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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:
Spectral Signatures of Surface Materials in Pig Buildings
Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 2006 | No Comments
Manual cleaning of pig production buildings based on high-pressure water cleaners is unappealing to workers, because it is tedious and health threatening. To replace manual cleaning, a few cleaning robots have been commercialised. With no cleanliness sensor available, the operation of these robots is to follow a cleaning procedure initially defined by the operator. Experience shows that the performance of such robots is poor regarding effectiveness of cleaning and utilisation of water. The development of an intelligent cleanliness sensor for robotic cleaning is thus crucial in order to optimise the cleaning process and to minimise the amount of water and electricity consumed. This research is aimed at utilising a spectral imaging method for cleanliness detection. Consequently, information on the reflectance of building materials and contamination in different spectral ranges is important. In this study, the optical properties of different types of surfaces to be cleaned and the dirt found in finishing pig units were investigated in the visual and the near infrared (VIS–NIR) optical range. Four types of commonly used materials in pig buildings, i.e. concrete, plastic, wood and steel were applied in the investigation. Reflectance data were sampled under controlled lighting conditions using a spectrometer communicating with a portable computer. The measurements were performed in a laboratory with materials used in a pig house for 4–5 weeks. The spectral data were collected for the surfaces before, during and after high-pressure water cleaning.
The spectral signatures of the surface materials and dirt attached to the surfaces showed that it is possible to make discrimination and hence to classify areas that are visually clean. When spectral bands 450, 600, 700 and 800nm are chosen, there are at least two spectral bands for each type of the materials, in which the spectral signals can be used for discrimination of dirty and clean condition of the surfaces.
Impact of Pork Industry on Rural Communities: Community Perceptions of Environmental, Economic and Social Impacts of Livestock Production
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Across Canada the continued viability of livestock production is increasingly dependent upon the willingness of the community to accept the industry as it continues to evolve. Issues that have arisen include air and water quality, as well as social and economic concerns. It is predicted that as cities engulf the country, there will be increasing conflict between rural residents and the growing livestock industry. Lessons learned from studies done on contrasting perspectives of livestock production is to take a proactive versus a reactive approach, build a positive farm-neighbour relationship, educate the public about farming practices, communicate with neighbours on an ongoing basis, and listen to concerns and address the concern one-on-one.
Greenhouse gas abatement strategies for animal husbandry
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Performance Award for PSC Elstow Research Farm Inc.
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on | No Comments
Saskatoon, SK., October 24, 2006: Brian Andries, Acting Farm Manager for PSC Elstow Research Farm Inc., is pleased to announce that for the second year in a row PSC Elstow Research Farm Inc. has won the Maple Leaf Performance Award for the largest average loin. “The award demonstrates the commitment of our staff to deliver a quality product by paying attention to details from the genetics to the final weighing of all animals prior to market.”
Joe Langen, Manager of Procurement at Mitchell’s Gourmet Foods in Saskatoon, “A research farm was not expected to do this well. We are aware that as part of the research program, frequently pigs must be marketed both too light and too heavy compared to the ideal commercial weight. It is our feeling that the combination of the herd management and the diligence of the staff to get the weights as close to optimum as the research program allows has really paid off in producing a consistently large loin”. This award is presented to demonstrate the importance of certain characteristics in the pig leaving the farm that benefit the packer as well as the retailer marketing this pork.
Brian Andries explains how they have been able to produce such consistent results. “Carcass performance is a combination of meeting the genetic potential of the animal with a feeding program that meets requirements at each stage of production and monitoring shipping weights at market closely. In this regard a new method of weighing every second week and making use of our knowledge of the growth rate in the barn we are able to predict accurately the weight gain and therefore the expected weight of the animal two weeks from now”. The result is an animal that meets the current grading grid with consideration of the impact of the economics of feeding versus weight gain in those days leading up to market day. This is accomplished with a practical biweekly weighing technique that minimizes labour while maximizing value to the farm.
Prairie Swine Centre Inc., located near Saskatoon, is a non-profit research corporation affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan, and is recognized globally for its contributions to practical, applied science in pork production in the disciplines of Nutrition, Engineering and Animal Behaviour. PSC Elstow Research Farm Inc. is a 600 sow farrow-to-finish production barn designed to provide commercial scale production facilities for the further development of near-market production research.
Does the energy value of peas depend on their composition?
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on | No Comments
Summary
High variation in crude protein and starch contents is observed among peas collected in farms of Western Canada. The paper aims to evaluate the impact of that variation on the energy value of peas in pigs.
Introduction
Feed producers are concerned by the high variation of composition observed among the pea samples collected throughout the Prairies. However, it is unclear whether this variation affects the energy value of the peas.
Results and discussion
A total of 50 pea samples were collected in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba in 2005. Their analysis confirms the high rate of variation in composition, especially in crude protein and in starch contents (Table 1). This is in agreement with the observations of the Canadian Grain Commission (20 to 26% for crude protein, Nang & Daun, 2004). However, a detailed analysis of the results shows that the majority of the samples had a protein content ranging from 23 to 24% of the dry matter (Figure 1).
In 1998, Zijlstra et al. determined the digestible energy (DE) of 11 pea samples collected in Western Canada and obtained DE values ranging from 3100 to 3740 kcal/kg. This represents a 20% variation, which is lower than the variation observed for crude protein and starch, for example. Unlike what is observed in cereals, no relationship could be established between the neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content and the energy value.
Different hypotheses can be emitted. First, the NDF content of peas does not reflect their actual dietary fibre content. Peas contain, on average, 10-12 % NDF whereas the real dietary fibre content ranges from 19 to 25% of the dry matter (Table 1). The difference is due to the fact that the NDF method with detergents is not appropriate for pulse grains and to the presence of soluble fibre, namely pectin and oligosaccharides. No information is available on the effect of these undetected components. Second, more than 90% of the pea fibres are fermented in the digestive tract of the pig and we do not know how this affects the digestive processes. Finally, fibre fermentation provides energy to the pig, in the form of volatile fatty acids, but to an extent that still needs to be determined.
Researchers at Prairie Swine Centre are currently working on the estimation of the net energy value of pea samples differing in composition. They aim to use Noblet’s equations of prediction. The latter are based on the composition and digestibility of the diet. Some equations are only based on composition (see example):
NE = 2790 + 4.12 x EE + 0.81 x Starch – 6.65 x Ash – 4.72 x ADF
where EE (ether extract) is the fat content and ADF the acid detergent fibre (ligno-cellulose) content (Noblet et al, 1994).
This equation was used here to estimate the NE value of the 50 pea samples and the results range from 2,460 to 2,680 kcal NE/kg. The range of variation (8%) is thus much lower than the variation observed for protein or starch contents.
According to that equation, ash is the main is factor that affects NE, whereas starch plays a limited role and protein has no effect at all. Peas are quite low in ash but the content is very variable. Wang and Daun (2004) observed higher variation than in the present study (1.3 to 3.4%) and ascribe the variation to potassium, which represents 40% of the total mineral content. The fat content is also an important component of energy but, as for ash, the levels in peas are very limited. The last component is ADF or ligno-cellulose but the latter is the most stable components of peas (from 6.5 to 8.6%; Wang & Daun, 2004).
Conclusion
In summary, it is likely that the variation in energy value of peas will be lower that what the variation in protein and starch contents might suggest because the latter don’t affect energy digestion very much and that the components that could affect energy supply are either present in low amounts in peas (ash, fat) or don’t vary very much (ADF).
Acknowledgements
Strategic funding provided by Sask Pork, Alberta Pork, Manitoba Pork Council and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food Development Fund. Research is funded by Saskatchewan Pulse Growers and Alberta Pulse Growers.