The Pork Podcast: Mark Knauer - Wrestling with Sow Mortality | Episode 44

Why It Matters

Accurate sow body‑condition monitoring reduces mortality and feed waste, directly boosting pork producers’ profitability and sustainability.

Key Takeaways

• Mark Knauer’s SA caliper standardizes sow body condition assessment
• Extension work at NC State focuses on producer profitability and mortality reduction
• Genetic selection lines target puberty age and functional tooth count
• Sow mortality linked to nutrition, diet formulation, and body condition
• Wrestling mindset drives data‑driven, repeatable improvements in pork production

Summary

The Pork Podcast episode features Dr. Mark Knauer, a swine researcher and former collegiate wrestler, discussing his career trajectory from a family farm in Wisconsin to a faculty role at North Carolina State University. Knauer explains how his early exposure to commercial breeding, combined with a disciplined wrestling background, shaped his practical approach to animal science, leading to the invention of the SA caliper—a tool that objectively measures sow back‑fat angle and body condition.

Knauer’s work blends 70% extension with 30% research, emphasizing producer profitability, sow survivability, and genetic improvement. He highlights the caliper’s role in eliminating "barn blind," enabling precise feed‑cost management and better reproductive outcomes. Recent data suggest that adjusting lysine and protein levels in lactation diets can mitigate thin‑condition sows, while genetic companies are pushing higher body condition scores, prompting a call for balanced diet formulations.

Illustrative anecdotes include Knauer’s anecdote of misjudging sow condition until the caliper revealed over‑conditioning, and his comparison of wrestling strategies to multiple ways the caliper can be applied on farms. He also notes surprising trends: quadratic relationships between caliper readings and reproductive performance, and the emergence of genetic lines targeting functional teeth and earlier puberty.

The discussion underscores that precise body‑condition monitoring is essential for reducing sow mortality, controlling feed costs, and enhancing overall sustainability. By translating a sports‑like discipline into swine management, Knauer demonstrates how data‑driven tools can drive industry‑wide gains in efficiency and animal welfare.

Original Description

What does it take to move the needle in the pork industry? For North Carolina State University professor Mark Knauer, it takes the same discipline he learned wrestling under legendary coaches at Iowa State University: the commitment to the "grind." In this episode, we explore how Knauer is bringing elite-level precision to sow management.

We discuss:

The Sow Caliper: How this simple tool is saving producers money by eliminating subjectivity.

The Longevity Secret: Why early growth and puberty are the best predictors of a sow’s lifetime success.

Global Competition: What the U.S. must do through nutrition and health research to out-compete Brazil.

Practical Research: Why the best insights come from "listening" to the pigs and the people in the barns.

Whether you are a producer looking to improve your bottom line or a fan of agricultural innovation, this conversation offers a masterclass in practical swine science.