Reducing phosphorous release and maximizing overall revenue of swine production using a new computerized method

Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 2006 | No Comments

Reducing the release of nutrients that could become pollutants, and preventing the abuse of non-renewable resources are essential components of sustainable swine production. The excretion by the pigs of certain nutrients like nitrogen (N) and numerous mineral elements depend on the intake of these nutrients, their availability and on how the nutrient supply corresponds to animal needs. This research was designed to develop a new computerized method for the formulation of the diet of growing pigs, considering simultaneously economical, environmental and zootechnical objectives. It is possible to reduce excess N and P supply through the computerized method developed with this project. Moreover, it is not always necessary to maximize animal performances in order to maximize revenue. Finally, it is possible to further reduce the P supply in the diet of growing pigs by taking into account the metabolisms of P and Ca simultaneously, since they interact within the overall metabolism. During the months studied in Québec, increasing the cost of formulations by only 1% reduced the release of P and N by 5% and more. Also, depending on the production context studied, one obtains maximum net revenue by reducing the protein consumption by an amount between 6 and 30% of the maximum needs.” However, further research is needed to improve the accuracy of our results. Diminishing the release of potentially polluting nutrients must start with a diet formulation that minimizes nutrient excess by adjusting nutrient supply to animal needs, and with the goal of optimizing revenue rather than performances.

MODELING SOURCES OF GASEOUS EMISSIONS IN A PIG HOUSE WITH RECHARGE PIT

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Dewatering of phosphorus extracted from liquid swine waste

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Isolation of Salmonella Bacteriophages from Swine Effluent Lagoons

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Effects of Fresh and Composted Dairy Manure Applications on Alfalfa Yield and the Environment in Arizona

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Feed Grain Policy – Fuel or Food?

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The global dependence on fossil fuels is apparent and the changing climate is of increasing concern internationally. Both these issues have spurred many governments to look to the agricultural sector for alternative, renewable forms of energy supply; one of which is ethanol. It is non-toxic, water soluble and biodegradable so it poses no threat to water supplies or water ecosystems (Renewable Fuels Association, 2005). Ethanol blends also reduce tailpipe carbon emissions along with other toxic emissions (Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, 2006a). Finally, as a new industrial use for corn and feed grains, ethanol presents the prospect of increasing corn and feed grain prices. These perceived benefits have spurred interest in ethanol as an ingredient blended in gasoline. At the same time, ethanol competes with livestock for corn supplies. Increased ethanol production thus stands to increase corn prices, to the detriment of feed users of corn and feed grains. Conversely, ethanol production generates by-products that are high protein feed stuffs. Under current technology and economic conditions in the Canadian market the expansion of the ethanol industry is likely to place pressure on the swine sector due to rising grain prices. To relieve this pressure, further research and methods of evaluating the nutritional quality of DDGs need to be perfected, the regulatory functions of the Canadian Wheat Board and Canadian Grain Commission need to be rationalized to facilitate ethanol development, and further investment and development of 2nd generation ethanol production is required. Short term focus should be on development of DDGs as a reliable feed supply for monogastrics and reform of the Canadian Wheat Board to allow for a symbiotic relationship between the ethanol industry and the swine sector. In the long term the development of cellulosic ethanol production will allow grain to return to its traditional uses and the grain producer to reap an added harvest from the crop. Finally, development of an ethanol industry needs to be considered as a strategic choice for Canada. Ethanol development in Canada is not needed to drive up prices received by corn growers, although such development will increase the basis for Canadian corn and feed grains. From the swine industry perspective, the development of an ethanol industry will mitigate a competitive disadvantage relative to the US in the protein segment of feeds; the cost will be the maintenance or increase in the basis for corn and feed grains in Canada.

Siting Livestock Production Operations

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Selecting an appropriate site for a livestock operation is key to the long-term success of the project from an environmental, economic and social point of view. The initial planning stage is the best time to seek input on siting of livestock buildings and manure storage facilities, and to address public concerns such as odour and water quality.

Swine Disease Matrix Now On-Line

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INTRODUCTION
• The VIDO Swine Technical Group (VSTG) is comprised of people with expertise in many aspects of pork production. The group has previously published numerous practical production publications and has now developed an on-line database of information that focuses on economically important swine diseases.
• The ability to access new information is a key determinant in a successful business.
• This new internet-based information tool provides detailed information from credible sources including scientific journals, proceedings, and technical papers.
• Topics you will find in the DISEASE MATRIX include economically important diseases to the industry with six major areas of concern including understanding the disease, environmental controls, nutrition, pig management, prevention & treatment, and economics.
• Attendees at the Banff Pork Seminar 2006 will receive the first public access to this new information tool that can improve the speed and accuracy of pertinent information whether you are developing your disease management strategy, or dealing with a crisis when access to facts is critically important.

VISION
Linking knowledge to practical solutions

PURPOSE
• The purpose of the “Information and Technology Transfer Platform” is to provide a practical resource to the pork production industry to assist in identifying and implementing treatment, prevention, control of disease; improving productivity and managing health.
• This website is intended for use by primary producers. The presentation style, ease of understanding, low-jargon level all recognize the variation in disease experience that the pork producer, feed reps, genetics reps, pharmaceutical reps, veterinarians and veterinary students may have with regards to economically important swine diseases.
• The content will be a science-based information source of how to control swine disease by providing data, peer-reviewed articles, and photos of practical application, discussion and opinions of experts.
• This will translate science into practical management and demonstrate the inter-relation of a variety of aspects of disease control.
• VSTG will add to the value of the data by “vetting for relevance” and making comments about the application of the information to swine producers in Canada.
• This ‘one-stop shop’ for practical disease information can also serve as a link to health products suppliers by offering to host scientific information available from their research and development. This is an opportunity to provide links to others who provide similar relevant swine production information – with an appropriate fee.
• Web-based presentation only, no printed document will be produced at this time.

METHODOLOGY
• Information (data, peer-reviewed articles, photos of practical application, discussion and opinions of experts) will be critically evaluated for relevance prior to posting

FUNDING

• Alberta Funding Consortium
• Human Resources Development Canada

Using Alternative Ingredients: Lentils and Flaxseed

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The pork industry is continually seeking alternative ingredients for use in pig diets, either as a means of diversifying rations -and thus reducing cost- or to achieve a final pork product that meets certain specifications. Lentils and flaxseeds are among these ingredients.

Lentils are grown primarily in Western Canada for export and for human consumption. Each year, however, part of the production does not meet the grade for export and is used by the feed industry. The latter is attracted by the low price of the product. Lentils belong to the pulse crop family and have a chemical composition quite similar to that of peas, widely used in swine nutrition.

Flaxseed, for its part, possesses properties that make it unique as a feed ingredient, not the least of which is a highly desirable fatty acid profile in the lipid fraction. Possible future uses for flax include the production of omega-3 fatty acid-enriched pork, the development of alternatives to antimicrobial growth promoters and the enrichment of sow diets for essential fatty acids.

Since the use of these unconventional ingredients in swine nutrition is poorly documented, the Prairie Swine Centre carried out a series of experiments in order to determine the composition and nutritional value of lentils in pigs and to study the inclusion of flaxseed in the rations of growing pigs.

Lentils

Two lentil samples were considered for the study: a blend of brown, yellow and red lentils and frozen lentils. The two samples had a quite similar composition, with an average of 27 % of crude protein, 18% of total dietary fibre and more than 40% of starch. On the contrary, the ash and fat contents were very low, accounting for only 3 and 1 % of the dry matter, respectively. The composition is comparable to that of peas, except that the crude protein content is higher than that of peas (22%) and the starch content lower (50% for peas). The amino acid profile is also typical of pulses with a high level in lysine (6.2% of the protein) and a low level in sulphur-containing amino acids (methionine and cysteine: 2%). The lysine level is lower than that of peas (7.3%).

The digestible energy value reached 3,715 kcal DE/kg DM in both cases, which is slightly lower than the value obtained for peas (3,850 kcal/kg DM) but comparable to that of faba beans (3,750 kcal). The digestibility of the protein, measured at the end of the small intestine (ileum) reached 62% on average, which is in agreement with other studies carried out on pulses. For the frozen lentils, no definitive value of protein digestibility could be obtained, for problems encountered during the study but, according to our observations, the value was markedly lower than that obtained for the blend of lentils, which indicates that freezing conditions affect the digestibility of the proteins.

As a conclusion, lentils constitute an appreciable ingredient for the pig, with a nutritional value slightly lower than that of peas, which means that the rate of inclusion in the diet of growing-finishing pigs will probably not exceed 20% of the total.

Flaxseed

Flaxseed is a grain with high levels of oil (35%) and crude protein (25%). The high oil content makes flaxseed a major energy source for the pig (4,650 kcal/kg DM). However, the main interest lies in the oil composition. The oil is mainly composed of linolenic acid, which belongs to the omega-3 group. Pork producers want to know if it is possible to produce omega-3 enriched pork by supplementing the diets with flaxseed. Before any conclusion could be drawn on the quality of the end-product, it was necessary to evaluate the response of pigs to flax in their diet, to confirm the nutrient profile previously developed and to determine if the feeding of relatively high levels of flaxseed causes changes in performance not predicted by the nutrient profile.

Therefore, a growth experiment was carried out with growing pigs fed with diets containing 0, 5, 10, 15 or 20% of flaxseed, at the expense of a control diet composed of barley, wheat and soybean meal. In order to distinguish between the effect of flaxseed and that of the oil level in the diet, four other diets were supplemented with canola oil, in order to match the amounts of oil in the flaxseed diets. The diets contained, respectively 2.2% oil (control diet), 3.5%, 5.0%, 6.7% and 8.5 oil.

There was no adverse impact of flaxseed inclusion on average daily gain, up to 15% inclusion. The highest level of flaxseed inclusion tended to reduce growth rate, something also observed at the highest canola oil inclusion. The highest level of canola oil inclusion significantly reduced daily feed intake; this was probably due to the fact that the canola oil was not completely absorbed from the diet. Intake of the high flax diet was greater than that on the high canola oil diet. There tended to be an increase in feed efficiency at the lower levels of oil inclusion, whether from flaxseed or canola oil; however, only the canola oil diets sustained this improvement at the highest levels of inclusion.

No relationship (r = 0.03) was found between digestible energy intake and average daily gain (Figure 1). This illustrates the fact that the inclusion of up to 15 % flaxseed in the diet does not affect the pig’s performances.

It can be concluded that balanced diets containing up to 15 % flaxseed will not adversely affect the average daily gain, feed intake or feed efficiency of growing pigs and that growing pigs tolerate high levels (~ 7 %) of fat in the form of flaxseed better than equivalent levels of canola oil

The Impact of Prod Use on the Incidence of Highly Stressed Pigs

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Summary

We subjected pigs to three different handling treatments as we moved them through a 300 m handling course. Despite traveling the same distance as the other pigs, pigs moved at a moderate pace with only a board, quiet voice and gentle slaps, were essentially unstressed by the procedure. Pigs handled aggressively, at a fast pace, with shouting and slapping, but without use of electric prods had a higher incidence of stress, but none showed extremes that might lead to animal losses. Use of the electric prod resulted in a large proportion of the pigs showing both behavioural and physiological signs of stress, with some being extreme to the point of stumbling and falling. We should minimize the use of the electric prod by changing our handling techniques and/or modifying our loadout facilities.

Introduction

The shipping of finishing pigs is a stressful time for the animals, and each year several thousand pigs die or are euthanized in Canada during this process. Although the percentage of animals that are lost is quite low, at less than half of a percent, these animals represent a considerable financial loss to the industry and are a major welfare concern. Although many factors such as temperature and genotype likely contribute to these losses, the data strongly suggest that poor handling is a major cause. We were involved in a study to develop an experimental protocol to study stress induced losses of finishing pigs. The protocol has since been used to study the physiological responses of pigs to handling. As part of our study we examined the role of prod use during handling on the incidence of highly-stressed pigs.

Experimental Procedures

Our study included 192 near market weight animals. These animals were taken from their finishing pen, in groups of six, and herded through a handling course. The course was approximately 300 m in length, and involved numerous turns, reversals, and partially obstructed alleys. It took approximately 10 minutes to herd the animals through the course. We imposed three handling treatments on the animals. The Gentle treatment involved herding the animals with a herding board, voice and occasional slapping, at a comfortable walking pace. No electric prod was used in the Gentle treatment. We also used an Aggressive treatment that herded pigs at a fast walk, used a louder voice and involved slapping and/or use of the electric prod. Within each group of six pigs in the Aggressive treatment we identified two animals that were not to be prodded. They were encouraged to move only with slapping by the hand and pushing. The remaining four pigs were prodded frequently.

We attempted to identify signs of stress in the animals before they reached the extreme of falling down. These signs included laboured breathing, blotchy skin, stumbling and a strained squeal. If a pig evidenced two or more of these signs it was left behind the remainder of the group and termed a highly stressed animal. Approximately 4% of the animals stumbled and fell during handling and were euthanized if they did not show immediate signs of recovery. Although this level of loss is high compared to the industry average, some commercial loads of pigs will reach similar levels. Numerous physiological measures were taken before and after the handling procedure.

Results and Discussion

Within the Gentle handling treatment only 1 of 48 pigs was considered to be highly stressed by the procedure (Table 1). The Aggressive treatment, including the use of the prod resulted in over 40% of the animals being highly stressed, including all of the pigs which actually went down and had to be euthanized. When the pigs were moved aggressively, but without the use of the electric prod, the proportion of highly stressed pigs was intermediate to the other treatments. The Gentle treatment pigs moved the same distance as the Aggressively handled animals, so the stress was not due to the exercise per se, but rather to the handling methods. The Aggressive treatment components of more rapid movement, additional shouting and slapping did increase the level of stress, but did not put the lives of the pigs in danger. Only when we used the electric prods did we see an extreme stress response in the animals. Prod use in the study would be higher than typical when loading pigs, but under commercial conditions it would be possible for individual pigs that were confused or overly hesitant to be prodded as frequently as our experimental pigs were. These are the pigs that would be susceptible to extreme stress.

The physiological measures indicated that highly stressed pigs had higher temperatures, lower blood pH, and higher blood ammonia levels than did the pigs with no overt signs of stress. Among Aggressively handled pigs, those that received the electric prod showed extremes in these measures. It is also noteworthy that although blood lactate was similar in those showing low and high levels of stress, it was considerably higher in prodded animals than in non-prodded.

Implications

Clearly we should be minimizing the use of the electric prod when handling animals. Before prodding a pig while it is being loaded the handler should consider if another means of encouraging movement could be effective, even if it took slightly longer. If one pig is repeatedly being difficult to move it should be left behind and perhaps herded separately rather than prodding it again. If a producer finds that they must use the electric prod frequently during the loadout process, they should consider changes to their loadout design and/or general handling techniques.

Acknowledgements

Program funding is provided by Sask Pork, Alberta Pork, Manitoba Pork and the Saskatchewan Agricultural Development Fund. Project funds were provided by Elanco Animal Health.

‘Clearly, we should be minimizing the use of the electric prod when handling animals.’