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: DNA Sire Requirements

DNA Sire Requirements 

All Purebred litters recorded with NSR since July 2004 are required to be sired by a boar that is negative of the Stress Gene.  If you have a boar that you are using to breed sows within your herd, a Stress Gene test must have been completed prior to recording litters.  

To fulfill these requirements, you can order a DNA card from the National Swine Registry for $4.  Once you receive the DNA card, you will notice there are 4 circles on the DNA card.  Please get DNA in all 4 circles.  The most preferred form of DNA is blood, because it lasts longer on the DNA card and is much easier for the lab to read.  Another acceptable form of DNA is semen.  If you choose to submit semen as DNA, you must use raw semen that does not have any extender in it.  Once you get DNA on the card, let it dry for 24 hours before sending it in.  If you do not let it dry, mold develops on the card, which kills the DNA and could cause your sample to be unreadable.  If you are not able to get blood or semen from your boar, the third form of DNA we can accept is hair.  If you plan to send in hair as DNA, please contact us for a DNA hair collection card, as these are different from the cards used for blood or semen.  You will need to send at least 15-20 pieces of hair and you MUST get the follicles. The DNA is ONLY in the follicle of the hair. 

You can send your DNA samples directly to the NSR office.  Once we receive your sample, we will automatically blood bank your boar, which is storing the card in our office in case any future parentage testing is needed.  Then, we will send the sample to the lab for a Stress test.  The Stress test generally takes 2-3 weeks.  The cost of blood banking is $6 and the cost of the Stress Gene test is $25.  Blood banking and Stress tests are the two requirements for all sires.  If you plan to sell semen from your Hampshire boar, you will also need to order the Hamp Color test. 

If you need your DNA testing expedited, please contact me before sending it in for special rush instructions. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Have a Merry Christmas!

 

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: 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: Exhibiting a Bred-and-Owned Gilt

As many of you are aware, NJSA shows offer Bred-and-Owned awards for gilts as a special way to recognize junior exhibitors who are raising and showing their own pigs. For those of you headed to the NSR Summer Spectacular, this is a great opportunity and I thought I would go through the rules so you can make sure to be considered for this award if you raised your own hogs.

To be eligible for Bred-and-Owned awards, the exhibitor must declare that his or her pig is Bred-and-Owned when going through the pedigree portion of check in. The exhibitor must be shown as both the breeder and the current owner on the gilt’s registration paper. The name of the breeder or the current owner is not allowed to be in a family or farm name that includes a partner over 21 years of age. If there is more than one name listed on the pedigree, both exhibitors must be NJSA members from the same family.  Also, when the dam of the Bred-and-Owned gilt was bred, the exhibitor must have been her owner.

If you have a gilt that fits the qualifications above, you can compete for the Bred-and-Owned awards. The Champion and Reserve Champion Bred-and-Owned gilts will be selected by the judge during the gilt show, and then DNA tested after the show to verify correct parentage and stress negative status.

I hope this helps you as you head to Louisville in a couple weeks. If you have questions, please feel free to contact an NSR or NJSA representative.

I hope to see you at the Summer Spectacular!

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