Pedigree Portal: Meeting the Deadline

Many shows have registration and ownership deadlines to be aware of. 

Some shows also have a deadline for when all pigs have to be recorded. The registration date that appears on the pedigree will be the date we received the work. For those mailing litter applications, be sure to allow time for delivery as the registration date is the date the information is processed in the office, not the date you postmarked the envelope. We do not back date registrations, so please check the rules of the show and record your litters ahead of time. 

Online litters are downloaded daily, so if you record your litters through the NSR website on a given evening, the date shown on your registration papers will be the next day when they were downloaded into our system. For example, if you have a December 1 registration deadline for a show, you will need to record the litter prior to December 1 if you are recording online. If you record the litter on the afternoon or evening of December 1, the date registered on the registration papers will be December 2. Online submissions are checked throughout the day, and we typically check for the last time at 3 PM Eastern Time each business day' however, to be certain your online litters will be recorded the same day, please submit them prior to 12 PM Eastern Time.

If you’re planning to exhibit at an NJSA event, pay attention to the ownership deadline for each show. You must have your pig purchased by that date. On your pedigree, the date of sale will show above the current owner’s name. If this date is after the NJSA ownership deadline, the exhibitor will not be eligible to show that pig. 

Also, please note that we no longer have a P.O. Box address. Any work that you attempt to send to the old address will eventually be returned to you in the mail. We will not be able to back date work which was originally mailed to our old address and returned to you. Our current mailing address is: 

2639 Yeager Road

West Lafayette, IN  47906

Please be mindful of the rules and regulations for each event so you don't have to worry about not being eligible to show. 

If there is anything I can help you with, let me know!

Whitney Hosier

Hampshire/Landrace/DNA Secretary

Pedigree Portal: NSR Sire Requirements

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. You will need this information to record your litter. The use of AI certificates helps ensure that litters are being recorded out of the correct sires. Also, since the boar stud is required to provide a ship date from when they sold the semen to the breeder, it helps ensure litters are being recorded with the accurate farrowing dates.   

If you use your own boar for breeding within your herd, you will need to make sure he meets the proper DNA sire requirements. The NSR requires all sires to have a DNA card banked, and all sires used must test negative for the Stress gene. To do this, simply order a DNA card from the NSR and fill out the boar’s ear notch and registration number on the card. You may use blood or semen as DNA samples. After putting blood or semen on the blotter card, let it dry for 24 hours and send the card back to NSR. You can find more information by visiting the DNA sire requirement page of our website.

Following these requirements helps ensure the integrity of the Yorkshire, Hampshire, Landrace, and Duroc breeds.

 If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

 Good luck to all of you headed to the Fall Classic!

 

Whitney Hosier
Hampshire/Landrace/DNA Secretary

Pedigree Portal: Easy Ways to Record Your Purebreds

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.

Either way you record your litter, the required fields are:  litter number, farrowing date, dam’s ear notch and registration number, sire’s ear notch and registration number, ear notches of the baby boars and gilts in the litter, the total number born in the litter, and the number born alive.

Please keep in mind when filling in the ear notches of the baby pigs, you do not need to list the litter number with each ear notch. For example, if you are recording pigs 2-3 and 2-4, you only need to enter a 3 and a 4 in the boar or gilt space since you already entered a 2 as the litter number. 

If you would like to record your male pigs as barrows rather than boars, simply put an ‘X’ in the same box as the pig’s ear notch on the litter application.

As always, if you have any questions please contact the NSR office and we would be glad to help you out.

Whitney Hosier

Pedigree Portal: Breed Characteristics of NSR Breeds

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. 

Durocs
Durocs 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. 

Hampshires
Hampshires 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 will cover. Hampshires can have white on their back legs, as long as it is only from the hock down. These color requirements must be met by Hampshire boars and gilts for them to be eligible to show in breeding events. If a Hampshire doesn’t have a full belt, it can still be bred and its offspring can be registered; however, it can’t be exhibited as a breeding animal at NSR shows. 

Landrace
Landrace should be white with down ears and should not have colored hair on any part of their body. If a Landrace has large, colored spots or numerous colored spots on its skin, it is ineligible to be recorded. 

Yorkshires
Yorkshires should be white with erect ears and not have any colored spots larger than an U.S. minted quarter. 

Please keep in mind if any breed shows evidence of a third dewclaw, it is ineligible to be recorded.  Durocs, Landrace, and Yorkshires should have at least a 6-6 underline to be recorded. Hampshires must have a 6-6 underline to be shown as a breeding animal, but can still be recorded if their underline is not 6-6.

I hope this helps clear up any uncertainties you may have. As always, let us know if you have any questions!

Whitney Hosier

Pedigree Portal: NSR Membership Opportunities

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 are 90 days old, the cost is $60.

If you are younger than 21, you are eligible for Junior membership, which is free to set up. Junior members receive the same discounted litter rates as NSR members.

Please keep in mind, membership runs by the calendar year and it is breed specific. For example, if you are a Hampshire member, and you record a Duroc litter, you will not get the discounted litter rates for the Duroc litter.

If you have any questions, as always, please don’t hesitate to contact us. I hope you all are getting through this hot summer and are having a great show season!

Whitney Hosier

Pedigree Portal: How to Register a Litter

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 your litter was artificially inseminated, you will need to contact the boar stud where you purchased the semen and ask them to issue an AI certificate. This is sent directly to us and will be matched with your litter once we receive your work.

If your sow was bred naturally by your herd boar, please send a DNA sample to the NSR prior to registering litters to complete the blood banking and the stress testing requirements.   

Now, you are ready to record your litter! There are two ways to do this: 

1.     Download a litter application from our members only page, then click on:  Registration Application & Sow Productivity Data Form. Fill this out then mail it in to the NSR office. In this same portion of the website, you can also download an NSR fee structure for prices; this will give you an idea of how much money to send with your litter.

2.     Record your litter online. Simply call the NSR and ask to be set up to record litters online.

Once your litter is recorded, as long as we have received all the necessary information, your pedigrees will be mailed to you.

If you ever have questions, just give us a call at 765-463-3594.  

Good luck!

Whitney Hosier