The effect of feeding crude glycerol on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in weaned pigs

Posted in: Production by admin on January 1, 2008 | No Comments

The effects of substituting wheat with
crude glycerol as a dietary energy source were evaluated. Seventy-two weaned pigs were fed for 4 wk one of three pelleted
wheat-based diets containing 0, 4, or 8% glycerol and formulated to 2.28 Mcal kg1 net energy (NE) and 5.02 g
standardized ileal digestible lysine Mcal NE. For day 0 to 28, body weight increased linearly (P=0.04); pigs fed 8%
glycerol were 1.11 kg heavier than pigs fed 0% glycerol. Glycerol inclusion tended to increase average daily gain linearly
(P=0.066) and increased average daily feed intake quadratically (P=0.037) without affecting feed efficiency (P=0.10).
Feeding up to 8% dietary crude glycerol by substituting wheat can enhance the growth performance of weaned pigs.

Nutrient digestibility and performance responses of growing pigs fed phytase- and xylanase-supplemented wheat-based diets

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effects of supplementing phytase and xylanase on nutrient digestibility and performance of growing pigs fed wheat-based diets. It was concluded that the supplements (phytase and xylanase) improved phosphorus and amino acid digestibilities.

Foot-and-mouth disease: A review of intranasal infection of cattle, sheep and pigs

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

This paper reviews the results of investigations for animals which have been infected by instillation or spraying a virus suspension into the nostrils or by exposure to affected animals through a mask or by indirect contact. The results indicate that pigs are not readily infected by the intranasal route. Also, the nature of the aerosol droplets needs to be analyzed to determine how the respective amounts of infective and non-infective virus particles, host components and the presence of antibody affect the survival in air and the ability to infect the respiratory tract.

Distribution of hepatitis E virus infection and its prevalence in pigs on commercial farms in Spain

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

A survey to detect antibodies against hepatitis E virus (HEV) was undertaken on 41 Spanish pig farms using an indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The study confirmed that HEV is spread in pigs in Spain and is probably endemic in many farms.

Maternal behaviour and performance in first-parity outdoor sows

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

Our aim was to describe nursing behaviour, sow
activity, sow use of body reserves and piglet growth and
the relationship between these traits in gilts kept
outdoors. We conclude that in outdoor production, sow
appetite in early lactation affects piglet growth until
weaning at seven weeks. Sow nursing behaviour is not
important for piglet growth when sows and piglets are
held outdoors in groups, piglets have access to sow feed
and piglets are weaned as late as at seven weeks of age.
Sow nursing behaviour and activity are individual
characteristics repeatable within sow’s late lactation.
Sow nursing behaviour is related with sow activity,
indicating that less active sows are more available for
suckling. Sow backfat depth and sow body weight are
related to nursing behaviour in late lactation, indicating
that light, thin sows have an earlier and more progressed
weaning process.
Sows seem to balance between their and their litters’
needs by changing nursing behaviour during lactation.
In order to investigate how conventionally bred sows
kept outdoors manage to handle this act of balance,
maternal traits and reproduction traits need to be studied
over several parities.

Genetic parameters for maternal behaviour traits in sows

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

The aims of this study were first to define five behaviour traits which characterise the mothering abilities
of sows and subsequently to obtain estimates of variance components and breeding values for these traits in order to assess the suitability of the traits as selection criteria. Finally, genetic correlations between litter size at birth and the behaviour traits were estimated in order to test if selection for improved maternal behaviour is associated
with number of piglets born alive. It was found that including maternal behaviour in breeding programmes requires appropriate traits. These must be precisely defined, as objectively as possible, easy to record on a large scale and sufficiently genetically determined. From the five defined and analysed traits in the present study crushing seems to be themost promising trait for selection. Even though the estimated heritability was low, it shows a high incidence and is relatively easy to record objectively on a large scale.

Exploring ways by to improve the availability of nutrients while following sound conservation techniques

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and University
of Guelph researchers are exploring ways to apply liquid
manure to create the least amount of environmental impact.
For Dr. Bonnie Ball-Coelho, a research scientist with AAFC,
the focus over the past five years has been on how to combine
manure applications with minimum till. She and her
team have found that combining conservation techniques
with manure applications is not only possible but can also
achieve corn yields equivalent to conventional tillage and
inorganic fertilizer combinations. What type of equipment you use can also make a difference
with the spring application, she adds. The tine type of tilling
system used in the studies resulted in less of a negative impact
on growth or germination when the manure was highly concentrated
than the two other knife-type systems used. The main push of this and other studies is to improve the
agronomic availability of nutrients – improve the bottom
line for the farmer – and keep nutrients and bacteria
from places we don’t want them to be.

N2O emission in maize-crops fertilized with pig slurry, matured pig manure or ammonium nitrate in Brittany

Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments

N2O is a potent greenhouse gas and solutions have to be sought to reduce its emission from agriculture. This work evaluates N2O emission from maize-crop (Zea mays) fields submitted to different organic or mineral fertilizers (pig slurry, matured pig manure or ammonium nitrate) in Brittany (France). N2O emission was evaluated along a year in two experimental sites receiving 110 or 180 kg N ha1 as ammonium nitrate or pig slurry and 180 or 132 kg N ha1 as ammonium nitrate or matured pig manure at Champ Noel and Le Rheu experimental plots, respectively. N2O emission was evaluated by interpolation method of periodic fluxes on the field scale and by simulation with NOE algorithm using measured soil characteristics such as N content and gravimetric moisture and other soil biological properties determined in a previous study (potential denitrifying activity, N2O/[N2O + N2] ratio during denitrification) or drawn from literature. On the whole N2O emissions vary between 0.3 kg N ha1 year1 in an unfertilized plot and 2–4 kg N ha1 year1 under ammonium nitrate fertilization. They were higher under N fertilizer application than without N fertilizer but no significant effect of type of N fertilizer was observed on either site. However, N2O losses immediately after fertilizer application were higher under pig slurry and matured pig manure, while measured and predicted fluxes showed that greater N2O losses occurred from summer to winter under ammonium nitrate application. This could be mainly explained by higher mineral N contents at Le Rheu and higher N2O/(N2O + N2) ratio at both sites. The NOE model predicted higher annual N2O emission and emission factor with ammonium nitrate at Champ Noe¨l only and similar emissions for both treatments at Le Rheu. These results suggest that in this climate and soil context the use of pig slurry or matured pig manure did not have a stimulating impact on N2O emissions in comparison with a plot receiving a mineral fertilization.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01678809

Bringing the Soil Back

Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments

Manure from a Missouri hog operation set up by the Brinker brothers – Kenny, Dale and Ronnie – has been an integral part of bringing back soil that had been depleted of nutrients and severely eroded. When it comes to environmental stewardship, and nutrient management, the Brinker brothers of Missouri were instrumental in literally bringing a farm back from the brink. In 1993, the three brothers – Kenny, Dale and Ronnie Brinker – set up a hog operation, Harrison Creek Farm, near Auxvasse, Missouri, about two hours west of St. Louis. The land the hog operation was located on, however, was depleted of nutrients and severely eroded. It has been a long, steady climb back since then, but good soil conservation practices and a comprehensive nutrient management plan have taken what was barren soil to high levels of productivity. And an integral part of bringing some of the acreage back involved the use of manure effluent from the swine operation. Harrison Creek Farm has built up a relationship with the University of Missouri, which is basically down the road in Columbia. They had the assistance of nutrient specialists John Lorey and Charlie Fulhage in laying out operations on the farm, and determining the best site for the hog barns and the lagoon. There have been other significant improvements to the farm. Some 36 different waterways have been installed on their total acreage through Missouri’s Continuous CRP and federal EQIP programs. Six miles of terraces have been built, draining water into the waterways, helping to prevent erosion. There have been subsequent land purchases since they first set up the farm – the Brinkers now farm 4400 acres, mostly a corn soybean rotation, all no-till. Kenny noted they purchased a nearby farm in the last several years, and they’ve since carried out grid sampling on that acreage and – for the first time – are trying variable rate fertilization. There may be further land purchases, Kenny added. “A lot of financial advisors would tell you to spread your investment out, buy a little of this and a little of that. But from our perspective, we’ve grown up knowing how to farm and are very comfortable with that. “If we have the ability and things work out well, we would probably buy other farmland in the area. We take great enjoyment in taking a piece of ground like we had here that was a little neglected and bringing it back into productivity and making it a nice looking place.”

Forage Subsurface Drip Irrigation Using Treated Swine Wastewater

Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments

The overall study objective was to determine the feasibility of using subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) for treated wastewater effluent applications. It was found that treatments using wastewater effluent had significantly higher hay yields and significantly higher nutrient biomass removal rates than the commercial fertilizer treatments. Nitrate-N observed in soil water lysimeters increased with depth, indicating the potential for leaching without proper management. Soil nitrogen and carbon were not significantly different for any of the treatments but did vary slightly over the life of the project.