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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:
Size Reduction of Ammonia Scrubbers for Pig and Poultry Houses: Use of Conditional Bypass Vent at High Air Loading Rates
Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 2006 | No Comments
In The Netherlands, both acid and biological air scrubbers are used for removal of ammonia from exhaust air at pig and poultry houses. Current regulations require that scrubbers are dimensioned for treating the maximum airflow rate that may occur, so on average these systems are overdimensioned and underloaded. A new approach is introduced that is based on bypassing airflow peaks untreated. As a result, the air loading rate in m3 [air] m3 [scrubber] h1 and ammonia loading rate in kg [NH3] m3 [scrubber] h1 of the scrubber are more constant in time and average loading rates increase. By model calculations and analyses of measurement datasets it was demonstrated that the application of such a scrubber significantly decreases the required scrubber size while ammonia emission levels are only slightly increased (e.g. where the bypass is operated at 50% of the maximum ventilation rate and the scrubber volume is reduced by 50%, the bypass venting systems only allows 10–20% of the total ammonia load to be vented untreated). As a result, both the efficiency of scrubber utilisation in kg [NH3 removal] m3 [scrubber volume] and the cost-effectiveness of air scrubbing for ammonia removal in kg [NH3 removal] h1 are increased.
Technical and economical evaluation of direct in-barn solid-liquid separation of pig slurry and its environmental impacts
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One of the major goals of Québec’s Règlement sur les exploitations agricoles, REA is to prevent excessive soil enrichment of phosphorous. When used as the only nitrogen fertilizer to meet the soil requirements, pig slurry brings too much phosphorous to the soil. Complete manure treatment systems prevent this problem, but are expensive and require solid-liquid separation of the slurry. On the other hand, in-barn separation of pigs’ feces –below the slatted floor – produces a solid fraction high in phosphorous and dry matter content, and could reduce odours and greenhouse-effect gases. Three in-barn feces separation systems with regards to separation efficiency and air quality: the net, the V-shaped scraper and the conveyor belt have been compared. All three systems had a similar separation efficiency, concentrating more than 90% of phosphorous and around 50% of nitrogen within the solid fraction, which always contained a minimum of 30% dry matter. All systems equally reduced ammonia (NH3) by 50%, like the conventional scraper. Hence, the sole regular removal of feces from under the pigs seems as efficient as solid-liquid separation to lower NH3 emissions. Greenhouse gases (N2O and CH4), odour emission and the hedonic parameters were not modified significantly by the three systems.
In the field, spreading of the liquid fraction requires from 6,7 to 7,7 times less growing area. The installation of such systems would cost 66$ more per pig-place than the conventional system, but design optimization can reduce the costs.
FEASIBILITY OF HYDROGEN PRODUCTION FROM ANAEROBIC MIXED FERMENTATION
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Novel Partial Nitritation Treatment for Anaerobic Digestion Liquor of Swine Wastewater Using Swim-Bed Technology
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A swim-bed reactor using the biofringe acryl-fiber biomass carrier was used for partial nitritation
treatment for anaerobic digestion liquor of swine wastewater. The sludge in the reactor demonstrated excellent settling properties, and the sludge volumetric index (SVI) was always about 50ml g–1. The mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentration was maintained above 10,000mg l–1 with a maximum of 16,800mg l–1. Satisfactory and stable partial nitritation was obtained at a nitrogen loading rate (NLR) of 1.9 kg-Nm–3 d–1 without any operational control. Only a little nitrate was produced almost during the whole operational period and the nitrite to total oxidized nitrogen ratio (NO2-N/(NO2-N+NO3-N)) was always above 95%. In addition, the influence of temperature on partial nitritation efficiencies was also investigated and non-controlled efficiencies were maintained stably between 15°C and 30°C at an NLR of 1.9 kg-Nm–3 d–1, but suddenly deteriorated when the temperature fell below 15°C. Nitrite oxidizing bacteria were inhibited by free ammonia and free nitric acid, which prevented the conversion of nitrite to nitrate and the inhibition due to free nitric acid weaken with a decrease in temperature. It was apparent that these phenomena were crucial to the control of partial nitritation treatment.
New Research to Optimize Use of Canola for Swine
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on | No Comments
Saskatoon – Dr. Pascal Leterme, Research Scientist in Nutrition at Prairie Swine Centre, is new to western Canada but not the swine research community. Although he only joined the Centre’s research team in August 2005, he has already garnered significant support for a new research effort in optimizing the use of canola for swine.
Dr. David Hickling, Vice President of Canola Council of Canada, which is funding the project in cooperation with the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission, underlines the importance of this novel research approach, “Increasing the energy value of canola is important to ensuring pork producers make the best use of this ingredient in western Canada. This research will help us define the areas of greatest opportunity to improve the product through plant breeding, processing or the use of dietary enzymes.”
“This research will provide us with significant insight into how the energy from canola is utilized by the pig”, notes Dr. Leterme. “Firstly we will be looking at the difference between how young growing pigs utilize energy differently from adult sows. We believe that there is not one energy value but two for canola depending on the maturity of the animal’s digestive system”. Dr. Leterme notes this approach, using a sophisticated Net Energy system, could have a significant impact on the efficiency and cost of practical farm diets.
“Secondly, we want to look at the whole seed, rather than just processed canola meal as an energy and protein source for swine. This approach will contribute to our understanding of the nutritional impact of crushing canola and whether there is an opportunity to increase energy content for the pig.” This project also provides the opportunity to use whole canola seed as an ingredient.
Mr. Roy Button, Executive Director, Saskatchewan Canola Development Council, reinforces why they are funding this type of research. “Saskatchewan produces 40% of Canada’s Canola and is located in the heart of western Canada’s pig industry with a third of the nation’s pork producers within easy access.
“Canola seed is 58% meal and 42% oil, knowing the Net Energy of this product improves the value of the meal and thus the value of the seed to our growers.”
Prairie Swine Centre Inc., located in Saskatoon, is a non-profit research corporation affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan, and is recognized globally for its contributions to practical, applied science in pork production in the disciplines of Nutrition, Engineering and Animal Behaviour.
Effect of Ractopamine in Finishing Swine Diets – Performance and Carcass Composition
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SUMMARY
Ractopamine at 5 ppm/kg feed improved growth and feed efficiency by 13% when fed for an average of 26 to 27 days. Ractopamine decreased backfat and improved loin thickness. Transit losses were higher in the ractopamine fed group.
INTRODUCTION
Paylean® is a feed additive that was recently registered in Canada. The active ingredient of Paylean® is ractopamine, a beta-adrenergic agonist known to stimulate muscle growth and inhibit lipid growth. It has been registered in numerous countries around the world and is actively used by the pork industry in those countries to improve the profitability of pork production. Because the marketing and grading systems in Canada differ from those in other countries, there was a need to evaluate this product locally.
The overall objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effectiveness of Paylean, fed to deliver 5 ppm ractopamine on performance, carcass characteristics, carcass quality and the economics of pork production in finishing pigs.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The experiment was designed so that the average starting weight within a treatment would be 87 kg. This was to provide an average of 28 days on Paylean prior to slaughter. All available pigs in two rooms (1 room started each week) at PSC Elstow were randomly allocated within gender to one of 8 pens. Only pigs with obvious health problems were excluded from the experiment so the variation observed was typical of normal practise.
At the end of the room turn, all remaining pigs were weighed and any feed remaining in the feeder was weighed. Any pigs failing to achieve the minimum market weight at the end of the room-turn were marketed and carcass information obtained from the packing plant. The number of “light” or “tail-ender” pigs was recorded by gender and treatment.
All animals were fed a diet comparable to the barn’s normal gilt finisher, The experiment consisted of two treatments: control or 0.25% Paylean®, equivalent to 5 ppm ractopamine (RAC). Except for total lysine which was increased to 1.00 % and the 5 ppm ractopamine; the Paylean-fed pigs were fed a diet formulated to the same specification as the controls.
RESULTS and DISCUSSION
A total of 271 barrows, and 259 gilts started the experiment (Table 1). During the experiment 5 pigs were removed from the experiment, all for reasons unrelated to the trial. Three RAC gilts died during transport to market, and two RAC barrows were condemned at the plant. In this size of experiment, we can’t conclude that these deaths were a result of treatment or were a random effect. However, it has been suggested by others that RAC pigs may be more susceptible to stress during shipping.
Average daily gain was 13% higher in the RAC pigs, relative to the controls (P < 0.001); genders responded similarly. There was no effect of treatment on feed intake, thus feed conversion also increased by 13% in the RAC pigs (P < 0.001). Because they grew more efficiently, the RAC pigs used about 11.5 kg less feed than the control pigs to reach market weight. Thus, this experiment confirms that even at 5 ppm, RAC has positive effects on growth rate in both barrows and gilts. The RAC pigs were on test an average of 26.5 days; the control pigs, 30.1 days (Table 1), thus tail-enders were reduced in the RAC group.
Table 3 shows weekly pig performance, within treatment, according to the week in which the pig was marketed. It can be seen that during the first week of the experiment, except for those pigs shipped during week 5, the RAC pigs consistently outperformed the control treatment. However, these slower growing pigs appeared to respond to RAC during their second week on test. For the pigs marketed during the 5th and 6th weeks of the experiment, the response to RAC had diminished. As shown in Figure 1, because of the faster growth by the RAC pigs during the initial weeks of the experiment, more control than treatment pigs were shipped during the final two weeks. This decline in the response to RAC with longer exposure to the product is well documented. The faster growing pigs (> 1.3 kg/d) demonstrated a 13 % increase and the slower growing pigs (< 1.3 kg/d) had a 7 % improvement in growth rate during the first two weeks of the experiment.
The faster growth of the RAC pigs reduced the number of tail-end pigs from 7.5 % to 0.8%, a noteworthy response because of the heavy penalties associated with marketing lightweight pigs.
Table 4 describes the carcass response to RAC. Dressing percent was unaffected by treatment (P > 0.20). RAC reduced backfat thickness by an average of 1 mm (P < 0.02); however, this decrease was 1.8 mm in barrows and only about 0.3 mm in gilts (trt by gender, P = 0.06). Loin thickness was increased by 2.5 mm, lean yield was improved (P < 0.001) and carcass index tended to improve in the RAC treated pigs (P = 0.06). This results are consistent with the mode of action of RAC
CONCLUSIONS
Including RAC in the diet at 5 ppm, results in faster growth rate, increased carcass lean and faster barn throughput. The response to RAC diminishes if pigs receive it for more than 28 days.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Strategic funding provided by Sask Pork, Alberta Pork, Manitoba Pork Council and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food Development Fund. Specific funding for this project from Elanco Animal Health is gratefully acknowledged.