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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:
Competitiveness in the World Market
Posted in: Production by admin on January 1, 2005 | No Comments
The switch from local to international pork markets has resulted in the need for a transition to a global target market. Importers require safe, high quality products. The pork industry needs to go vertical in order for this to happen (that is, it must be involved in all stages of meat production). This will help reach consumers, fulfill their needs, capture opportunities, and overcome challenges. PigCHAMP has performed a survey in Europe to grasp producers’ feelings about the future and their main concerns. Producers appear to be optimistic about pig performance, and even more so about reproductive performance! These reflect their confidence in themselves and the products that they use (such as genetics, medications, feeds, etc.). 93% of producers plan to continue pig farming for the next 10 years. Nearly two thirds of the farmers are thinking about farm improvements or expansion within the next 5 years. 7% classified business success as a problem and 93% considered environment to be the main risk for business.
Novel Vaccine Delivery Technology
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Infections of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts are among the most common diseases of piglets worldwide and can cause large amounts of economic loss to swine producers. Vaccine formation and delivery to the areas targeted by the disease is still difficult to do. Delivery of vaccines orally or intra-nasally has the benefit of stimulating immunity on the mucus surfaces without the hazards of using a needle. This has been proven to increase the immunity directly at the site of infection. Modified live vaccines are dangerous because the pathogen can mutate back to an infectious state. There is work being done on alternate methods of vaccination. Improved technologies to deliver vaccines to the target location are important for both killed and live vaccines, and most of these are still in development.
High Porcine Parvovirus Antibodies in Sow Herds: Prevalence and Associated Factors
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Porcine parvovirus (PPV) is widespread among swine. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of loosely housed sow herds in Finland with at least one animal with high (infection level) PPV antibodies and to gather basic knowledge about vaccination practices. In addition, selected factors
associated with high antibody levels found in sows were examined. Altogether, 247 animals were sampled in 21 randomly chosen loosely housed sow herds. Samples were analysed with the haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. PPV proved to be common; in 17 farms (81%) at least one animal
had a high titre (>1 : 512), and 44% of all animals sampled had a high titre. The vaccination programmes had many shortcomings. In the generalised estimation equations (GEE) population-averaged model developed, the factors found to have a significant (p £ 0.05) effect on HI titres were herd size, parity of two or greater and storage of the vaccine vial after use. Non-returning rate, re-breeding interval and litter size did not differ between herds with no high HI titres (n ¼ 4) and
those with at least one high HI titre (n ¼ 17).
Comparison of Voluntary Feed Intake and Growth Performance between Grower Pigs Fed Diets Containing either Mustard Meal or Canola Meal
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Mustard meal might be a valuable ingredient for the swine industry domestically and internationally. In some export markets, concerns exist regarding the voluntary feed intake of pigs fed mustard instead of canola meal in their diets. This study will therefore compare two diets with either mustard meal or canola meal in the diet at a 15% inclusion rate for 28 days. This would be enough to assess if the feed intake concerns are indeed valid, or not and if growth performance differences exist. Pigs fed mustard meal tended to have a 5% better growth performance and had a 2.5%-unit better feed efficiency and an equal feed intake than pigs fed canola meal. Mustard meal might thus be a good opportunity ingredient with minimally a nutritional value equal as canola meal and might be a worthwhile opportunity ingredient to consider during periods of high prices for protein sources.
Learn About Manure Management from MWPS
Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments
MidWest Plan Service now offers a set of educational materials geared toward helping farmers handle scrutiny of environmental practices in livestock production. The new curriculum provides answers, on-farm assessment tools, and optional record keeping forms for a wide range of manure management topics. It is available printed and gathered in a three-ring binder or as a searchable CD. The Livestock and Poultry Environmental Stewardship, or LPES, curriculum is made up of 26 lessons addressing how to achieve high environmental standards through nutrient management, animal dietary strategies, manure storage and treatment, land application, and outdoor air quality.The LPES team also has recently released a series of 24 fact sheets on the new Environmental Protection Agency regulations for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). Each addresses a common producer question with a non-technical review of the regulations and recommendations for compliance. Copies of the LPES CD and notebook, as well as the CAFO fact sheets can be purchased from MidWest Plan Service. You can order online through the catalog section of the MWPS Web site at www.mwpshq.org
Colonic spirochetosis in animals and humans
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Environmental impact and agronomic value of pig slurry on field corn: nitrogen balance measurement using nitrogen 15 radioactive labelling
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It is difficult to accurately evaluate the loss of nitrogen in the environment following the spreading of pig slurry, because other nitrogen sources (fertilizers, crop residues, etc.) also contribute to the overall nitrogen losses. The radioactive labelling, with nitrogen 15, of the slurry nitrogen allows to distinguish it from the nitrogen found in other sources in the field. Radioactive labelling was used in a two-year assay (2003 and 2004) for determining the real fertilizing efficiency of pig slurry applied in post-emergence on field corn (at a rate of 85 to 95kg total N/ha) and for determining the real proportion of nitrogen loss attributable to slurry spreading. This study allowed us to establish the distribution of the slurry nitrogen in the soil, plants and environment. As measured at the end of the growing season, 20 to 50% of the slurry nitrogen was assimilated by corn, depending on the year and the type of soil of the assay. Nitrogen uptake was lower in a clay-rich soil, since clay reduces the availability of ammoniacal nitrogen. Fifteen to 25% of the slurry nitrogen was lost in the environment between spreading and harvest. The measured nitrogen uptake and losses of slurry are similar to those reported for mineral fertilizer applications at post-emergence of corn and at similar rates. In the various conditions of this study, spreading of pig slurry proved as efficient as the application of mineral fertilizer in terms of agronomic performances of corn, and no more at risk, environmentally speaking.