To submit the request, the stud will need to have your 2-4 letter Herdmark. If you have not been set up with a Herdmark yet, please contact the National Swine Registry. Once you request this, the boar stud will issue your AI certificate directly to the NSR. When you turn in the litter registration application, NSR will use your Herdmark to match the AI certificate with the litter.
When requesting an AI certificate, please remember to ask the boar stud for the sire’s registration number and ear notch. [ … ]
As a service to its members, NSR offers a couple of simple ways you can record your litters:
1) Submitting a litter application by mail or fax
2) Recording the litter online
The National Swine Registry allows you to record your litters by mailing in a litter application that you can obtain by clicking on the Registration Application and Sow Productivity Data Form here.
Another very simple way to record your litter is submitting the information online. This method is quicker than having to wait for us to receive your litters through the mail and is very easy. You can enter your litter via our website.
If you haven’t already set up a user name and password, you can obtain one by calling the NSR office at 765-463-3594. Once you’ve recorded your litters, you should receive a confirmation e-mail within one business day letting you know we received your litters.
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We are often asked about breed qualifications of the 4 breeds of the National Swine Registry. Below is a summary of breed requirements and markings.
DurocsDurocs should be red with down ears. If a Duroc has white on any part of its body, including its feet, it may be disqualified. It is okay for Durocs to have white on the end of their nose, as long as it doesn’t break the rim of the nose. They are not allowed to have more than 3 black spots and none over 2 inches in diameter on the body.
HampshiresHampshires should be black with a white belt that goes completely around both front legs and feet. They are allowed to have some white on their nose, as long as it doesn’t exceed the rim of the nose. If the white goes under the pig’s chin, it cannot be more than what a U.S. minted quarter [ … ]
Members of the National Swine Registry can take advantage of several benefits, including a one year subscription to the Seedstock Edge magazine, discounted litter rates and voting privileges within in the organization. To become a member of the NSR, you can simply fill out a membership application. The first year for NSR membership is $85 per breed. To maintain membership after the first year, it is $75 each year.
As a member of NSR, you can record your litters at a much cheaper rate than non-members. As a member, if you record your litter within 90 days of the farrowing date, the cost of the litter is $15. If the litter is older than 90 days, the cost is $30.You are also welcome to record as a non-member. The cost for a non-member to record within 90 days of the litter’s farrowing date is $30. If a non-member is recording after the pigs [ … ]
Whew, we survived an exciting and busy week at Expo. One of my favorite aspects of my job is seeing the high quality animals that are exhibited at our shows and sales.
As producers, I know you guys are constantly striving to raise the next “great one.” So this month in Stock Marketing, I’m going to share a few quick tricks you can use to promote your entries for the summer sales, shows and conferences.
Get a good picture. A picture is worth a thousand words, so if you want potential buyers to get excited about your entry – snap a good picture. Sure, you can tell people it’s a “great one,” but often, seeing is believing. Such was the case in Duncan last year when Bruce and Jenny Kaufman of Kaufman Showpigs, Crawfordsville, Iowa, got a great shot of their Hillbilly Bone son. His picture drew the interest of Prairie State [ … ]
World Pork Expo Junior National
Des Moines, Iowa * June 6 – 8
Judge: James Backman, Calif.
Grand Champion Purebred Barrow Overall & Champion Yorkshire
Shown by Trey Fecke
Reserve Grand Champion Purebred Barrow Overall & Champion Spot
Shown by Zachary Brazel
3rd Overall Purebred Barrow & Champion Poland
Shown by Austin Irvin
4th Overall Purebred Barrow & Reserve YorkshireShown by Brenen Diesen
5th Overall Purebred Barrow & Champion LandraceShown by Kallie Brattain
Greetings from Des Moines! The 2012 edition of the World Pork Expo is officially under way. With a record number of entries in the World Pork Expo Junior National, a great lineup of judges and, of course, great hogs, we’re very excited to get the shows started tomorrow. Below are some “candids” from the barn as exhibitors began unloading and registering their entries today.
National Swine Registry CEO Mike Paul chats with Eastern Region Fieldman Ralph Doak about the hogs they’ve seen in the barn so far.
Members of National Junior Swine Association (NJSA) and Team Purebred check-in junior exhibitors in the swine barn.
A family unloads their gilt. This year’s World Pork Expo Junior National features a record-breaking number of entries!
The show ring is set for tomorrow’s shows.
Courtney Smith and Kaylee Miller took a break from check-in to pose for a photo.
This Yorkshire hog was curious to see our camera.
Not making it [ … ]
Pictured (l-r): Perfecto Corpuz, Pia Ang and Bill Verzani, all from the USDA/FAS Manila office, Justin Fix of the National Swine Registry and Tony Clayton of Clayton Agri-Marketing, Inc.
The National Swine Registry recently completed a Philippines trade mission, participating in the 21stHog Convention and Trade Exhibit in Cebu City, Philippines, with an America’s Best Genetics (ABG) booth. During the show, members of the USDA/FAS Manila office traveled to Cebu City to participate in several of the event’s activities. The group stopped by the ABG booth to visit with Dr. Justin Fix about the Philippines market (group pictured above). Thanks to all who stopped by the ABG booth!
Just prior to travelling to Cebu City for the tradeshow, Mr. Tony Clayton of Clayton Agri-Marketing, Inc., Mr. Bobby Badilla, Carmel Import/Export Corporation, and Dr. Justin Fix traveled to Cavite Pig City, located in General Trias, Philippines. During the visit, the trade team viewed [ … ]
One question we are often asked in the Pedigree department is how to record a litter. For those of you who may be registering your pigs for the first time, I wanted to put together some information to help you get started.
First, you will need to make sure you have been set up with a Herdmark. You can acquire a Herdmark by contacting the NSR office here. A Herdmark is a second form of identification that goes in the front of the name of each pig you record.
We allow you to record as a Member of the NSR or as a NonMember. Members receive discounted litter rates and a one year subscription to the Seedstock Edge magazine, along with voting privileges. If you are interested in becoming a member, visit the Pedigree Section of our website and click on ‘NSR Member Application’ or simply click here.
If the dam of [ … ]
This past week, NSR hosted a group of visitors from China at the office in West Lafayette, Ind. The group, accompanied by Professor Wang of China Agricultural University, included buyers from three different Chinese companies. Throughout the visit, the buyers were escorted by George Bruns and Chuck Bastrom of Ag-World Inc., and Nicholas Zhang of China Animal Husbandry Group.
L to R: Professor Wang, Dr. Clint Schwab, & George Bruns
NSR CEO, Dr. Clint Schwab, and Director of Genetic and Technical Services at NSR, Dr. Justin Fix, hosted the meeting, which centered on the Swine Genetic and Testing Evaluation System (STAGES™). STAGES™ is a program developed by the National Swine Registry to facilitate genetic improvement through calculation of the most economically significant traits in purebred swine production. The international breeders, all customers of U.S. purebred genetics, were interested in the intricacies and daily functions of the genetic program. To learn more about STAGES™, click [ … ]
