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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:
Tail-biting in outdoor pig production
Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2006 | No Comments
Managing the Risk: Price Protection Through Insurance
Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments
Studies are currently being done to examine whether a price insurance program would work in the hog industry. Producers (for the most part) are willing to pay 1 to 2 dollars per pig for a reasonable insurance due to the wide price fluctuations that have occurred over the past few years (producers tend to remember 1998 and 2002 in particular). Producers wish to guard against scenarios where the hog margin after feed is insufficient to cover the remaining costs. This has occurred before for a period, as long as half a year, and it took even longer to recover from it. Consultations with producers and other related observations suggest there would be good receptivity to having an insurance alternative to add to their available tools in the risk management package, and costs should be held within $1-2/hog to obtain fairly wide coverage.
Effect of feeding food waste-broiler litter and bakery by-product mixture to pigs
Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments
Effects of animal/feeding-place ratio on the behaviour and performance of fattening pigs fed via sensor-controlled liquid feeding.
Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments
Over the past few years, various new feeding systems for fattening pigs have been developed. One of these systems is sensor-controlled feeding, whereby the animals are fed with liquid feed. Liquid feeding systems are different from dry feeding systems in many respects. Larger volumes of feed are consumed and a feeling of satiation may therefore be reached sooner in the individual pig. On the other hand, satiation probably lasts for a shorter time and feed must be provided several times during the day. As the water content in the feed is high, it takes the pigs longer to consume the same amount of digestible energy in the form of liquid feed compared to dry feed. With dry feeding systems for fatteners, it has been observed that a restricted a animal/feeding-place ratio (AFR) may lead to competition for feed, and consequently to increased aggression at the feeding trough, reduced duration of feeding and lower weight gain with more variation in weight between individuals (Hansen et al., 1982; Botermans and Georgsson, 2001; Kircher, 2001; Turner et al., 2002). As a result of increased competition at feedings, some pigs, especially the smaller ones, may have difficulty gaining access to the trough, and thus feed less (Botermans and Georgsson, 2001). These individuals may tend to be of lower social rank. In other studies on pigs, it has been found that there is a correlation between weight and social rank within a group (Rushen, 1988; Hicks et al., 1998; Andersen et al., 2000; O’Conell et al., 2004). The aim of the present study was to quantify the effect of three different AFRs (4:1, 7:1 and 13:1) with nine, six and three feeding places per group, respectively, on the behaviour and performance of fattening pigs (25–100 kg) housed in groups of 40 individuals. Each AFR was tested with seven groups and with each group, four pigs were selected from each weight class (lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight) as focal animals. The behaviour in the feeding area was observed by means of 24 h-video-recording for the 12 focal pigs at an age of 14 and 17 weeks. Daily weight gain was calculated for all animals. As the AFR increased, feeding bout duration at the trough declined significantly, whilst the duration of waiting increased. The AFR had no significant effect on the frequency of aggressive displacements at the feeding trough. On the other hand, the fatteners were more frequently pushed away from the trough without aggressive interactions as the AFR increased. Besides the AFR, the age and weight class of the focal pigs had a significant effect on behaviour. Lightweight animals waited longer for access to the trough and were more often displaced from the trough as a consequence of aggressive interactions. Weight gain was lower as AFR increased, an effect that was more pronounced in lightweight focal animals. In conclusion, the AFR has a decisive influence on the behaviour and performance of fattening pigs fed by sensor feeding. Lightweight pigs, most likely the subordinate group members, are more affected by an increased AFR, and hence most at risk of impaired welfare. An AFR of 13:1 has marked negative effects on the pigs’ performance and behaviour and is inadvisable to be used for this feeding system.
Economic weights for sow productivity traits in nucleus pig populations
Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments
Pulmonary effects of exposure to pig barn air
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Developing an evaluation protocol for the evaluation of additives designed to reduce odours in pig slurry
Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments
The reduction of odours is still the major challenge for the swine industry. Several additives on the market claim to reduce odours. But how can the producer be sure of their efficiency? It was necessary to develop an evaluation protocol of these products that would be acknowledged by the scientific community and the concerned organisms. First, a standardized method for producing pig slurry was developed. Tunnels were then designed to simulate manure spreading conditions in the field. The minimum required number of eight panelists, carefully selected and trained, performed the olfactory evaluation. The experimental design ensured a sufficient number of replications for each treatment, within reasonable cost limits. Four additives were tested: two slurry additives, one biological and the other chemical (to be incorporated in the temporary storage pit), a feed additive (to be incorporated in the diet) and finally a combination of a feed additive and a slurry additive. To be significant, the difference between the control and each treatment had to be equal or superior to a percentage for every parameter (for example, a difference of at least 25% between odour concentrations). Secondly, the statistical confidence interval had to be 95% or more for every parameter. Those criteria allowed for the variabilities due to the different measurement methodologies. According to our study, none of these four additives showed a significant impact. Producers are encouraged to check with their supplier if the product they are using has been tested with this protocol and, if so, to see the results.
REDUCTION OF AMMONIA EMISSIONS FROM TREATED ANAEROBIC SWINE LAGOONS
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