Eco-efficient Concretes: Impact of the Use of White Ceramic Powder on the Mechanical Properties of Concrete

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

EFFECTIVENESS OF A MANURE SCRAPER SYSTEM FOR REDUCING CONCENTRATIONS OF HYDROGEN SULFIDE AND AMMONIA IN A SWINE GROWER-FINISHER ROOM

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The Efficacy of Nine Different Feed Additives on Mitigating the Effects of Deoxynivalenol (DON) When Consumed by Growing Pigs.

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Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a trichothecene mycotoxin produced by fusarium moulds contaminating cereal and other grains, including corn and wheat. Gross symptoms of DON ingestion include vomiting and feed refusal and it can have serious if not dramatic effects on the financial viability of a commercial pig farm. An experiment was conducted with nursery pigs to test the efficacy of 9 different feed additives on mitigating the effects of Deoxynivalenol (2 ppm DON) contaminated feed. Sixty pens of pigs, 4 pig/pen were fed one of 12 diets for the 22 day experiment, beginning 7 days post-weaning. Treatments were a positive control, (non-contaminated corn) a negative control (2 ppm DON) and the negative control supplemented with one of 9 different feed additives, or in one case a combination of feed additives. In conclusion, approximately 2 ppm DON in the diet of nursery pigs will decrease growth and feed intake by almost 10% if consumed for 3 weeks and feed additives, had no effect on ameliorating the effect of the mycotoxoin, regardless of their mode of action.

ÉMISSIONS DE GAZ

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ÉMISSIONS AÉRIENNES PAR LES BÂTIMENTS DE PRODUCTION
Les émissions aériennes causées par les fermes de production animale peuvent avoir des conséquences
négatives sur les animaux, les agriculteurs, les résidents voisins, l’environnement immédiat de la ferme
ainsi que l’atmosphère en raison de la diffusion de contaminants dans l’air. Les gaz, les odeurs de même
que les poussières sont les principales composantes de ces émissions aériennes. Leurs impacts, leurs
modes de diffusion ainsi que leurs rayons d’action sont cependant différents en raison de leurs propriétés
particulières. Par conséquent dans ce document, chacun de ces types d’émissions est traité séparément
dans les sections odeurs, émissions de gaz et poussières.
ÉMISSIONS DE GAZ
Les différents gaz produits par les fermes de production animale ont un impact sur la qualité de l’air dans
les bâtiments d’élevage ainsi que sur l’environnement immédiat de ces bâtiments en raison de la diffusion
de ces gaz par le système de ventilation. Des émissions sont aussi produites au niveau de la manutention,
l’entreposage et l’épandage des fumiers/lisiers. Dans les bâtiments clos certains gaz comme : le méthane
(CH4), le sulfure d’hydrogène (H2S) et le monoxyde de carbone (CO), peuvent causer des problèmes
sérieux de santé allant jusqu’à la mort lorsque leur concentration dépasse un niveau critique. De son côté,
l’ammoniaque (NH3) constitue un irritant pour le système respiratoire. Lorsque l’on considère leur
diffusion dans l’atmosphère, les gaz découlant des activités de production animale peuvent être regroupés
en deux catégories : 1) les gaz responsables de l’acidification et l’eutrophisation de l’environnement tels
le NH3, les oxydes d’azote (NO, NO2, NOx) et les composés organiques volatils et, 2) les gaz à effet de
serre tels le bioxyde de carbone (CO2), le méthane ainsi que les oxydes d’azote qui ont tous été reliés aux
phénomènes de réchauffement global et de détérioration de la couche d’ozone (Schulte, 1997).

Restaurant oil, corn silage and vegetable waste all grist for the Ridgetown digester

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Until now, researchers making biogas from the
anaerobic digester at the University of Guelph’s
Ridgetown Campus have been using liquid manure to
feed the operation. Their next step is to add other materials,
such as used oil or grease from fast-food restaurants or
food processing activities. In Ontario, there is currently only one operating anaerobic
digester on a farm, while in Germany there are almost 4,000. In
several European countries, farmers are allowed to add other
materials to the manure in their anaerobic digesters. For example,
some farmers are permitted to put up to 20 per cent of
organic materials obtained outside the farm into their digesters.
Adding this amount of these materials might lead to a doubling
in the output of methane, Fleming notes.
Products like spent oil from restaurants can’t be digested on
their own. However, blending the oil with pig manure should
result in a boost in gas production. This small addition of product
could result in double or triple the gas output, depending
on the material being added.
Along with mixing the pig manure with fats and oils,
researchers will try using corn silage or vegetable waste from
crops high in sugar, such as sugar beets or sweet potatoes

Scale and Access Issues Affecting Smallholder Hog Producers in an Expanding Peri-Urban Market

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The study offers a new way of conceptualizing the problems that lead to the exclusion of
smallholders from live hog and pork markets, explaining why some smallholders participate
successfully, while others do not. Determinants are identified using limited-dependent variable
models based on the hypothesis that transaction costs, such as access to credit and market
information, affect market participation. The report also presents a contemporary approach to
measuring profit efficiency in hog production for the case of Southern Luzon, Philippines.
Although the findings of this study are specific to the Philippine context, many of the
issues confronted are common to the challenges of participation, upscaling processes, and
policy interventions across the developing world. The research has generated solid empirical
perspectives of the changing situation of poor smallholder producers in a high-value market
situation. IFPRI thus continues to examine the effect of mechanisms like contract farming on
collective action as a means of increasing smallholder participation in high-value markets,
particularly in developing countries in Asia and Africa, where small farms continue to dominate
the landscape.

The effects of handling and group size on welfare of pigs in lairage and their influence on stomach weight, carcass microbial contamination and meat quality

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Slaughtering animals with a full stomach is considered a high risk factor for meat safety, as spillage of gut contents, due to more frequent inadvertent puncture of the stomach during the dressing process, can lead to microbial cross-contamination between carcasses (Miller et al. 1997). To reduce the risk of puncturing the stomach, a feed withdrawal of 16 to 24 h before slaughter has been recommended to reduce stomach size (Chevillon 1994). However, industry reports and some studies have revealed a high variability in stomach weights at slaughter, even among pigs that were subjected to the same fasting interval before slaughter (Guise et al. 1995; Turgeon 2003). According to Enck et al. (1989), stress increases intestinal motility, resulting in a greater evacuation of the caecum and large intestine. It also increases the pH of the stomach contents, favouring the survival, proliferation and release of faecal bacteria (such as Salmonella), both towards the internal organs and the surrounding environment (Gregory 1998). Hence, the individual difference in the pig response to preslaughter stress might contribute to stomach weight variation at slaughter. The use of electric prods must be limited in pig handling given their detrimental effects on welfare (flight behaviour, higher heart rate and salivary cortisol level) and meat quality (Brundige et al. 1998; D’Souza et al. 1998; Jongman et al. 2000). Mixing unfamiliar pigs inevitably causes some fighting, which causes skin bruises and poor pork quality (Jones et al. 1994; Warriss 1996). To limit fighting and help pigs rest and recover from transport stress, the current recommendations are either to keep pigs in small groups (10 to 15 pigs) or to mix very large groups (up to 200 pigs) in the lairage pen prior to slaughter (Grandin 1990; Christensen and Barton-Gade 1997). Turner et al. (1999) showed that group size influences drinking behaviour, pigs in large groups (60) spending significantly less time drinking than pigs in smaller groups (20). Hence, it may be hypothesized that the difference in drinking rate between groups of pigs varying in size may contribute to stomach weight variation at slaughter. The aim of this experiment was thus to determine, under commercial conditions, the effects of gentle vs. rough handling practices and large vs. small group size in lairage on behaviour, stomach weight, microbial carcass contamination and meat quality variation of pigs. At unloading and on the way to stunning, 800 barrows were exposed to either gentle handling (GH: slowly with a plastic board or whip) or rough handling (RH: quickly with an electric prod). Pigs were kept in large or small groups (30 or 10 pigs) during lairage. Compared with GH, RH increased climbing, slipping and turning around behaviours during unloading, and climbing on the way to stunning. RH also reduced drinking behaviour during lairage. Pigs kept in large groups were observed more often standing and fighting than pigs kept in small groups, but, in contrast, had a slightly lower level of urinary cortisol at slaughter. Stomach weight and microbial contamination at slaughter were not affected by treatments. RH tended to increase skin bruise score on the carcass and produced more exudative meat. In conclusion, the response of pigs to the two specific stressors applied prior to slaughter in this study did not seem to contribute to stomach weight variation at slaughter, but it did influence pork quality.

Effect of “Skip-a-Heat” Breeding on Subsequent Reproductive Performance in First Parity Sows

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Recent work at the University of Alberta has shown that the performance of contemporary dam-line first parity sows is truly amazing! Even when primiparous sows are induced to lose large amounts of body tissues through imposed feed restriction during peak lactation, there is a relative lack of effect on many measures of post-weaning fertility. However, a second parity “dip” or lack of an increase in second litter size, is often observed in production. First and second parity sows subjected to “skip-a-heat” breeding (bred at the 2nd estrus after weaning, or “skipped”) exhibited an increase of two pigs born compared to sows bred at first post-weaning estrus but this increase in litter size also resulted in an accumulation of 21 non-productive days (NPD) and a 9% chance of sows not standing to be bred at 2nd estrus. Recent data on the changing reproductive characteristics of contemporary commercial sows suggested that the response to skip-a-heat breeding in first parity sow needs to be re-evaluated. This trial re-assessed the effect of breeding sows at 1st vs. 2nd post-weaning estrus on follicular development, size of the largest ovulatory follicle, ovulation rate and embryonic survival to day 30 in contemporary commercial sows. Results confirmed that under good management practices, high production performance is achievable: 95% of sows returned to estrus within 10 days; 98% of sows bred; 100% of sows “skipped” sows detected in heat; and a 92% conception rate. However, litter size at d 30 appeared to be limited because of lower embryonic survival in sows bred at first post-weaning estrus. The present study also confirmed that breeding first parity weaned sows at 2nd post-weaning estrus will negate the effects of the “second parity dip.” Alternative methods to increase second parity litter size without the accumulation of the 22 NPD associated with “skip-a-heat” merits further investigation.

Livestock sector development and implications for rural poverty alleviation in India

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Economic Impact of Strategies to Increase Pig Weaning Age

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Sow farm revenue and production costs are typically calculated on a per weaned pig basis. This encourages a reduced lactation length and weaning age in order to increase the number of pigs weaned per week. Pig weaning age is declining due to the fact that lactating sows have a fixed amount of space and the fact that the number of litters farrowed per week is increasing. In this paper, researchers investigate the economic impact of lactation length on post-weaning performance. One of the main results obtained was that reducing sow inventory in order to increase lactation length led to little improvement in the systems profitability. This is due to the fact that the reduction in sow inventory ultimately results in a lower amount of pigs weaned, and although they are heavier and they do grow faster, it is not enough to make up for the lower amount of pigs marketed. Alternatively, increasing physical lactation spaces to increase lactation length will have a payback of less than two years in many production systems.