Ag Small Impact on Manitoba Waterway Phosphorus

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

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 digesta passage rate and voluntary feed intake of grower pigs

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The effects of purified non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) fractions (soluble, guar gum (SOL) and insoluble, cellulose (INSOL)) NSP fractions on digesta passage rate, retention time and voluntary feed intake was studied in grower pigs. Compared to control, adding SOL + INSOL increased digesta viscosity, slowed digesta flow rate and increased retention time in the total tract. Voluntary feed intake and daily weight gain reduced with SOL + INSOL NSP, compared to pigs fed the control diet. Reduction in voluntary feed intake associated with feeding high fibrous diet in pigs may be a direct effect of the fibre fractions slowing the flow rate of digesta through the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, reducing the negative effects of soluble and insoluble NSP may enhance feed intake and improve grower pig performance.

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.

Meeting Future Demands for Animal Care

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Animal welfare is becoming a growing concern in agriculture. Welfare programs are being developed with no way of knowing if farms actually practice guidelines for animal welfare. Increasingly, animal welfare standards are being included in quality assurance schemes. In lab settings, measures are used to identify biological responses to evaluate welfare (including stress hormones, immune function, behaviour, etc.). Two broad measures can be used for on-farm assessment. One of these standards is housing and management systems (environmental parameters). This assesses space allowance, feeder space, number and flow of drinkers, floor types, etc. This is relatively inexpensive to audit because they are clearly defined. The second measure is the animal reaction or response to the production system. This would include records of veterinary treatments, deaths, culls, and more. Temple Grandin has created a welfare audit for slaughter plants that measures slipping/falling, vocalizing, and correct first-attempt stunning. These are more the direct assessments of welfare. The National Pork Board in the US has developed a Swine Welfare Assurance Program, a voluntary program for producers to audit welfare. Australia has developed The Welfare Audit for the Chicken Meat Industry in 2001 and the Pork Welfare Audit in 2003. As of 2003, it is unclear as to what Canada will do for audits (how they will be administered or what types of measures will be made on farm). Some program will more than likely be put into place in the near future.