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Prairie Swine Centre is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan
Prairie Swine Centre is grateful for the assistance of the George Morris Centre in developing the economics portion of Pork Insight.
Financial support for the Enterprise Model Project and Pork Insight has been provided by:
Production vs. Profit: Balancing Revenues and Costs
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on January 1, 2007 | No Comments
Response of growing and finishing pigs to high and low crude protein diets
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Availability of crystalline amino acids has allowed reduction in the crude protein (CP) content of swine diets. Low CP diets supplemented with essential amino acids can decrease nitrogen excretion in the manure and is often more cost effective than using an additional amount of the particular protein source. Two experiments were conducted to study the performance of growing and finishing pigs fed high and low CP (4% lower) diets supplemented with crystalline amino acids. These experiment confirmed that performance could be maintained when either high or low crude protein diets are fed if amino acids are balanced and the diets are formulated to be similar in net energy.
Does Marketing Heavier Weights Pay
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Changes in agricultural policy throughout North America have seen a significant shift in the production and consumption of traditional feed grains. In particular the development of the ethanol industry will create significant challenges for the feeding sectors, especially in years when grain supplies may be limiting. Within the past 12 months pork producers within western Canada have experienced an increase in feed prices of between $10 – $16 per hog marketed.
Historically low feed grain prices through the previous two years have resulted in a higher finished hog weight, simply put, because pork producers generated a higher net income due to the low cost per kg gain. In addition, packers within western Canada have also taken this lead, through grid and loin premium enhancements that encouraged pork producers to increase market hog weight. Rising feed costs and fluctuating market hog prices are generating tight profit margins. Does marketing hogs at heavier weights continue to generate the greatest profit potential?
SOCIOLOGIE
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Les contraintes sociales comme décrites par Thu (1996) se réfèrent aux relations, interactions et valeurs
entre les personnes, la famille, le voisinage, la communauté et un groupe et celles-ci influencent le
comportement, les perceptions, les croyances, la qualité de vie et l’adaptation à des conditions
économiques. Les interactions entre les gens et leur environnement sont au coeur de ces contraintes
sociales.
Comme rapporté dans les comptes rendus de « Understanding the Impacts of Large-scale Swine
Production », organisé par Donham et Thu (1995), l’expansion de la production porcine est bien
documentée. Jusqu’à maintenant la plupart de l’attention a été portée sur les aspects technologiques de la
production et peu d’information existe sur les dimensions sociales de ces changements. Une attention
insuffisante a été consacrée à la compréhension de la manière dont les résidents et les communautés
rurales réagissent à ces importants changements technologiques qui surviennent avec l’industrialisation de
la production porcine (Thu, 1996). Par conséquent, plusieurs questions formulées par des producteurs,
des leaders communautaires et des groupes de développement communautaire sur les impacts potentiels
de l’expansion des porcheries de grande taille restent sans réponse.
Dans une tentative de mieux comprendre les contraintes sociales dont fait face la production porcine (tant
du point de vue des opposants que du point de vue des défenseurs), des entrevues personnelles et de
groupe ont été utilisées pour fournir des données qualitatives sur leurs raisons et leurs arguments. Ces
entrevues aident à comprendre « la réalité et l’objectivité » des plaintes des communautés (Donham et
Thu, 1996), et souvent comment la communication entre des groupes opposés est mauvaise.
L’honnêteté, le respect et la réciprocité sont les bases pour des relations humaines, sociales et de bon
voisinage harmonieuses. Dans certains cas, les changements survenus dans l’industrie porcine ont violé
ces valeurs. Inclus dans la liste des violations sont les exemples suivants: une construction qui débute
sans que les voisins ne soient informés comme si aucun inconvénient ne découlerait de cette nouvelle
installation; les craintes des voisins à propos des odeurs considérées comme n’étant qu’émotionnelles,
subjectives, ne relevant que des perceptions et invalides et, comme n’ayant aucune base scientifique; le
manque de solidarité car les voisins ne travaillent pas ensemble pour trouver des solutions; et finalement
les aspects économiques et politiques du projet qui prennent une place prédominante dans les relations
entre voisins avec bien peu d’emphase les aspects sociaux (Thu, 1996).
Les odeurs sont perçues comme la principale contrainte de l’industrie porcine, cependant Thu (1996)
présente plusieurs autres aspects qui ont été soulevés lors des entrevues avec des résidents représentant
différents milieux en Caroline du Nord et en Iowa. Ceci suggère que la résolution des problèmes
d’odeurs ne solutionnerait pas tous les problèmes auquels font face les producteurs de porcs. Thu
(1996:63) a listé ces craintes comme étant: la peur de contamination des cours d’eau publics et des puits,
une diminution des valeurs immobiliaires, la disparition des fermes porcines familiales, des pertes
d’emplois, une perte de contrôle au niveau de la communauté, une perte de valeurs communautaires
comme le voisinage, une absence de prises de décision officielles en plus de problèmes plus spécifiques
reliés aux odeurs qui incluent les empêchements des activités sociales et familiales habituelles et le
développement d’une foule de symptômes au niveau de la santé.
Par exemple, des individus se sentiront lésés par les activités agricoles lorsqu’ils ne peuvent plus profiter
des activités de plein air dans leur cour autant qu’ils n’aimeraient et ce à cause des nuisances (odeurs ou
poussières), que des odeurs fortes envahissent leur maison sur de longues périodes, que les eaux de
surface et souterraines se dégradent ou qu’ils sentent une menace pour leur santé (Tessier, 1998).
“Confidence vs. Fear” – Key in Biofuels Debate
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The biofuels boom will pose an important challenge for livestock producers by driving up the cost of feed grains. But the long-term implications of this ethanol emphasis are far from certain and how livestock producers fare will depend heavily on the mindset they adopt. That was the perspective of Larry Martin, CEO of the George Morris Centre, and Brian Knudson, brand manager with Cargill, in a feed competitiveness session at the 2007 Banff Pork Seminar. Many important questions are unanswered, including whether ethanol production from corn and other feedgrains will be sustainable. Unknown breakthroughs could also shake-up the dynamics says Martin. He also states that byproducts from ethanol production have been touted as an alternative feed source, but that potential is limited. Also Martin says that many factors point to a sustained increase in biofuel production, including US government policies aimed at reducing reliance on foreign oil and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Cargill’s Brian Knudson says that the emergence of biofuels is a dramatic paradigm shift for agriculture. Biofuels will have a huge impact on pork category and mindset will be critical for producers to recognize and prosper in the new environment. Focusing on nutrients has helped Cargill teams make better and faster decisions by having a clearer understanding of value, says Knudson. “Tomorrow there will be a new value base and the opportunities once again will lie in recognizing that.”
The Changing Economics of U.S. Hog Production
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This report analyzes changes in the characteristics, production practices, and
production costs of U.S. hog operations over the past 15 years. The objective
is to emphasize economic relationships that have affected the size and
ownership structure of hog production and the impact of these changes on
industry productivity. It was found that while productivity gains can benefit consumers in terms of lower food
prices, structural changes that enable efficiency gains may also generate
environmental concerns. Increases in the scale of production resulting in
greater animal density may require operations to store manure in larger
lagoons/pits—creating concentrated levels of odor, ammonia emissions, and
the potential for larger manure spills. The concentration of hog manure
makes it more costly to use as fertilizer as more land is needed and transportation
costs to fields are greater. On the other hand, concentrating
manure sources in fewer locations potentially affects fewer people. Additionally,
greater concentration may make some manure treatment technologies
feasible (e.g., energy from biowaste, or processing into concentrated
fertilizer).
Expression of porcine circovirus 2 ORF2 gene requires codon optimized E. coli cells
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Expert judgement on enrichment materials for pigs validates preliminary RICHPIG model
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Environmental enrichment is important for animal welfare, as farm animals are often kept in barren environments (e.g. Young, 2003). In 2001, the European Commission adopted a directive (2001/93/EC) which states that: ‘‘Pigs must have permanent access to a sufficient quantity of material to enable proper investigation and manipulation activities, such as straw, hay, wood, sawdust, mushroom compost, peat or a mixture of such, which does not compromise the health of the animals’’. This directive has been implemented in most EU member state’s legislation; however, a problem with the directive is that it is not clear. For example, it does not explain whether metal chains, ropes, rubber toys or hard plastic balls are sufficient materials to enable proper investigation and manipulation activities. In addition, the value of an enrichment material is most likely determined not only by the type of material, but also by other properties of the material such as the amount and frequency of material provision. A model, called RICHPIG, has been developed to calculate scores for the (relative) enrichment value of different materials from the point of view of the animals. In the model a number of benchmark treatments have been incorporated. These benchmarks do not only illustrate how the model works, they also provide a frame of reference for the assessment of new treatments. A preliminary version of RICHPIG was used to calculate scores (on a scale from 0, worst, to 10, best) for a set of enrichment materials and subsequently experts were asked to evaluate these materials and the model scores. This generated a first validation of the model, which can always be developed further as it has been constructed in a flexible format where information can be added when it becomes available. It serves as a statement regarding how internationally recognised experts assess enrichment materials in relation to proposed model scores, given the present state of science. The aim of this paper, therefore, was to examine expert opinion concerning enrichment materials for pigs and to determine how their scores relate to preliminary model scores. Using an e-mail questionnaire expert opinion was elicited in order to ‘validate’ the preliminary model. In total nine senior pig welfare experts assessed 64 enrichment materials ordered according to the preliminary model. Materials that generated the lowest scores included a mirror (attached to the wall), a concrete block, a rubber mat, straw at an absolute minimum, a mineral block, a heavy plastic ball, a chain, a rubber hose cross, a free toy (sow neck tether), a hanging car tire and a bucket (all median expert scores). Materials that generated the highest scores included whole straw with chopped beet roots, with maize silage or with additional feed, a bale of straw, long straw with fir branches and straw with forest bark and branches. Materials that the experts suggest as the minimum of what they consider acceptable enrichment included compost from a dispenser, straw pellets (loose or from a plastic dispenser) and straw in a metal basket. A high correlation was found between the preliminary model scores and the expert medians. This finding was confirmed in a workshop at an international conference, suggesting that there may be considerable scope for modelling to support ethical and political decision-making in the area of environmental enrichment for pigs.