2005 Year in Review

Swine Industry Honors U of I Faculty

Four University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences faculty members have been cited by National Hog Farmer magazine as among the 50 men and women who have done the most to mold the swine industry over the past half century.

Three retired faculty in the Department of Animal Sciences--Dick Carlisle, Stan Curtis, and Gilbert Hollis--and Arthur J. Muehling, professor emeritus in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, were named to what the magazine termed "a veritable Who's Who in the U.S. pork industry."

"These awards are another indication that the University of Illinois was a center of thought in the development of new management practices and technologies that changed the swine industry," said Neal Merchen, head of the Department of Animal Sciences.

Hollis and Carlisle were honored for their work through U of I Extension. During his 26 years at the U of I, Carlisle earned the reputation as one of the foremost livestock extension specialists in the United States. The magazine's selection panel noted Carlisle's role in helping to start live hog evaluation and carcass demonstrations, organizing a state spring barrow show, guiding the start of cooperative marketing of feeder pigs and feeder cattle, coordinating county and multi-county swine schools and seminars, and helping to popularize the Illinois fortified corn-soy swine ration now used throughout the United States.

"Through the 1950s, 60s and 70s, Dick Carlisle was the seminal swine extension specialist in the country," said Merchen. "A great amount of important research was being done at the U of I in the areas of nutrition, management, and housing, and Dick was extremely effective in taking these new developments to swine producers."

When he retired in 2003, Hollis had accumulated 33 years of extension service, 26 of them in Illinois. He continues to serve as a part-time swine specialist. The panel praised his role in helping pork producers of all types and sizes adapt to a changing industry, his organization of the U of I Pork Industry Conference and the Executive Producer Program, creation of the popular PorkNet Web site, and his work with producer cooperatives.

"During his career at the U of I, Gilbert Hollis was one of the premier swine extension specialists in the United States, and he provided leadership in taking developments from research here and helping producers make them standard practices in the industry," said Merchen. "During the 1990s, there were huge changes in the pork industry, and Hollis played a major role in helping producers implement these new technologies but also in helping a lot of traditional producers remain competitive."

Curtis was selected for his championing of science-based arguments in determining animal well-being. The panel said of Curtis, "His stance has defined the course of the animal welfare debate and its regulation in the United States." He led a research program that contributed to basic information on behavioral, physiologic, and immune adaptive mechanisms in livestock, especially pigs.

"Stan Curtis was the man in the United States who took the science behind environmental physiology and animal behavior and transformed it into applications in the ways we house and care for pigs," said Merchen. "The techniques and practices Curtis advocated not only assure the well-being of the animal but optimal production conditions."

Muehling, who retired in 1992, was cited by the selection panel for contributions concentrated in three areas. He was a pioneer in the development of intensive systems for swine housing and was an early advocate of slotted floors. Before environmental factors became an issue, Muehling was developing and promoting "best management practices" for livestock manure management to protect the environment. Finally, his role in building close cooperation between U.S. and European experts in the areas of swine housing and manure handling was noted.

"Art Muehling is truly one of the most influential people in the livestock industry," said Loren Bode, former head of the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. "During his career, the production and waste handling facilities were completely mechanized, and Art was the major force in directing that revolution in the livestock industry.

"He devoted his entire energy to serving producers, and through his educational programs on swine housing, he has greatly strengthened the pork industry. He enjoyed an international reputation as 'the' expert in the areas of swine housing and livestock waste management."

According to the magazine, the 50 honorees were selected from among 201 individuals nominated. The accomplishments and brief biographies of the 50 honorees appeared in the May 15 edition of National Hog Farmer.

by  Editor, theCity1.com
June 6, 2005