Performancfe of Finishing Pigs in Hoop Structures and Confinement During Winter amd Summer

Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 2003 | No Comments

Performance of finishing pigs in hoop or confinement during summer and winter was evaluated in Iowa. Hoops are large tent-like shelters with corn-stalks or straw for bedding. During summer and winter seasons for thre years, 1998-2001, six trials were conducted using three hoops strcutures or mechanicallly ventilated confinement barn with slatted floors. A total of 3,518 pigs started the trials. Summer trials were June to October and winter trials were Novemeber to April. Target stocking density was 1.1 sqyare meters for hoop strcuture, and 0.74 square meters for confinement buildings. Identical corn-based diets were fed adlibitum from 16-118 kg for 127 days. Pigs were scanned before harvest for backfat and loin muscle area. When seasons were merged hoop-fed pigs had more backfat, smaller loin muscle area, less lean percentage, than confinment housed pigs. When season x housing type interactions were observed, summer hoop-fed pigs had greater ADG, required fewer days to market had similar ADFI and gain:feed compared with confinement fed pigs. Lean gain/day and efficiency of lean gain did not differ between housing systems. During winter hoop fed pigs had similar ADG required more days to market, had greater ADFI, less gain to feed, lees lean gain/day than confinment-fed pigs. Percentage of culls and mortalities did not differ between housing system. During summer there was a trend for fewer ligh weight pigs at marketing from hoops than confinement. Bedding use in hoops was 92 and 122 kg/pig for summer and winter respectively. Performance of finishing pigs in bedded hoop structures depends in part on thermal environment.

Ag Small Impact on Manitoba Waterway Phosphorus

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Research conducted by the University of Manitoba and Agriculture and Agrifood Canada indicates agriculture accounts for a small percentage of the phosphorus that ends up in Manitoba’s waterways. The majority of phosphorus that ends up in Lake Winnipeg originates from the Red River system. Of the total load of phosphorus coming into the province, 60% was coming from the U.S. and other jurisdictions and 40% was generated in Manitoba itself. Of the 40%, approximately equal proportions could be attributed to urban sources, agricultural sources and natural sources. The ratio will change depending on the flow in any particular year with the proportion from urban sources being higher during low flow years and the proportion from agricultural and natural sources being higher in high flow years.

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Initiative

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The Canadian Pork Council has kicked off an initiative that will establish sites across Canada to demonstrate how farmers can minimize greenhouse gas emissions. The demonstration project is part of a greenhouse gas mitigation program for Canadian Agriculture announced by the federal government in 2002.
Alberta Pork in association with Alberta Taking Charge Team are setting up 4 to 6 demonstration sites dealing specifically with hog manure management. The Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute in Saskatchewan is going to have a total of 9 demonstration sites set up with existing sites. Manitoba is also setting up some sites as well, dealing with barn design issues and beneficial management practices.

Extraction of Soluble Phosphorus from Swine Wastewater

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Environmental Management: More than Manure

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Every aspect of pork production should be analyzed to determine its effect on the environment. As pig production began to expand in the 80s the public became more aware. Competition was the main concern. Environmental concerns began to arise in the 90s as odour and manure management became concerns. As production units increased in size it became more of a problem and movements to shut down hog barns began. Farmers need to take into account all aspects of the environment to effectively preserve the environment. We need to look at inputs of feed, water, energy, and supplies to compare them with the outputs of hogs, manure, garbage and odor. Several programs are being developed for a good Environment Management System (EMS). An EMS is a business tool that systematically applies general management principles to environmental issues associated with the activities, products and services of an organization. This system includes planning, doing what you plan, measuring how well it works, and reviewing it to change and improve. Any EMS should follow any legality and address any environmental concerns that may be present in the area. Optional areas can be focused on such as energy conservation, water conservation, and feed usage. Areas that are already adequately managed can still improved still, such as mortality management, manure and nutrient management, and general production procedures.

Struvite precipitation in anaerobic swine lagoon liquid: effect of pH and Mg:P ratio and determination of rate constant

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Changes in Soil Phosphorus from Manure Application

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Soil Sampling of Manured and Non-Manured Fields in Grass Forage Production

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Many agricultural soils in southeastern Manitoba have a history of hog manure application and this survey was intended to compare their nutrient status with similar soils that have not received manure. The land areas that were studied were characterized by coarse textured, low agricultural capability soils in grass forage production. The study locations are considered representative of soil landscapes commonly known as the Poppleton, Pelan and Malonton soil associations. The study found that there was a higher concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus to a depth of sixty centimeters in manured fields, especially for phosphorus when compared to non-manured fields. However, at some of the non-manured sites there was evidence of elevated nitrogen and phosphorus levels that were lower than the manured sites. The importance of keeping good production records of cultural, nutrient and manure management practices are essential in providing information for relating residual nutrient levels to nutrient balances of applied organic and inorganic fertilizers. The data showed that the variability in nitrate nitrogen and phosphorus status was greater between fields than within fields, particularly for nitrogen status whether the fields were manured or non-manured. The highest concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorous were found at the soil surface (0-6 inches) with nutrient levels decreasing with depth. In some cases concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus were observed below the 0-6 inches depth and in some cases they were not. Deep sampling also showed concentration of nutrients below 2 feet in some cases. As with any addition of nutrients there are potential risks to runoff and surface water contamination or leaching and groundwater contamination. Soluble nutrients that are in excess of crop requirements present a greater risk of being transported to water through runoff or leaching, particularly where the soil types are characterized by coarse textures and rapid permeability. Water table depths were found to vary more between locations than within each location. At the manured locations water table depths ranged from one to two feet to greater than nine feet. Depth to water table at the non-manured locations ranged from two to three feet to greater than nine feet from the ground surface.

Soluble and insoluble non-starch polysaccharides on nutrient digestibility and ileal bacteria populations in grower pigs

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Soluble (SOL) and insoluble (INSOL) NSP may influence gut bacteria populations, reflecting changes in fermentable material in the gut. Effects of purified (SOL, guar gum; INSOL, cellulose) NSP fractions on ileal bacteria populations and energy digestibility were studied. Pigs surgically fitted with an ileal T-cannula were fed four experimental diets (14% cornstarch basal [control]; 7% SOL +7% INSOL NSP [SOL + INSOL]). Diets were fed for 13 d, ileal digesta was collected under CO2, and bacteria were cultured on selective bacteria counts except for Bifidobacteria. Compared to control, addition of soluble and insoluble NSP reduced energy digestibility from 73 to 39% in the ileum, but only marginally across the total tract. Increasing dietary purified soluble and insoluble NSP reduces nutrient digestibility and subsequently, increases the amount of fermentable dry matter in the small intestine, thereby providing further substrate fro ileal bacteria proliferation in grower pigs.

Aggression, fearfulness and coping styles in female pigs.

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The coping styles hypothesis in animals has recently received much attention in studies investigating individual differences in personality characteristics partly because of its apparent success in describing the coping strategies used by mice and other species. Pigs, also have large inter-individual variation in behaviour, and show similar reactions to challenging events over time and across related situations. This study evaluates the validity of this hypothesis for predicting the coping responses of pigs by testing for predicted correlations between responses to a variety of challenges. Animals were exposed to an immobility test at 3 weeks of age. At 8 and 24 weeks, animals were exposed to an unknown pig in the test animal’s home cage, a human in the home cage, and a novel object (bucket) in a novel arena. Many of the behavioural measures had some repeatability between the ages of 8 and 24 weeks, despite significant changes in the observed level of responses, but there were few correlations between responses to social and non-social situations. The results indicate that the coping styles hypothesis has very limited value in predicting the coping responses of pigs representing the population as a whole. It is suggested that future research on pig personality should investigate the possibility that specific coping behaviours for example, those mediated by fear and anxiety, may have consequences for different elements of coping ability related to welfare and productivity.