Does the Data Support Ikerd’s “Economic Fallacies of Industrial Hog Production”?

Posted in: Economics by admin on January 1, 2007 | No Comments

While managerial ability may be useful in explaining the cost competitiveness of small hog farms, it is not easily measurable. In this report it suggests that another potential source of cost-competitiveness – which is measurable but
remains virtually unexplored in the literature on hog production, is vertical scope economies. It was found that farrow-to-finish benefited both large and small, depending on the farrow-to-feeder and feeder-to-finish mix. This result partially supports Ikerd’s claim that “family hog farms are as cost efficient as are the large-scale, corporate hog operations.” I say partially because, although vertical scope economies are positive for all the farrow-to-feeder and feeder-tofinish mix, they may be offset at some point by stage specific diseconomies. That is the subject of future
research.

Social-ethical issues concerning the control strategy of animal diseases in the European Union: A survey

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Effect of Farm Floor Type on the Behaviour of Heavy Pigs during Pre-slaughter Handling

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In pig production, the relationships between welfare and the housing system are assuming increasing importance. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA, 2005) has recently collected the results of several studies on the effects that different kinds of floor and different space allowances have on the health, performance and behaviour of pigs into a scientific report. The aim of this study was to evaluate for heavy pigs, the possible relationships between the kind of floor and the physiological and behavioural responses during pre-slaughter handling. Seventy-five crossbreed Duroc x (Landrace x Large White) heavy pigs (average hot carcass weight 134.6 kg), mostly castrated males, were examined. All animals were supplied by one farm; 37 were reared in 3 boxes with a solid floor and 38 were reared in 3 boxes with a full slatted floor. The space allowances ranged from 0.97 m² to 1.15 m² for the former group and from 0.70 m² to 0.89 m² for the latter group. All subjects were delivered to the slaughterhouse in one consignment using a three-deck truck. All passageways had solid floors. At the end of the journey, which lasted 44 min, and after a rest of 9 min in the truck, the pigs were unloaded and kept in the resting pens, with solid floors, maintaining the division of the boxes from the farm. After 30 min of lairage the pigs were stunned by electronarcosis. The behavioural events were recorded at loading and unloading, in the upper deck of the truck and in the resting pens. During loading and unloading the number of reversals, balks, falls, slips, jumps, bites, evacuations and vocalizations were recorded for each group of pigs. From the observations made during the journey and during the lairage, the frequency of pigs standing, sitting and lying down were calculated. At the exsanguination, blood samples were collected for the determination of plasmatic content of cortisol, lactate and creatine kinase. The frequency of behavioural events and positions were evaluated by a ÷² test (Fisher exact test) while the plasma blood analysis data, previously normalized by a log transformation, were processed using ANOVA by the GLM procedure of SAS (1996). At loading, the pigs reared on the slatted floor were more difficult to drive along the passageway leading to the vehicle, as demonstrated by the reversals and balks, which reached a total of 77 % of the observed events. These difficulties could be due to a low tendency to move in the farm boxes, as is common for pigs reared on slatted floors (EFSA, 2005), and to the novelty of the kind of flooring encountered to reach the vehicle. Instead, the pigs reared on the solid floor did not show any difficulties in running quickly along the passageway. During transport, the pigs from the boxes with slatted floors lay down before the end of the journey while pigs reared on solid floors showed this behaviour only when the vehicle was stopped at the slaughterhouse and in the lairage pens. Overall, the different kind of floor encountered during pre-slaughter handling increased the psychological stress in the pigs reared on slatted floors, as suggested by the higher level of cortisol. Nevertheless, the condition experienced did not lead to physical stress, as demonstrated by the similar values of lactate and creatine kinase between the two groups of pigs.

Influence of rearing conditions and respiratory disease on haptoglobin levels in the pig at slaughter

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Real-time Control of Pig Growth through an Integrated Management System

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This paper describes the development and testing of the first prototype closed-loop, model-based, real-time system for the integrated control of pig growth and pollutant emissions. In each of two trials, growing pigs were reared from 30–50 to 65–125 kg in groups of 12 in 12 separate pens under controlled environment conditions at ADAS Terrington (Norfolk, England). They were fed ad libitum diets in which the protein content was controlled for each pen. Weight, estimated by visual image analysis, and feed intake were recorded daily for each pig. The control system was based on a mechanistic growth model. Each week, two model parameters were optimised using the data to improve the prediction, then the diet for each pen was optimised by adjusting the crude protein content between 140 and 190 g/kg [dry matter] to minimise the model error from a target for weight or fat depth. Part of the trial set weight gain targets of 50 and 60 kg over 70 days using two pens for each target. In three of the four pens the final mean weight of the pigs was within 2 kg of the
target; in the fourth, growth was on target until it was interrupted close to the end of the trial. This trial has demonstrated the potential of the system to control the growth rate of pigs and has given encouraging but not conclusive results for the control of back fat depth.

A ROBUST SENSOR FOR MONITORING THE OPERATIONAL STATUS OF AGRICULTURAL VENTILATION FANS

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The effects of thermal treatment of field peas (Pisum sativum L.) on nutrient and energy digestibility by growing pigs

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An experiment was conducted to measure the effect of thermal treatment on the digestibility of CP, AA, starch, NDF, ADF, and energy in field peas fed to growing pigs. Five pea-containing diets were formulated. The peas included in these diets were either not heat-treated (control) or extruded at 75, 115, or 155°C or pelleted at 75°C. A N-free diet was also included in the experiment to measure basal endogenous losses of CP and AA. The 6 diets were fed to 6 growing pigs (initial BW: 69.3 ± 2.9 kg) that were allotted to dietary treatments in a 6 × 6 Latin square design. A T-cannula was installed in the distal ileum of each pig, allowing for the collection of ileal digesta. Each experimental
period lasted 9 d; fecal samples were collected on d 6 and 7, and ileal samples were collected on d 8 and 9 of each period. Apparent ileal digestibilities (AID) for CP, AA, starch, and energy and standardized ileal digestibility values (SID) for CP and AA were calculated. Apparent total tract digestibilities (ATTD) for NDF, ADF, starch, and energy were also calculated. As the extrusion temperature increased, the AID and SID for CP and all AA, except Pro, increased (quadratic, P < 0.05). In contrast, except for Arg and Pro, the peas that were pelleted at 75°C had AID and SID for CP and AA that were similar to those obtained for the control peas but less (P < 0.05) than the AID for the peas that were extruded at 75°C. The AID for starch and energy increased (linear, P < 0.001) as the extrusion temperature increased to 155°C (from 89.8 to 95.9% and from 71.5 to 79.0%, respectively), but the AID for starch and energy in the pelleted diet was not different from the AID in the control diet (90.1 vs. 89.8% and 69.1 vs. 71.5%, respectively). The ATTD for starch varied from 98.6 to 99.7% and did not differ among treatments. Likewise, no differences were observed for the ATTD of NDF and ADF. However, the ATTD for energy in the diets increased from 89.0 to 93.3% (linear and quadratic, P < 0.05) as field peas were extruded, and the ATTD for energy in the pelleted diet was also greater (P < 0.05) than that of the control diet (91.6 vs. 89.0%). In conclusion, extrusion of field peas increases the AID of CP, AA, starch, and energy and the ATTD of energy. Pelleting field peas at 75°C does not influence the AID of nutrients or energy but improves the ATTD of energy.

Application of an Integrated Management System to Improve Performance and Profitability in Finishing Pigs

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Despite the varying degrees of success, there is no doubt that the integrated management approach to predicting growth and feed intake, significantly enhances the decision-making process for producers. It quantifies both the technical and financial outcomes to production stimuli, and therefore eliminates the need for educated guesses. This paper outlines key components of an integrated simulation model, “Watson” and how it has been applied within Nutreco Canada. “Watson” was developed by integrating the science and practice of pig production into an easy to use Web-based software application. The science and theoretical framework have been extensively validated with over 20 trials conducted to test significant drivers and components of the model. Its framework is unique and flexible to allow the prediction of voluntary feed intake, as well as predicting performance and financial outcomes reasonably accurately under commercial conditions. One of the main purposes of “Watson” is to integrate the complex interactions between the animal, its environment and its diet into a management system that accurately predicts the animal’s performance under commercial conditions, including cause and effect responses to any change in the production environment. Therefore, the application of “Watson” provides solutions to a number of production, economic, and nutritional changes as well as assisting in the diagnosis of potential production problems. Outputs from “Watson” allow the producer to monitor current performances with expected performances and therefore identify periods of slower growth during rather than after the grower/finisher period. In addition, performances can be benchmarked against other producers or previous close-outs. Clearly, as feed and hog prices change so to will the optimum marketing strategy change for a producer. “Watson” has the dual capacity to access and utilize existing branded products, or perform least cost formulations for individual customers based on the predicted nutrient requirements of their genetics, health status and their ingredients. With these features it is possible to determine the optimum nutrient requirements based on the producer’s economic or performance objective, for different nutrient density of the diets, and for different feed budgets; minimize under and over-feeding nutrients; and estimate the impacts of alternative technologies such as Paylean. Of particular importance is the ability to define optimum feeding strategies based on current feed ingredient prices, as well as future ingredient prices. Therefore, responses in gross profit to changing energy density and/or the lysine:energy ratio of the diet can be predicted. One of the consequences of being able to predict daily feed intake and lean tissue deposition is the ability to determine the amount of nutrient excretion, especially nitrogen and phosphorus excretion. For every simulation it is possible to determine the total amount of N and P that is excreted per pig per closeout period. Where N and P excretion is closely regulated, “Watson” can be used to develop feeding programs, including diets and feed budgets, which will reduce excretion of N and P. The ability to make well informed economic decisions in a complex and constantly changing production environment is becoming increasingly dependent on the application of integrated management models. “Watson” can dynamically assimilate the whole production process in order to predict the cause and effect responses to vectors of change within the commercial production environment.

Will Canada Still Produce Pork?

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The Canadian hog industry is undergoing a period of uncertainty due to the rapid escalation of feed grain prices, the appreciated Canadian dollar and packer consolidation. The pending US Country of Origin Labeling legislation is also threatening the industry’s access to the US. Throughout 2007, producers have seen either negative margins or margins that are weaker than their US counterparts. For these and other reasons, producer attrition is accelerating and producers are assessing their futures in the industry. In this environment, producers are asking themselves whether their businesses can be competitive or not. The overriding issue for the prairie hog industry is that if it is not competitive in this region, why not and where can it be competitive? This paper looks at the current challenges and assesses prospects for the future in the prairie hog industry. The Prairie hog and pork industry is an agricultural success from any economic perspective, including, growth, jobs, incomes and trade. The entire industry in Canada has undergone a period of three years in which it has suffered disproportionate losses relative to US competitors. As a result, the industry now finds itself in a period of rationalization of packing plants and more rapid attrition in producer numbers. The summer 2007 announcement by Olymel that it would reduce its pricing structure in Red Deer will accelerate the attrition in producer numbers on the prairies. Furthermore, the prospects for packing plant closures on the prairies and in Ontario are factors that, again, will involve massive challenges for producers. Lastly, the pending US legislation regarding Country of Origin Labeling has the potential to further reduce pricing in Canada relative to the US. There will be a period of two to three years of industry pressure and reduced production in much of the prairies and the hog regions of Eastern Canada. At the same time, however, the Prairies are in a strong position on two key fronts. First, and most importantly, the region has enormous production capability in feed grains and land available for hog production. The fundamental factors that made Western Canada the number one growth area in North America are still in place and are at the forefront for the future. The key problems that the Prairies face in feed grain competitiveness are policy related, not natural disadvantages. These policy issues can, and likely will, be addressed. Prairie producers will not escape the coming difficulties but they are in a good position to endure it, compared to other areas of Canada. Furthermore, when the difficulties pass, the Prairie model of open marketing has proven it to be the best place to grow and move forward.

Characterisation of the pig acute phase protein response to road transport

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