Geographical variation in antibiotic resistance profiles of Escherichia coli isolated from swine, poultry, beef and dairy cattle farm water retention ponds in Florida

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

Nitrate leaching through the unsaturated zone following pig slurry applications

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Surface Water Issues

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Surface water, in the form of lakes, rivers, streams and other wetlands, covers nearly 20% of the province and is a significant part of our identity and heritage as Manitobans. Protection of these resources is important to all of us.

Effects of Housing Grow-Finish Pigs in Two Different Group Sizes and Two Different Floor Space Allocations

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Past studies on small groups (10-40) of pigs have found a negative impact of crowding on productivity and welfare. Studies examining groups of greater than 40 pigs per pen have found setbacks in the growth rate of pigs soon after mixing. Research into the effects of crowding on grow-finish pigs housed in large groups is minimal, although it has been suggested that pigs housed in large groups may be able to use space more efficiently. This study was designed to assess the space requirements of both large and small groups, and the effects of space restriction on pig performance, behaviour, physiology, health and welfare.

For this study, space allowance was expressed using an allometric approach relating body weight (BW) to floor area, as determined by the equation: k = area(m2)/BW(kg)0.667. Past research has indicated that, above k = 0.035, growth is normal. Below k = 0.035, space becomes restrictive and growth depression begins. Due to previously set animal care guidelines, the crowding treatment in the current study was terminated at k = 0.025 (approximately 94 kg BW at 0.52 m2/pig).

Eight, 8-week blocks of 288 pigs were carried out. Group sizes were small (18 pigs) or large (108 pigs) and space allowances were crowded (0.52 m2/pig) or uncrowded (0.78 m2/pig), creating four treatment groups: small uncrowded, small crowded, large uncrowded and large crowded (Figure 1 a-d, respectively). Gains, feed intake, and feed efficiency were calculated on a weekly basis. Postural and feeding behaviour were assessed on a biweekly basis, as were injuries and salivary cortisol concentrations (indicative of acute stress). Adrenal gland (indicative of chronic stress) and carcass data were collected at slaughter. Pig morbidity and mortality were determined for all eight blocks. A 1:1 ratio of barrows and gilts were used in the first two blocks, and only production, injury, health, and carcass data were collected. The remaining six blocks used barrows only, and all data listed above were collected. One wet/dry ad-libitum feeder space was provided for every nine pigs. One environmental enrichment device was provided for every 18 pigs.

Barrows gained more than gilts (1.0644 vs. 1.0124 ± 0.0094 kg/d, P < 0.018) and had a higher fat depth at slaughter (20.57 vs. 18.022 ± 0.25 mm, P < 0.002). Gilts had a higher carcass index than barrows (114.01 vs. 111.95 ± 0.32, P = 0.011). There were no indications that one gender was more affected by large group housing or reduced space allowance than the other. Overall, crowded pigs had a lower growth rate and a lower final body weight than uncrowded pigs (Table 1). Growth rate was depressed by 9.8 % during the final week of the study. Pigs housed in large groups had a lower overall growth rate than pigs housed in small groups (Table 1). Among pigs housed in large groups, daily gain was most affected during the first two weeks, at which time it was depressed by 5.4 %. The difference in initial body weights (Table 1) of pigs housed in the large groups indicated that growth depression began within the first four days after group formation. The first sign of growth depression in response to crowding occurred much sooner for pigs in large groups compared with pigs in small groups. In the large groups, the critical point (k value) at which crowding and growth depression began was k = 0.042 (43 kg BW), while k = 0.035 (57 kg BW) was the critical point for pigs housed in the small groups. However, the rate of depression in gains was more gradual for pigs in large groups. Growth was depressed by 0.5 % for every 1 % reduction in space below the critical point in the small groups, but growth was only depressed by 0.2 % for every 1 % reduction in space below the critical point in the large groups. Thus, by the final week of the trial, pigs in both large and small crowded groups had similar gains. Overall, crowded pigs had a lower feed efficiency than uncrowded pigs (Table 1). Efficiency was depressed by 11 % during the final week of the study. Crowded pigs ate fewer meals and spent less time eating overall, but feed intake did not differ from that of uncrowded pigs. This suggests that they were consuming feed at a faster rate than uncrowded pigs. The level of crowding did not affect injury scores for the severity of lameness, flank bites, tail bites, or leg lesions. Similarly, it did not affect the number of animals requiring medical treatment (antibiotics) or removal from the trial, or the level of acute or chronic stress experienced by the pigs. Pigs housed in large groups ate fewer meals, but took longer to eat each meal, than pigs housed in small groups. Pigs housed in large groups also had a greater severity of lameness and leg injuries than pigs housed in small groups. Pigs housed in small groups spent more time sitting and lying on their sternum (chest), and less time lying on their side, than pigs housed in large groups. Group size did not affect stress levels, the number of animals requiring medical treatment, or the number of animals requiring removal from the trial. Pigs in uncrowded small groups had the highest carcass lean yield while pigs in uncrowded large groups had the highest fat depth. Pigs in crowded large groups had the highest lameness scores. The Bottom Line Both crowding and large group housing were found to negatively affect pig performance. Pigs housed in large groups were affected by space restriction sooner than pigs in small groups although, the depression in growth was much more gradual for pigs housed in large groups. There was limited evidence, none of which was related to productivity, that pigs in large groups were able to use space more efficiently than pigs in small groups

Using alternative ingredients: flaxseeds and lentils

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Using alternative ingredients: flaxseeds and lentils

Pascal Leterme

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

Switch Over Complete – Sask Pork to Manage Pork Interpretive Gallery

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pork production, education, pork interpretive gallery, P.I.G, prairie swine centre center

A MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR THE VALIDATION OF SAFE AIR-BLAST CHILLING OF COOKED HAMS

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L’évaluation d’un système de gestion de fumier intérieur innovateur muni d’un tapis roulant pour séparer l’urine et les fèces : Impact sur les émissions gazeuses et odorantes.

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Les inquiétudes environnementales provenant de la manutention de grandes quantités de fumier venant des opérations de bétail ont mené à une réexamination critique des pratiques courantes de gestion de fumier et à l’exploration de stratégies nouvelles et innovatrices permettant de gérer le fumier/lisier de façon économique et respectueuse de l’environnement. L’approche de séparation liquide-solide du fumier/lisier offre plusieurs avantages : plus de facilité à la manutention et au transport, une réduction des taux de chargement pour les systèmes de traitement pour liquides, et plus d’options pour manutention et la gestion des composantes solides et liquide du fumier/lisier. De plus, en prévenant le mélange des composantes solides et liquides, plusieurs bénéfices peuvent être atteints, tels que la réduction du déséquilibre des éléments fertilisants du fumier en séparant de façon efficace le phosphore dans les composantes solides et l’azote dans les composantes liquides, la réduction potentielle du risque de transmission de pathogène et de contamination de l’eau, et la création d’opportunités importantes pour réduire les émissions de gaz et d’odeur. OBJECTIFS DU PROJET – Le but de ce projet est de développer un système de manutention de fumier/lisier qui peut faciliter la gestion et la manutention des éléments fertilisants du fumier, particulièrement pour le phosphore et l’azote, tout en réduisant les émissions odorantes. Un nouveau design d’enclos a été élaboré où la section de caillebotis (plancher latté) est remplacée par un tapis roulant incliné (TR). En utilisant la gravité seule, le système peut séparer l’urine des fèces de façon efficace, et ce immédiatement après l’excrétion. En faisant fonctionner le tapis roulant à des intervalles prédéterminés, les fèces peuvent être évacués de l’enclos fréquemment et conservés en phase solide dans une structure d’entreposage séparée. La première partie du projet impliquait la construction et mis au point du design d’enclos muni d’un TR et l’évaluation de l’efficacité de la séparation des composantes liquides et solides. Pour cette phase, un montage expérimental avec le système de design d’enclos TR a été développé et installé aux installations de l’Institut de Recherche et de Développement pour l’Agri-environnement (IRDA) au Québec et des tests ont confirmé l’efficacité du système TR pour séparer les composantes de fumier/lisier ainsi que les éléments fertilisants ciblés. La deuxième phase, effectuée au PSCI, consistait en une évaluation de l’impact du système TR sur les émissions gazeuses et odorantes. Deux salles environnementales au PSCI représentant des salles d’engraissement typiques ont été équipées : l’une avec un système de disposition de fumier/lisier conventionnel (caillebotis partiel avec entreposage du lisier dans un dalot), et l’autre avec le système TR au lieu des caillebotis (voir Figure 1). Le TR avait une pente de 10% vers la section de plancher plein, et fonctionnait à une vitesse de 0,85 m/min pour 3 minutes à 30 minutes d’intervalles pour déplacer les excréments solides à un bassin de collection placé sous la partie élevée du tapis. L’urine et les autres liquides déposés sur le TR s’écoulaient de façon continue vers le côté le moins élevé du TR, et se déversaient dans un réservoir fermé. Un dispositif de lavage avec une brosse cylindrique placée sous le milieu du tapis a été employé pour laver le dessous du tapis lorsque le système TR était activé.
Résultats des essais complétés – Des essais de quatre semaines chacun ont été réalisés, dans lesquels huit porcs femelles pesant de 20 à 25 kg ont été amenés dans chaque salle. Les émissions de gaz et odorantes ont été évaluées de façon hebdomadaire. Les indicateurs de performance des porcs ont aussi été mesurés (Tableau 1). En général, les porcs dans les deux salles ont démontré une croissance moyenne, et aucun avantage de croissance majeur n’a été observé entre les deux salles en ce qui a trait au gain quotidien et à la prise alimentaire durant les deux essais complétés. Deux essais supplémentaires seront effectués.
Production de fumier/lisier et usage d’eau – La production de fumier/lisier dans les deux salles a été évaluée de façon hebdomadaire et est présentée au Tableau 1. Les solides et liquides combinés dans la salle TR étaient plus élevés de 60% (ou d’environ 34 kg) que le lisier amassé dans la salle conventionnelle durant Essai 1, mais ce nombre s’est subséquemment réduit à 24% (15 kg) durant Essai 2. Durant la majorité des semaines, l’urine amassée (liquide) de la salle TR était à elle seule en plus grande quantité que le mélange de lisier amassé dans la salle conventionnelle. Aucune explication immédiate pour cette observation n’était évidente, mais des tendances similaires ont été observées durant les essais de Phase 1 exécutés à l’IRDA. Une explication possible est un usage d’eau relativement plus élevé dans la salle TR comparativement à celui de la salle conventionnelle, et le transfert d’eau de l’unité de lavage au bassin de ramassage d’urine lorsque le TR était lavé. Concentrations d’odeurs et de gaz – Les concentrations de gaz ont été évaluées de façon continue dans les deux salles; les moyennes des valeurs hebdomadaires pour le NH3 et le CO2 durant les deux essais sont présentées au Tableau 1. Les valeurs à l’entrée d’air ont été jugées similaires pour les deux salles, dû au fait qu’il n’y avait qu’un seul conduit d’approvisionnement, lequel est séparé et dirigé vers l’entrée d’air de chaque salle. En général, les valeurs de NH3 et de CO2 étaient légèrement plus élevées pour la salle conventionnelle si on les compare aux valeurs observées pour la salle TR. Cependant, l’air provenant du conduit d’entrée d’air avait des niveaux non négligeables de NH3, ce qui est possiblement causé par les gaz émis par les ventilateurs des salles d’engraissement adjacentes qui se mélangent à l’air alimentant l’entrée d’air pour les deux salles. À chaque semaine, des mesures de niveaux de H2S ont été prises durant une journée entière en utilisant des moniteurs Draeger PacIII. Les résultats ont démontré que les niveaux de H2S dans les deux salles étaient sous la limite de détection (<1 ppm H2S) des moniteurs de H2S. Cependant, les mesures de deux réservoirs de 80-L (remplis à chaque semaine d’un échantillon de 10-L pour l’un de lisier de la salle conventionnelle et pour l’autre d’urine/liquides de la salle TR) pris après la 4e semaine ont montré des sommets de concentration de H2S à 68 ppm pour le réservoir de lisier et à 14 ppm pour le réservoir urine/liquides (le contenu des deux n’avait pas été altéré/mélangé). Les réservoirs pour le lisier et l’urine/liquides ont été agités pour 1 min. et les mesures prises après ont démontré des sommets de concentration de H2S à 22 ppm et à 13 ppm, respectivement. Des deux échantillons d’odeur ont été prélevés de l’entrée d’air et deux autres de l’air d’échappement de chacune des deux salles pour pouvoir mettre en facteur la concentration d’odeur de l’air approvisionné et évaluer la concentration d’odeur dans l’air évacuée de chaque salle. La concentration moyenne d’odeur, exprimée en unités d’odeur par m3 d’air échantillonné, provenant de la salle conventionnelle était environ 12% plus élevée que celle provenant de la sortie d’air de la salle TR (voir Figure 2). De plus, les niveaux hédoniques étaient bas pour les deux salles (i.e., moins de 5 sur une échelle de 9 points), ce qui indique que l’odeur était considéré désagréable. Après que tous les tests aient été effectués et que toutes les données aient été recueillies, alors les procédures pour une analyse statistique appropriée seront exécutées pour pouvoir déterminer de façon définitive l’impact de ce système de manutention du fumier/lisier sur les émissions de gaz et d’odeur. Conclusion - Les données disponibles en ce moment indiquent que le nouveau concept de design d’enclos a : - permis de séparer efficacement les composantes liquides et solides du fumier/lisier au niveau des enclos, mais que la masse totale combinée des éléments séparés est plus élevée que le lisier total d’un enclos conventionnel sur caillebotis partiel; – aucun effet négatif sur la performance de croissance des porcs; – a donné des niveaux réduits de H2S pour les liquides amassés séparés comparativement au lisier, mais n’a apparemment qu’un effet négligeable pour la réduction des niveaux d’ammoniac et d’odeur. Ces observations seront vérifiées après que tous les essais soient complétés et que des tests statistiques appropriés soient effectués. Remerciements - Nous remercions l’IRDA et l’Association du Ciment du Canada pour leur appui financier. Des subventions stratégiques provenaient du Saskatchewan Pork Development Board, Alberta Pork, Manitoba Pork Council et Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food.

Consumer Demand for a Ban on Antibiotic Drug Use in Pork Production

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This study investigated consumer demand for pork from swine that were not administered subtherapeutic antibiotics. Over 440 individuals took part in valuation experiments held near the meat counter of a grocery store. It was found that the net welfare effects of a ban are difficult to quantify. The results depend heavily on assumptions about consumers’ awareness of antibiotic use in pork production and the extent to which consumers are able to currently purchase antibiotic-free pork.

Effective Vaccinations

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Vaccinations are used to give the body an idea of what a disease looks like. From there, the body will be able to recognize when the infectious agent enters the body and the immune system will be faster to respond. Specific vaccinations can be required for different operations. Killing the infectious agent or making it unable to cause disease makes vaccinations. From here administration amounts and methods are tested and designated, and should be followed strictly. Vaccinations are important for gestating sows in that they equip them with antibodies that can be passed on to their offspring via colostrum. Note that vaccinations should be given at least 3 to 4 weeks prior to exposure, and some require booster shots later on.