Mission 2050 – Research and Industry Infrastructure in the Year 2050 (A Conceptual Framework)

Posted in: Environment, Pork Insight Articles by admin on April 1, 2008 | No Comments

Mission 2050 is the plan to redesign and replace the animal research facilities at the University of Guelph. The focus will be on creating sustainable systems, and environmentally conscious options for poultry, swine and dairy facilities. As well as innovation, the facility will also test existing agricultural technology and alternative energy sources. The facility will examine on-farm energy sources to replace fossil fuel use. The end goal will be to create a total resource recovery system. Other areas of research will be co-product use and animal emission monitoring. The facility will be multi-disciplinary, and be used for educational training activities.

Impacts on Further Growth of the North American Pork Industry

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The hog industry was experiencing growth and increased profit until 2007, at which time hog prices fell and feed prices rose. Prior to that, disease pressure, like circovirus, limited pork supplies and kept prices high. The North American breeding herd has increased since 2000, as the US increased sow numbers and Canada slightly decreased. As well, there is increased productivity in today’s breeding herd. This increase in pig numbers has led to an increase in exports for both Canada and the US. Customers also have more demands from their food with food safety, humane animal treatment, and nutrition being a given. Ethanol and biofuel are in competition with agriculture for grain sources, and more farms are becoming interested in supplying ethanol. The ethanol industry also has ambitious expansion plans, so there will not be a decrease in demand (and price) for corn any time soon. Byproducts available can be used in feed, however certain ones can change carcass characteristics. While technology is expected to improve byproducts by improving the corn processing process, byproducts will be priced by what they are worth to someone so may not end up being that cheap. Other factors that may affect the pork industry growth include high oil prices, social demographic change, and increased labour costs.

New Opportunities for Reproductive Management

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Reducing litter size for replacement gilts and boars could possible increase reproductive performance, but the goal is different for gilts than for boars. Gilts are mainly culled for failure to reproduce, and is called involuntary culling. Sows have peak reproductive performance between parities 3 and 6, so reproductive improvement would involve improving reproductive success over a longer time span. Boars are culled after 12-18 months because a new generation is starting, and it is voluntary culling. So for boars, increasing reproductive performance over a short time span is the goal. Smaller litters may allow replacement piglets reduced competition and more nutrients, and as the sexual organs are still developing at this point it could positively influence later performance. The size of litter and day of boar exposure was tested for the effect on sow longevity, with the measure being which sows were still in the herd after their third parity. Smaller litters and earlier boar exposure (day 140) resulted in 26% more sows reaching their third parity, and a 10% increase in farrowing rate. Being raised in smaller litters also increased the number of pigs per litter by 0.5. The results show early management has a long-term reproductive effect on gilts and, although consistent boar exposure may not be possible, reducing litter size for replacement gilts is commercially feasible. Boars raised in small litters had a significantly reduced training period for semen collection than those raised in large litters, indicating increased libido. Small litter boars also had increased testicular size, numbers of spermatozoa, and appear to be more fertile from siring results from heterospermic insemination data. So, similar to gilts, litter size has an impact on a boar’s reproductive performance, and reducing the litter size through cross-fostering is a commercially feasible strategy.

Balancing Sow and Piglet Welfare with Production Efficiency

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Due to welfare concerns for sows, several countries have adopted or are working towards loose housing. These systems can increase the sow welfare, but often require more management and piglet welfare/mortality should be examined as well. The welfare issues with housing sows in crates are physical and behavioural. The behavioural issues can result in oral stereotypies, but are not only due to housing conditions. Sows are restrictively fed leading up to farrowing to maintain stable body condition, and this can result in chronic hunger even though nutritional requirements are being met. Alternative systems to farrowing crates include outdoor housing, yards/kennels with floor feeding, yards with individual feeders, cubicles or free-access stalls, yards/kennels with short stall feeders, and electronic sow feeders. One of the problems with group housing is the social dynamic, especially as chronically hungry sows are prone to aggression. Sow aggression can result in varied body conditions within a herd, as dominant sows will monopolize feed if it is not carefully managed. Various feeding systems like ESF, or stall feeding can help prevent this, and frustration can be alleviated by providing bedding or foraging material. The economic challenge of group housing includes the initial installation costs, and the reproductive performance of sows. Social stress can affect reproductive performance, which is why sows are often housed in stalls for the first 4 weeks of pregnancy. However, with proper group and feeding management it is possible to achieve the same reproductive performance as stalls.

Alternative systems for farrowing and lactation housing include individual housing with reduced confinement (sow is able to turn around), group farrowing with individual huts, or a two stage system with increased space at lactation. Some of the welfare concerns with these systems are that movement and nesting behaviour is still restricted in individual housing, and aggression increases after farrowing when housed in groups. Economically, the increased space costs more, and studies show varied results for pre-weaning mortality. Non-crate farrowing systems increase piglet mortality due to crushing, but the sows tend to have larger litters and decreased mortalities from other causes. Studies have shown non-crate farrowing can achieve similar mortality rates to commercial levels, but they are still on the high end and more work would be needed before non-crate systems are suitable for commercial use. Proper management and design can make non-confinement housing feasible for gestating sows in commercial production, but additional research will need to be conducted on how to successfully transition to non-confinement farrowing and lactation housing on a commercial scale.

Is There an “Optimum” Production System?

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A theoretical optimum production system in North America would take into account financial risks, including currency exchange due to the connection between Canada’s industry and the US. The current production system has a large amount of Canadian feeder pigs exported to the US because many farrow-finish facilities are switching to wean-finish. Avoiding farrowing barns saves the cost of committing to a sow herd, and the problems associated with it.  High regulatory costs have prevented small or medium barn expansions in many cases, and favour large barns. To work towards an optimum system the right people need to be hired, and the pig flow needs to be matched with the facility. Lenders also shape the system, as they are more reluctant to invest in separate nursery and finishing barns than they are to invest on a wean-finish facility. To minimize size variation and for biosecurity, these facilities usually prefer pigs all from one source and 1-2 weeks in age of each other. For a farrowing facility to supply this number, they would need to have about 6000 sows. Batch farrowing is an option, but it usually requires an all-in all-out system with groups from different sources separated if possible. The maximum number of farrowing sources is usually 2, with each site having around 1200 sows. The optimum system has to consider the pig flow, and the various sizes of the facilities involved. Therefore, the optimum system should constantly aim to minimize all aspects of variation – like litter size, weaning weight and age, and market weight – and include a team of advisors to consider all aspects of a decision.

Nutritional Solutions for Grower-Finisher Pigs

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Making decisions about feed is complicated in the present day by high feed prices, and by the many byproducts available with uncertain nutritional value. As well, cutting feed costs will not necessary increase profit if revenue decreases as well, or if pigs require longer until market. Agribrands Purina uses an OptiPork system to help customers find feed solutions. The technology lets you input your own farm as a virtual farm, and assesses nutritional requirements, ingredient valuation, and profitability. Ingredient valuation tools include a laboratory, database, particle size measurer, and a system to calculate nutrient levels. The Purina Central Lab analyzes samples, and adds their profile to the database. Animal requirements are based on sex, feed intake, lean growth, and environmental conditions. OptiPork can help evaluate nutritional requirements, and make dietary decisions easier for producers.

Quality Control of Extended Boar Semen

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Extended boar semen should regularly undergo testing to ensure producers are receiving a safe and effective product. Quality checks can involve analysing sperm motility, morphology, concentration, and numbers per dose, as well as dose volume. Samples should be randomly selected, and high producing studs should have 51/200 samples tested and low producing studs 27/200 samples. Alternatively, samples can be sent on a predetermined weekly, biweekly, or monthly schedule. The samples should be shipped to the laboratory using standard shipping protocol. On arrival the temperature of samples should be taken, volume measured, spermatozoa motility assessed, concentration and number of spermatozoa per dose counted, and morphology evaluated. Morphology can be evaluated by gross evaluation under a microscope, which is usually the technique used for pooled semen, or a detailed differential evaluation can be done if there is suspected sub-fertility. Semen can easily become contaminated by bacteria during collection, so bacterial cultures can be performed using a blood agar culture plate. If bacteria are found, they should be identified and antibiotic sensitivity performed, and the cause of contamination can also sometimes be identified. Regular assessments of boar semen will help identify areas to improve, and reassure producers of the quality they are receiving.

Applying Reproductive Technologies in Practise

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When conducting on-farm trials for a study it is important that the duration is long enough, enough animals are used, and a control group is included. Basic studies involve fewer animals and controlled conditions, whereas applied studies are on-farm (or “in field”) and have more animals under real life conditions. The duration for on-farm reproductive studies depends on whether boars or sows are being studied. For studies on boars, usually technology is developed to improve quantity or quality of sperm. It takes around seven weeks for sperm to develop, and any effect from a treatment to be seen. The sows’ reproductive cycle is more complex than the boars, and the length of the trial will depend on which part of the cycle is being targeted. Implementing a treatment to the entire herd and comparing before and after results is not recommended because herd conditions are constantly changing, and confounding variables have a high chance of being introduced. Deciding the number of animals used in the study will depend on how large of an effect is needed by the new technology, the current herd performance, the herd variation, and the level of confidence wanted for results. Expensive technologies will likely require a greater improvement in results to be routinely used than an inexpensive, or labour reducing technology. Applied studies allow new technology to perform in a commercial setting, and obtaining accurate results relies upon choosing proper duration and numbers, and use of a contemporary group.

Optimum Solutions for Grower-Finisher Pigs

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Watson® is a web-based software application designed to help producers make decisions. It shows cause-and-effect responses that change with the production environment, shows the financial impact of the change, and recommends farm-specific nutritional or financial strategies. The nutritional strategies can involve nutritional requirements, optimizing nutrient distribution, the use of ractopamine, and feed budgets. The program can incorporate current feed prices, estimate the impact of carcass variation, and determine optimum market weight under a set series of conditions. The Watson® system integrates nutrition and financial information to help producers make decisions in a volatile market.

Developing the Animal Care Assessment

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The Canadian Pork Council developed the Animal Care Assessment (ACA) after international and domestic pressure proved it was needed. The UK was the first to adopt animal welfare guidelines, and Europe followed shortly after. In the US, retailers were increasing pressure on producers to provide welfare guidelines, and the industry responded by creating the Swine Welfare Assurance Program. Canada created the ACA shortly after, and set a minimum care point for producers based off of on-farm audits. However, the ACA is a voluntary program with no financial incentive. It is important for Canada to be seen as upholding high animal welfare standards in order to maintain its export market, and producers should see that the ACA will help Canada keep up with global change.