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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:
Pilot project on composting dead animals with the Biovator(TM) composter
Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 2006 | No Comments
A cylindrical composter designed for composting dead animals has been commercialized for a certain time in Canada under the brand name BiovatorTM.. The main objective was to confirm the efficiency of the BiovatorTM. in Québec’s province pig farms. After a technical adaptation period, the appropriate stability of the process has been reached. Numerous samplings and physicochemical, microbiological and pathogenicity analyses showed that the compost, although not mature, is adequate for spreading in the field, under Québec’s governmental dispositions, having interesting soil fertilizer and amendment characteristics. Despite episodes of less intense composting due to massive inputs of swine carcasses (associated with a temperature drop inside the first section of the composter), the process has always been stabilized afterwards. Moreover, no leachate run-off was observed. The compost produced was stored on a concrete slab, in an area protected against bad weather. An economical study was also done, detailing the costs related to this technology and offering an interesting decision-making tool. Québec’s ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food validated this new technology. This project showed the BiovatorTM to have many advantages: it requires little more labour than for the carcass collection service, performs efficiently in the diverse weather conditions of southern Québec, allows rapid removal of pig carcasses from the buildings and rapidly decomposes those carcasses (within two weeks). It also eliminates the cost of the dead stock collection service and the risk of contamination by the incoming collection trucks.
SIDE-DELIVERY SPREADING OF MANURE
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Nitrogen budgets and losses in livestock systems
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Production Systems Management and Conservation Practices
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Farmers manage soils, pests, nutrients, and other inputs as part of a system of inter-related production and conservation practices, whether in conventional systems (used by most U.S. farmers) or organic systems. Among all U.S. farmers, those who adopt selected conservation practices (such as crop
rotation, conservation tillage, scouting for pests, and soil testing) are more likely than non-adopters to be younger, full-time operators who plant more acreage and participate in government programs. (Characteristics of organic farming systems are examined in chapter 4.9.)
Development of Weanling Feeding Program Based on Age and Weight
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Summary
Pigs were divided at weaning into 2 weight groups and 2 age groups and fed 3 different amounts of a Phase 1 diet to examine whether weaning feeding programs should be tailored to the age and/or weight of the pig. Bodyweight at weaning, but not age resulted in improved performance at day 53 post-weaning. Feeding program had no effect on growth or feed efficiency performance, or the variability in growth.
Introduction
Feeding the newly weaned pig is becoming an increasingly complex challenge, as multiple forces present themselves to pork producers. These forces include needs for lower cost, less antibiotic usage, improved performance and reduced variability. In this experiment, the impact of both the pig weight and age at weaning, as well as the quantity of each phase of diet offered to the pig were evaluated. We hypothesized that the lighter pig, and the younger pig within the lighter sub-group, would respond more to the higher quality diets; and therefore they would improve relative to similar pigs fed a poorer diet. This would result in improved overall performance and a reduction in body weight variability at the time of nursery exit.
Results and Discussion
Diet nor intake treatment affected performance (P > 0.05).> Initial body weight group affected final BW (Table 2), ADG (Table 3) and ADFI (Table 4) throughout the trial (P < 0.001). Initial age affected BW and feed intake, but surprisingly had no effect on ADG or feed efficiency. Within a weight block, the older pigs began the trial 40 to 70 grams heavier than the younger pigs. The effect of initial weight and age on BW was observed at each weigh point, but became less pronounced as the trial progressed. Heavier pigs consistently grew faster than lighter pigs, and older pigs generally grew faster than younger pigs. Similar results were observed for feed intake. The effects of initial body weight group and age on feed efficiency (Table 5) were inconsistent. Generally, heavier pigs used feed more efficiently than lighter pigs; this effect achieved significance by the second half of the experiment. However, by the final week of the experiment, pigs in the young treatment group tended to have an improved feed efficiency relative to those which were older at weaning.
The coefficient of variability (CV) of body weight was calculated within pens (n = 8); therefore it is possible that single aberrant pigs may skew the result (Table 6) and these numbers are not representative of the CV of the weaning group. The CV was less for heavier pigs throughout the experiment. Since this effect was observed at d 0 it is a reflection of the variability observed with the light weight pigs at the experiment initiation. Age had no effect on CV.
Implications
Pigs which are heavier at weaning perform better than lighter pigs, regardless of age or intake of Phase 1 diet, which had only modest effects on performance.
Acknowledgements
Strategic funding provided by Sask Pork, Alberta Pork, Manitoba Pork and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food Development Fund. Funding for this project Hamlet Protein, Denmark is gratefully appreciated.
Overview of on-going projects in the PSCI Engineering Research Program
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Summary
Three research projects were started within the PSCI Engineering Research Program that involve controlling emissions using nanoparticles, assessing barn energy use to reduce utility costs, and evaluating a new housing system for grower-finisher pigs. The goals and the activities within each project are described.
Introduction
Research activities within the PSCI Engineering Research Program are aimed to address environmental sustainability concerns relevant to the pork industry and to optimize the physical and management systems within swine operations to improve net profitability. In line with these goals, three research projects were started within the program during the past year. However, these studies are in the early stages of the research process, thus, discussion of final results is not yet possible. This overview provides a brief description of each project and the activities that will be undertaken over the coming year.
Use of nanoparticles to control emissions from swine manure slurry
(B. Predicala, D. Asis; funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC))
The overall goal of this research is to determine the technical feasibility of using reactive nanoparticles to reduce odour and gaseous emissions from swine barns. The rationale for this research is to take advantage of recent advances in nanoparticle technology to develop control measures for odour and gaseous emissions from swine facilities.
Nanotechnology refers broadly to the control and manipulation of atoms and molecules to create structures and devices at nanoscale dimensions with novel properties and functions attributed to their small size. Nanoparticles are nanoscale materials that are created by controlled processes to attain specific properties. The multitude of uses of nanoparticles includes environmental applications such as wastewater remediation, destruction of toxins and pathogenic microorganisms, as well as air filtration and purification. These applications were mainly due to inherent properties of nanoparticles which can be highly-reactive when in contact with the target compounds, particles, or microorganisms. Because emissions from swine barns consist mainly of gaseous compounds (e.g., odour, hydrogen sulphide (H2S), ammonia (NH3)) and aerosolized particles of biological origin (i.e., bioaerosols), it is hypothesized that reactive nanoparticles could also be effective in controlling emissions from swine operations.
Initial experiments were conducted to test the impact of nanoparticles on selected target gases at known concentration. Six types of nanoparticles were selected based on their performance in previous similar applications, their reported chemical and physical properties, and from consultation with technical staff of a company that manufactures these materials.
Using the sampling flow rate and amount of particles determined from preliminary tests, the results of the tests on these six types of nanoparticles and other common materials are shown in Figure 1. The values shown are the normalized concentrations, meaning lower values (<1.0) indicate better effectiveness in reducing the target gas concentration. Among the nanoparticles tested, the top three materials based on effect on 50-ppm NH3 target gas were Al2O3, TiO2 and ZnO, which corresponded to a reduction of 85.6%, 85.2%, and 78%, respectively. Using MgO, MgO+ and ZnO nanoparticles, the concentration of H2S was reduced to <1.0 ppm (below detection level of the H2S monitor used) from an initial 25-ppm concentration. Additionally, Al2O3 and TiO2, which were previously found to be effective for NH3, were able to reduce the concentration of H2S by 57% and 13%, respectively. Further tests will be conducted to test the impact of various nanoparticles on other target gases and on the actual gas mixtures emitted from swine slurry. In addition to air filtration, other deployment techniques such as mixing of the nanoparticles with slurry and dispersion of the particles to treat the emitted gas will also be evaluated. Additional room-scale tests will be conducted to ensure that the nanoparticles proven to be effective in controlling the gas emissions can be used safely in swine barns in a cost-effective manner. Reducing energy costs in swine barns (B. Predicala, J. Patience, E. Navia; funded by the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-food Saskatchewan (ACAAFS) Program) The overall objective of this project is to reduce energy costs in swine operations in order to reduce overall production costs. With energy costs rising on a global basis, the ability to produce pork with lower energy inputs could represent a significant competitive advantage to our industry, particularly with respect to our main global competitors, which are typically dependent on intensive energy inputs. Current estimates of utility costs (gas and electricity) indicate that they range from about $6-10 per pig sold on a farrow-to-finish basis and thus are the third largest variable cost, after feed and labour. However, there is a need to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of actual energy use in typical swine production facilities in western Canada to be able to establish a relevant benchmark on current energy cost per pig sold and to identify the energy intensive tasks in barns and potential areas for improvement. This project will be conducted in four phases. Currently, the first phase is on-going which involves a survey of a representative sample of different types of swine operations to gather baseline information on current energy usage. A series of energy audits of selected facilities will be done over winter and summer seasons to validate the survey results, to assess the relationship of level of energy input to overall productivity of the operation and indoor air quality, and to document current management practices for efficient energy utilization. The second phase will involve the assessment of the impact of different energy-saving strategies on overall energy costs using computer simulation. Using information gathered from the survey and from barn audits, a computer model will be set up to enable us to conduct a thorough evaluation of various energy-conservation measures in a cost-effective manner without having to apply and test each measure in an actual set-up. In subsequent phase of the project, the most promising measures based on the results of the simulation phase will be selected and applied in an actual swine barn to demonstrate their actual impact on total energy costs. The fourth phase will involve the development of a user-friendly software tool for use by pork producers to evaluate current energy use in their own facilities, and to help in the decision making process on adopting specific energy conservation measures appropriate for their operations. Assessment of an alternative swine grow-out facility (B. Predicala, J. Patience, H. Gonyou; funded by the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-food Saskatchewan (ACAAFS) Program and the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board) Barn construction and capitalization represent a significant percentage of the cost of producing a market hog. Furthermore, because of the current construction environment in western Canada, this cost component can be a major disadvantage to our industry, especially with respect to our main global competitors. Additionally, barn design and construction can have a major impact on the operation and management of the barn, thus significantly influencing the performance of animals and the general work environment for barn workers. Hence, a newly- constructed grow-out facility using non-conventional, low-cost building techniques presents a valuable opportunity to closely investigate a means for reducing capital costs, while documenting as well its impact on overall productivity, and other operational aspects that could be affected. The overall objective of this work is to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the economic and operational aspects of building and operating a non-conventional confinement barn constructed using low-cost building methods and materials. The main approach of this work is to assess and monitor different parameters and various aspects of the operation that may likely be impacted by the difference in building construction approach, relative to a conventional barn. Additionally, any new costs or benefits and operational requirements unique to these swine housing units will also be documented. This work will be divided into different modules, each dealing with a different aspect of the operation. The different modules include: 1. capital costs, 2. productivity and operational efficiency 3. environment and manure management, 4. animal welfare and handling, and 5. economic and feasibility analysis. Each module will be implemented as a sub-project, with its own protocols developed to meet the specific module objectives. The timeline for each module would include baseline data gathering for the initial year of operation, analysis of the data to identify strengths and weaknesses of the system, development of improvement measures whenever appropriate, implementation of those measures, and subsequent monitoring of the impact on the parameters within the scope of the module. Current activities for this project include the setting up of the environmental monitoring system in the barn, and collection of data on the construction of the barn units and on the performance of the first batch of pigs. Expected activities and Project completion All these on-going studies are multi-year projects, thus, results from the activities over the coming year will be reported in subsequent Annual Research Reports. The bench-scale tests on evaluating various types of nanoparticles and deployment techniques will be completed next year, as well as the benchmark survey and energy audits for the energy cost reduction project. Over the next year, data on several room turns in the low-cost barn units will be collected. Combined with the data on barn construction and operation costs, this will enable us to make a preliminary assessment of the overall performance of the operation.
Does Marketing at Heavier Weights Pay?
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