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Industry Partners
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:
On-Farm Experience with Swine Liquid Feeding: Research Unit at Arkell Swine – University of Guelph
Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles by admin on April 5, 2006 | No Comments
The University of Guelph installed a liquid feeding system at their Arkell station. The system is unique because it has feed prepared for individual troughs, and it uses high pressured air to move feed. Some modifications had to be made to the system post-installation to reduce blockages. As well, pelleted feed had to be crumbled first before adding in. The feed system was accurate in delivering the correct amount of wet and dry components to each trough. Build up, fouling, and feed wastage have all been low with the system. Feed efficiency was increased on the liquid feed, and growth performance was unchanged. For starter pigs, growth performance was slightly lower, however the pigs fed a liquid diet were not fed ad libitum.
Understanding the Spread of PRRS Between Herds
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The PRRS mapping project in Ontario will allow the transmission of PRRS to be better understood. Currently 63 producers are involved, but to have accurate results it is important to have as many farms as possible participate – both positive and negative for PRRS. The mapping project involves questionnaires, PCR testing, PRRS sequencing, and GPS mapping. The project will help explain transmission, and also document the variety of types of PRRS.
Employee Retention – Keeping the Best
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The key to hiring and keeping good employees involves good recruiting, working conditions, training, communication, attitude, delegation, evaluating performance (barn and staff), promoting from within, compensation, recognition, and involvement.
How to Hire and Keep Employees
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Employee turnover is often high in the pork industry, so data from Statistics Canada was analyzed to try to explain this. It was found that compensation and appreciation are things employees looked for in a job, and would like improved. Swine industry jobs were found to be paid less and have longer hours than similarly skilled jobs. Small farms tended to have less turnover than large farms, and offered less hours and more pay for more skilled positions. Employee turnover is expensive as it involves exit interviews, training a new employee, and paying a senior employee to oversee the new employee. The estimated cost of a single employee turnover is $7,018. To decrease turnover, employers are recommended to offer more flexible hours, fair compensation, training and interaction, vacation and statuary holiday compensation, and a job description on hire.
Strategies for Feeding Weaned Pigs
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Weaning performance can be improved by starting with older, heavier pigs, switching to a simpler diet as quickly as possible, and starting pigs on feed and water as fast as possible after weaning. Increasing weaning age from 15 to 21 days can increase growth rate and final financial gain, and decrease mortality. Weaning pigs should be transitioned from expensive nursery diets to cheaper, simpler diets as soon as possible without impacting growth performance. Even with older weaning ages, a four phase diet is more profitable than a three phase diet. The phases should be fed based on weight, and a strict feed budget should be followed. Nursery management should encourage water and feed intake, and feeders should be adjusted throughout nursery to encourage intake and limit wastage. Feeders should allow for social interaction between piglets, and mats can be used to assist this for a short period of time. Starve-outs should be encouraged to eat, rather than solely treated with antibiotics. Sorting pigs has shown to have no benefit, except for sorting out the worst 10-15% and feeding these pigs separately. With older weaning ages pen sizes need to be adequate, and creep feeding may be more effective than when it is used at younger weaning ages. Nursery management has an impact on future performance and profitability, and all aspects should be considered.
Some Thoughts on Pork Production Challenges Around the World – the Good, the Bad and Some Suggestions
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By visiting global pork producers insight can be gained on what areas Canadian producers are doing well, and which need improvement. One issue is whether group housing is implemented, and if it is the EU can be used to learn what works. The Danish set an example of paying for lean meat rather than carcass weight, and Britain has used partial depopulation with success. Countries with hot climates have the challenge of getting sows to eat, which can be used here during lactation feeding. Germany can show good examples of wet feeding. Despite the differences between countries, there are some general things done well and poorly across the industry. Breeding, nursery management, use of a veterinarian, and dedication are all strong points. Areas that need improvement include business management because there is a lack of planning due to being involved in daily barn affairs. This lack of management can come from being understaffed and not utilizing off-site help for repairs. Secondly, preventative immunity can help avoid costly disease outbreaks, yet is often neglected. Seeing what producers in other countries are doing and being open to changes can help producers improve their facility, and Canada to improve its global status.
Pork Production in Canada – Challenges and Opportunities
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Canada can offer many opportunities to pork producers, but also challenges through the climate and dependence on export. Geographically, Canada has a large amount of land available for pork production, and is situated close to both the US and Asia markets. Canada’s low population mean that pork producer’s should be able to become established without interfering with towns or cities, but also is a challenge for local consumers and labour. The climate in Canada can help break disease cycles, although temperature control in barns can be a challenge. Canada is dependent on export of pork, and this leaves the industry vulnerable to border issues, global demand, and competition. Likewise, because of the dependence on export, currency can impact Canada’s industry. Other strengths are the strong disease status and the unity of the industry across Canada. Finally, the pork industry has access to diverse investors.
Making Progress Through Research
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Ontario pork research is largely conducted by the University of Guelph, and funded mainly through the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMFRA) partnership. The research is conducted in various animal holding and laboratory facilities. Financial benefit from pork research can be long-term over the span of decades, or can be almost immediately applicable and economically beneficial. Pork research has an estimated cost-benefit ratio of 22.4 to 1. Some of the University of Guelph’s significant past projects include creating SPF pigs, understanding E. coli effects, discovering the PSS gene, and developing pig breeding strategies based on mathematical procedures. Some of the more recent research has included the creation of molecular tests for Salmonella, herd health monitoring projects, group housing research, and many more.
A Practical Look at Nutritional Attempts to Improve Pork Quality
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Genetics and handling around slaughter contribute to meat quality, and nutrition does as well to a lesser extent. Great nutrition will not be able to overcome poor genetics or handling, and nutritional research on meat quality is variable likely due to the other two factors. Meat quality is subjective can be assessed by various measures, but carcass characteristics are typically used. Leanness and fat characteristics, such as firmness, type and colour, are often used to evaluate carcass characteristics. Feed withdrawal up to 24 hours before slaughter can reduce risk of meat contamination during processing, and improve meat colour and pH. Adding vitamin E to diets can result in darker, more stable colour and reduce drip loss and fat oxidation, but requires high concentrations to do so. Vitamin D does not affect tenderness or subjective colour. Vitamin C may be able to improve meat colour and drip loss, but increases fat oxidation. Magnesium, iron, and manganese supplementation have all shown variable results. Niacin studies are limited, but it may be able to improve colour, pH, and drip loss. Creatine also has shown variable results. Ractopamine increases carcass leanness, and carnitine could enhance protein deposition and increase meat quality when used along with ractopamine.
New Approaches for Controlling Nursery Diseases… Or Back to the Basics?
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Diseases in the nursery are likely to persist due to diseases evolving, poor practices, or biosecurity breaches. Disease development cannot be controlled, so instead good management and production practices should be focused on. One of the prevention practices is to minimize the number of sources of nursery pigs. Another consideration is where the nursery is located in relation to other swine barns, with hog dense areas needing stricter biosecurity. Herd stability and high passive immunity, strict all-in all-out nursery and farrowing pig flow, and avoiding coinfections influence nursery disease prevalence. Finally, a good human resource team, management, and developing SOPs for other employees will help keep all aspects of the barn running well, including nursery health.