Meeting Times, Location, & Course Delivery Details
Delivery of this course will be in-person, face-to-face, during the scheduled class times.
There are two sections of the corresponding lab for this class, they are as follows:
AG345L M1 - Monday, 1:00-2:50pm
AG345L M2 - Monday, 3:00-4:50pm
Labs will either take place in CSA126 (AG Lab) or at the Academic Farm, unless otherwise noted.
Contact Information
Upon successful completion of this course...
1. The student will be able to outline what makes a successful swine enterprise, and those details
necessary for maximizing income.
2. The student will be able to explain consumer demands, per capita, consumption, hog marketing cycles,
and government regulatory issues.
3. The student will be able to relate the major breeds of swine, their strong and weak points when used in
purebred and commercial programs.
4. The student will be able to discuss nutrition principles as applied specifically to swine.
5. The student will be able to relate different housing facilities for various swine enterprises, and current
research in developing modern facilities.
6. The student will be able to explain swine market grades, swine marketing, and distribution channels to
consumers.
7. The student will be able to manipulate record systems and test station data in improving breeding and
commercial herds.
8. The student will be able to evaluate guidelines and standards used in selecting replacement gilts and
herd boars.
9. The student will be able to formulate rations that meet the daily nutrient replacements of swine and
maximizing gains.
10. The student will be able to formulate guidelines for and establishing a herd health program.
11. The student will be able to, by field trips and guest lectures, evaluate management practices, ideas and
views of successful swine farmers and managers.
12. The student will be able to examine the problems and effects of using modern drugs in swine
operations and their impact on our food supply.
13. The student will be able to comprehend the value of government regulatory agencies in controlling
indiscriminate use of pharmaceuticals and government roles in containing disease outbreaks.
There are no required texts for this class.
At the completion of this course, students will have a comprehensive understanding of the swine industry and methods used to raise a sustainable, market-ready food source from farrow to finish and beyond. Students will learn and practice care and management techniques through lecture, enrichment activities, and labs at the academic farm. Students will be able to critically think about current issues facing the industry and acquire an applicable knowledge which will enable them to adapt and lead an ever-changing industry.
The following schedule is tentative and subject to change during the semester at the discretion of the professor. Adequate notice of changes will be given when possible. Quizzes, informal/formal writing assignments, enrichment assignments, tests, and other student engagements will occur throughout the semester in accordance with the pace of the class. Points for these assignments and assessments may vary based on the rigor required to complete them.”
Reminder: A minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work is expected for each hour of in-class time.
| Week | Topic |
| August 24-28 | Syllabus, Class Structure and Philosophy, Hog Breeds and Anatomy |
| August 31-September 4 | Introduction to the Pork Industry and Types of Operations Pork Quality Assurance Certification (Class will Result in Receipt of Official Certification with Ohio Pork Council) |
| September 7-11 | Pre-Farrowing, Farrowing, and Post Farrowing: Caring for Sows and Preparing for the Birthing Process |
| September 14-18 | Piglet Management from Birth to Weaning |
| September 21-25 | Housing, Equipment, Facility Design and Management |
| September 28-October 2 | Reproductive Performance, Genetics/EPDs, and Selection of Breeding Stock |
| October 5-9 | Reproductive Anatomy and Physiology, Hormones, and Estrus Cycles |
| October 12-16 | Artificial Insemination and Breeding Strategies |
| October 19-23 | Swine Health, Diseases, and Research |
| October 26-30 | Swine Health Research Forum |
| November 2-6 | Digestive Anatomy; Swine Nutrition and Feeding Strategies |
| November 9-13 | Growing for Marketability, and Profitability |
| November 16-20 | Meat Production and Carcass Characteristics |
| November 23-27 | Slaughter in the Hog Industry |
| November 30-December 4 | Hog Industry Overview and Review |
| December 7-9 | Live Hog Evaluation and Judging |
| December 11 | Final Exam |
Assignments are tentative and subject to change throughout the semester at the discretion of the professor. Information for assignments, quizzes, and tests may arise from any component of the class or information associated with the class including, but not limited to, class lectures, class discussions, peer presentations, guest speakers, assigned reading, suggested reading, required texts, assigned work, etc.
There will be two assignments/projects in this class that will be completed collaboratively/in a group. These will be graded accordingly.
All assignments, unless otherwise noted or arranged, will be printed and turned in as a hard copy. Blackboard will be a great resource for class content and will house student grades.
The grading scale will be as follows:
| A: 96-100 | B+: 88-90.99 | C+: 79-81.99 | D+: 69-71.99 |
| A-: 91-95.99 | B: 85-87.99 | C: 76-78.99 | D: 65-68.99 |
| B-: 82-84.99 | C-: 72-75.99 | F: 0-64.99 |
Instructor Course Policies
See the current student handbook for the college’s attendance policy, especially as it pertains to excused absences.
The College accepts these four categories of excused absences:
1. Activities in which the student serves as an official representative of the College (e.g., musical performances, athletic contests, field trips)
2. Personal illness with documentation by the College nurse or a physician, if possible
3. Family or personal emergencies
4. When severe weather makes travel to campus dangerous
Attendance at the scheduled class times will be a part of your grade, marked over the course of the semester. A grade for a class will be excused if your absence is excused. Sometimes outstanding opportunities arise that allow us to learn outside of the classroom; as long as this is addressed with the professor prior to that class time, the student will not lose points for not attending that class. In the case of absences, the students are still responsible for all academic learning, materials, and expectations. Students are responsible for making sure they are marked in attendance each day.
Unless instructed to do so, use of artificial intelligence (AI) will not be tolerated in this class. If the use of AI is discovered (unless instructed to use it), you will automatically fail the assignment (given a 0) with no opportunity to recoup that grade. If the behavior persists (a second or third offense), you may fail the entire class, at the discretion of the professor. Cases of academic misconduct (defined by the college) will be treated similarly.
See the current student handbook for the college’s academic integrity policies as they pertain to examinations, plagiarism, classroom behavior, and the process for handling academic misconduct charges.
See the separate policy dealing with plagiarism below. Plagiarism Policy Plagiarism is defined as the representation of another’s words, ideas, concepts, research or creative production without proper attribution, whether intentional or unintentional. It is the student’s responsibility to be informed about what constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism can occur in the submission of one’s own work or in work submitted by a group.
Examples of plagiarism include (but are not limited to) the following:
• The submission of a paper not one’s own, including turning in a paper that has been purchased from a commercial research firm or obtained from the internet
• Copying word for word information without quotation marks
• Paraphrasing information (that is, the use of one’s own words with only minor changes to the original)
• Use of information not considered general knowledge without proper citation
• Listing of misleading or false sources on a reference page
• The use of a paper or project for one course that was previously submitted for another course, either at Wilmington or at any other institution.
• Use/copying of another student’s laboratory work/data without prior permission of the instructor.
• The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to generate answers, work, analysis, or writing without permission of the instructor.
Plagiarism is a serious academic offense and carries serious academic consequences.
Student work offenses include, but are not limited to, the following, which are expressly prohibited in the absence of prior written approval of the instructor or instructors involved:
1. Resubmission of work - Submitting work which has been previously submitted for credit.
2. Plagiarism - Submitting work done wholly or partly by another, including the unattributed copying of all or parts of a published work or internet document. Using generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) sources to produce work (when not expressly permitted) is also a form of plagiarism. Some instances of plagiarism are the result of ignorance rather than dishonesty. When plagiarism is encountered, the instructor should be sure that the student knows proper procedures for attributing content.
3. Prohibited sources - Consulting material or persons contrary to the directions of the instructor.
4. Improper collaboration - Engaging in any discussion, joint research, or joint effort of any kind expressly prohibited by the instructor.
5. Deception - Misrepresenting the authenticity of sources, citations, or principles in any written work.
6. Sharing work – Students who share their work with others are responsible for how that work is used. For example, if a student shares a paper with another student to help him or her understand an assignment, and that student submits the work as their own, the author of the paper shares responsibility for the plagiarism committed by the other student.
Other misconduct - Engaging in any other improper conduct as specified by the instructor. These include:
Lying – deliberately providing false information relevant to academic matters, such as misrepresenting the inability to take an examination because of illness.
Disruptive or disrespectful classroom behavior – causing a disturbance in the classroom, interrupting instruction, speaking rudely or threatening students or faculty.
Lab Policies
As an integrated component of this class, hogs will be brought to the academic farm to farrow (give birth). Our labs will often involve the care and management of these hogs to provide hands-on application of classroom learning. Due to the nature of these labs, the following procedures will be in place:
- Students who are going to miss a lab need to notify the instructor PRIOR TO the day of lab. Only then will there be a possibility (not guarantee) of making up the lab. If they're able to be made up, labs MUST be made up the week that they occur (at the scheduling discretion of the instructor). After the week that they occur, or if prior notice was not given, students will not have the opportunity to make up the lab and will not receive points for that lab.
- Attending class and lab on Monday, August 31, 2026 is MANDATORY and will not be able to be made up if missed. 100 points will be awarded for completion of the Ohio Pork Industry Quality Assurance Certification on that date.
- Students will sign up for farrowing watch shifts. By signing up and committing to their shift, students will receive full credit. If birthing happens during a student's shift and an assigned student does not notice, the students assigned to that shift will receive no credit for their farrowing watch grade.
- If farrowing takes place during a student's assigned lab time, attendance is mandatory and makeups will not be possible. If farrowing happens outside of lab time, it is highly recommended to attend, but no credit will be lost if a student is unable to be there.
- Students will be responsible for daily/weekly chores (that they will commit to at their chosen time). If a chore period is missed, meaning care is not provided at the time at which a student is responsible for providing care, anyone assigned to that shift will receive no credit for their chore assignment.
Institutional and Program-Level Policies
All exams will follow the Final Exam Schedule. Students scheduled to take three or more final examinations on one day may request to arrange their examination schedule, so no more than two exams occur on one day.
Requests for early or late exams are considered only under extreme circumstances. Prior to the exam period, the student must file a written request on the Early/Late Exam Form available in the Student One Stop Center, Academic Records, and on the WC portal. The form must be signed by the Instructor and the Academic Dean, approving the alternate exam time. This process must be completed prior to the scheduled exam period.
Undergraduate: FA26 Final Exam Schedule
Out-of-class Work Expectation A minimum of 2 hours of out-of-class student work is expected for each hour of in-class time for traditional face-to-face courses. For online and hybrid courses, the combination of face-to-face time and out-of-class work should be equal to 3 hours per credit hour per week. |
Instructional Course Delivery Definition of Courses |
Academic Integrity Policy The use of generative AI is prohibited except where expressly allowed in assignment instructions. Academic Integrity Policy |
Class Attendance Policy Institutional Class Attendance Policy |