Monitoring production, health and marketing of indigenous Tswana pigs in Ramotswa village of Botswana

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Matching The Biology And Management Of Contemporary Weaned Sows

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North America has been unable to capture the true production potential of superior dam-lines. This can be attributed to public environment concerns and welfare issues. Environmental monitoring processes, more environmentally sound methods of production, and welfare practices are going to offset the cost of production. Producers also need to find the correct balance between pig quality and number of weaned pigs in order to break the myth that simply more weaned is better. There is a “push” concept of breeding herd management, where a constant influx of quality gilts stabilizes the parity structure of the breeding herd. The ultimate goal of the hyper-prolific sow is to obtain quality litters with low variability. Genetic improvement has predicted an extra half a pig per litter per year, which has not been realized as of yet. There are two probably reasons: 1) Lack of appropriate management of dam-line females (rather than improving reproductive performance to make up for any economic loss, producers will tend to increase throughput in the finisher stage as a simpler fix); and 2) Changes in lean tissue growth rates in dam-line females (terminal pigs are getting increased lean growth, and this trend is present to at least some degree in replacement gilts). The problem with this is that it may have an effect on the onset of the sexual maturation. Weaning-to-estrus interval has always been a problem in production systems. Feed restriction at any time during lactation can increase this time, as can inadequate suckling. This same restriction in feed can lead to a significant reduction in ovulation rate and a reduction in embryo survival and development for the subsequent breeding. Collectively, these lactation management follies can compromise even these hyper-prolific dams.

Integration from Breeding to Feeding to Eating – A Producer Owned Cooperative

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In 2001, Southwestern Ontario created a producer owned hog processing operation. The idea began with the trade disruption and countervailing duty on Canadian hogs in the 1980s. In 1995 the co-op purchased a former vegetable processing plant with the intent of converting it into a processing plant. The hog price crash in 1998 pushed for the full development of the business plan. They purchased Conestoga Meat Packers Ltd. in the fall of 2001 and 172 farmers chose to become members of the new plant with total annual shipments of 650,000 hogs. Some of the challenges this plant faced were expansion of hog capacity, the premium/discount program for maintaining quality, and the communication program for rapid, consistent, and actionable flow of information and feedback to members. To date, the PPP/Conestoga operation is still working out the kinks in getting it to full production and optimal efficiency. A new payment structure has been implemented. In the future, they are planning to continue to improve its long-term prospects.

Porcine Field Fertility with Two Different Insemination Doses and the Effect of Sperm Morphology

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In swine artificial insemination, several dose regimens are applied, ranging from 1.5 · 109 to 6.0 · 109 spermatozoa per intra-cervical insemination dose. A lower sperm dose is more profitable for artificial insemination centres and offers a more effective use of superior boars. To evaluate fertility, 50 boars were used for a total of 10 773 homospermic first inseminations at a dose of 2 billion spermatozoa. In addition, 96 boars were used at a dose of 3 billion spermatozoa for 34 789
homospermic first inseminations. Fertility was determined by a 60-day non-return rate (NR%) of first inseminations. Litter size was registered by total number of piglets born separately in primiparous and multiparous farrowings. On average, a sow was inseminated 1.5 times. A significant decrease was observed in all three fertility parameters (NR%, litter size of both primiparous and multiparous farrowings) with a dose of 2 billion spermatozoa compared with a dose of 3 billion spermatozoa. The NR% was 75.8% and 84.0% (p < 0.001), the mean litter size of primiparous farrowings 10.1 and 10.7 (p < 0.001) and the mean litter size of multiparous farrowings 11.7 and 12.1 (p < 0.001) for 2 and 3 billion spermatozoa/ dose, respectively. The proportion of normal spermatozoa in the sperm morphology analysis correlated significantly with NR% in both insemination regimens: p < 0.001, r ¼ 0.604 and p < 0.05, r ¼ 0.223 for 2 and 3 billion spermatozoa/dose, respectively. These results confirm that quantity can at least partly compensate for poor sperm quality. When the boars with <70% normal spermatozoa in the morphology evaluation were excluded from the data there were no correlation between the sperm morphology and NR%. However, the difference between the NR% and litter size remained statistically significant (p < 0.001) in favour for the bigger insemination dose. In conclusion, a decrease in sperm dose from 3 to 2 billion spermatozoa on commercial farms will severely decrease prolificacy at least under field conditions, where a sow is inseminated an average of 1.5 times/heat, and the semen is typically used within 3 days after collection. We recommend that under commercial circumstances the homospermic semen doses contain no <3 billion spermatozoa/dose.

Forecaddies of the Future

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Factors supporting high hog prices are BSE, Avian Flu scares; increase demand for pork especially in other countries; relative strength of the dollar against other currencies makes US pork less expensive in other countries; US meat industry is increasing skill at meeting other country demand attributes; and growth and income boom in China and India creating increased demand for food. Other factors that support high hog prices are difficulty permitting sites limits expansion; building materials are undergoing increased demand pressure due to re-investment; repairing damage and demand from China, India and other rapidly growing economies; sudden demand for buildings has driven prices up along with materials costs; packers are expanding to meet market demand; companies will compete with each other and will create negotiating power up chain; and finally, higher input costs, such as corn, may eventually structurally raise hog prices but not profits. However, these trends will evolve. China and India will have a business cycle (inflation, recession and then diminished demand); China will take Asia down with it as it goes, this will put heavy downward pressure on commodity prices such as oil, steel, lumber, concrete and feed grains; and China will have to become environmentally responsible. Also, oil prices could easily be cut close to half under the right plausible scenarios; lower oil prices will impact ethanol demand and price packer chain space will not remain plentiful; without factors which sustain high meat demand remaining in place PRRS and circo virus will become more and more manageable, raising “productivity gains”. Rising emphasis on animal welfare demands create audits and refocusing will continue on husbandry and individual animal observation and treatment demand for pork in the US will fall as aging boomers consume far less meat. Government regulation and up chain demands related to traceability, bio terrorism controls, and site ID will gradually become a reality though sometimes appearing stalled. Family meals and home-cooking will gradually rise, partially reversing the 30 year trend. The largest niche markets for food of all kinds will be for flavor-restored attributes and perceived safety. However, in the end the consumer will always win and everyone down-chain will be under pressure to do it better and less expensively.

Selection of potential probiotic lactobacilli from pig feces to be used as additives in pelleted feeding

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The response of sows to increased nutrient intake during mid to late gestation

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Crop yield, nitrogen uptake and nitrate-nitrogen accumulation in soil as affected by 23 annual applications of fertilizer and manure in the rainfed region of Northwestern China

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Managing Manure Phosphorus on the Farm: Adapting and Adopting Beneficial Management Practices

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Due to the growing concerns about water quality in Manitoba, the Manitoba government has proposed two new regulations in regard to manure phosphorus being applied to agriculture land. One regulation is designed to control how much phosphorus is added to land from manure from livestock operations. The second regulation is designed to prevent over-application of nitrogen and phosphorus from all sources of nutrients on all agricultural land in Manitoba. In order to comply, farmers will have to implement beneficial management practices (“BMPs”) tailored to their own farm. Four processes of phosphorous loss include: 1) Loading, the application of phosphorus (usually resulting in surplus phosphorous – especially in livestock operations); 2) Mobilization, when the phosphorus is moved to water by separating the phosphorus from the soil; 3) Delivery, where the BMPs will intercept the delivery of phosphorous; and 4) Impact, which is the deterioration of surface water quality, usually in the form of algae growth. Reducing phosphorous loading is difficult because it is hard to apply manure to meet crop nitrogen requirements without applying excess phosphorous. Therefore, an attempt to minimize the import of phosphorus should be put in place. This includes things such as feed testing more intensively, designing farm-specific diets, minimizing “insurance” amounts of phosphorous, phase feeding, and many more. Phosphorous exports in meat, milk, eggs, and crops should be maximized, which can be done by improving overall crop and animal production efficiency. Phosphorous can also be exported from the farm in manure, where manure phosphorous quantities exceed the land base available for sustainable application. This can be a very expensive option since manure is usually transported in the form of water. Reducing phosphorous mobilization of dissolved phosphorus (solubilized) can be accomplished by reducing overall phosphorous loading, minimizing tillage erosion that loads nutrient-rich topsoil into drains, critically manage high-risk phosphorous solubilization areas, and much more. To reduce mobilization of soil phosphorous, you can reduce phosphorous loading on areas that are susceptible to erosion (via reducing tillage, for example), and eliminate tillage in areas directly adjacent to surface water or within field drains. Work should also be done to reduce the direct addition of fertilizer or manure phosphorous to water. To reduce phosphorus delivery, improve internal drainage within the soils, retain and utilize runoff water, and use a method such as a “Vegetated Buffer Strips” to manage erosion-prone areas.

Évaluation technico-économique d’un système de séparation liquide/solide des déjections à la source dans un bâtiment porcin et les impacts sur l’environnement – Volet II

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Au Québec, la production porcine constitue une partie importante du secteur agricole. Le rapport trimestriel sur le porc, produit par Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada (2004a), présente les principaux producteurs mondiaux de porcs entre 2002 et 2004. Parmi ceux-ci, le Canada se loge au 5e rang, juste derrière le Brésil. Au niveau national, le Québec est la province la plus productive.Au Québec, les déjections de 98,2% des unités porcines sont gérées sous forme liquide (Pigeon, 2003). Cette gestion peu coûteuse est appropriée dans un contexte où l’hygiène et le contrôle sanitaire doivent être élevés. Cependant, la gestion conventionnelle par vidange gravitaire (pull plug) favorise, entre autre, des émissions élevées de gaz et d’odeurs en plus de générer d’importants volumes de lisier.
En 2002, un moratoire a été décrété interdisant le développement de la production porcine québécoise pour 24 mois dans le but de permettre, entre autres, le développement de nouveaux procédés pour équilibrer le bilan phosphore des entreprises agricoles et diminuer les odeurs. Il est donc souhaitable que de nouvelles technologies de traitement, permettant à la fois de réduire l’émission d’odeur et de gaz dans les bâtiments et d’obtenir une matière fertilisante adaptée au besoin des cultures, soient mises en place.
C’est dans cette perspective que le projet intitulé « Évaluation technico-économique d’un système de séparation liquide-solide des déjections à la source dans un bâtiment porcin et les impacts sur l’environnement » a été mis sur pied conjointement par l’Institut de recherche et de développement en agroenvironnement inc. (IRDA) et le Centre de développement du porc du Québec inc. (CDPQ).