Annual Report 2009 Released!

Posted in: Press Releases by admin on August 20, 2010

Prairie Swine Centre’s Annual Report for 2009 is now online!

• Providing pigs with low protein diet, manipulation of manure pH, and employing a high level of
  cleanliness inside barn facilities could potentially reduce ammonia concentrations.
• Savings of 1,956 ($200) to 12,468 kWh ($1,250) per year are possible by switching to compact flourescent bulbs.
• No major differences in the overall energy use (natural gas and electrical energy) was observed
  between rooms with infrared radiant heater and forced-air convection heater systems.
• When handling near-market weight hogs, group sizes of 4 or 8 pigs is preferred for minimizing
  stress based on handling and behavioural measures.
• Sows housed in the ‘T’ pens used the free space area significantly more than the sows housed in the ‘I’ pens”.
• When transporting hogs to market, pigs in the bottom front compartment had the highest heart
  rate measures at unloading, and also produced the highest incidence of DFD pork.
• A diet containing 5% flaxseed, fed as a 50:50 co-extruded pea/flaxseed blend increased the
  omega-3 content of pork fat.
• The utilization of net energy for body weight gain was unaffected by feeding level or by energy
  concentration of the diet.
• Feeding co-extruded flaxseed to increase the alpha linoleic acid content in loin muscle did not result in levels sufficient to meet label requirements in Canada.
• The non-starch polysaccharide (NSP)-hydrolyzing enzyme increased nutrient digestibility, both
  in-vitro and in-vivo.
• Fermentable fibre modulates the gut environment, extends health-promoting properties and
  reduces ammonia excretion.
• Peas and pea-fibres reduced nitrogen excretion and could possibly contribute to improving the gut health of pigs

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