A billion-dollar-plus disease problem demands more than wishful thinking, so we went straight to the genetics that keep pigs alive and growing when pathogens hit. With Dr. Jenelle Dunkelberger of Topigs Norsvin, we unpack the science and the on-farm relevance of breeding for disease resilience—how it’s measured, predicted, and proven in real barns. The conversation starts with new analysis on PRRS costs and moves quickly into what genomic selection can do for finding and scaling animals that sustain growth and cut losses under challenge.
We trace the story from customer reports of hardier terminal lines to controlled, side-by-side trials that tracked mortality, growth, clinical scores, and treatments from wean to market. The results confirmed a resilience edge but also revealed a crucial insight: large differences among sires within the same line. That variation is the engine of progress. By estimating breeding values for resilience and validating them in challenge trials, the team saw predicted high-resilience progeny suffer about half the mortalities of the low-resilience group—a result that turns genomic predictions into tangible, barn-level outcomes.
We also dig into heritability. Under standard conditions, mortality looks barely heritable. Under real challenge, heritability rises into the low-to-moderate range, accelerating genetic gain and giving producers a tool that compounds with each generation. With a reference population built since 2017 and continuously updated with current isolates and genetics, the roadmap points to resilience-forward offerings targeted for 2026. Most importantly, we clarify resilience versus resistance: not blocking every infection, but breeding pigs that cope, recover, and keep converting feed when the environment gets tough.
If you care about pig livability, throughput, and the true cost of disease, this conversation translates complex genetics into practical decisions for sourcing and selection. Tune in, subscribe for more data-driven livestock insights, and leave a review to tell us what resilience questions you want answered next.
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