Lifetime and post-weaning determinants of performance indices of pigs

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

Fertilizing Forages with Manure

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Livestock manure contains most nutrients that crops require and is frequently used as a fertilizer. This paper looks at its usefulness in relation to forages. The results showed that in general the application of hog manure resulted in significant forage yield increases when compared to the control plots in all cases. Forage stands that are kept in good condition will have a greater response to manure application than stands contaminated with weed or poorly productive grasses.
Soil type, nutrient demand of various crops and nutrient content of manure will affect the manure application rate. In order to calculate this rate correctly, nutrient analysis of the manure and soil test recommendations should be done. Factors that need to be considered when applying manure are 1) application methods, such as low-disturbance injection which provides a low-cost alternative to fertilization, 2) application timing, where spring application seems to be the most beneficial and 3) application frequency where applications made to meet a two year nutrient requirement result in good responses.
A study by PAMI (2000) indicated that application of high rates of manure resulted in a carryover of nutrients in the years following application that have contributed to a concentration of nitrates in the forage. A number of factors can influence this accumulation and it is recommended that forages (cut for hay or grazed) that have received nutrients should be tested to determine nitrate and potassium levels.

A REVIEW OF AMMONIA EMISSIONS FROM CONFINED SWINE FEEDING OPERATIONS

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Bedding and Seasonal Effects on Chemical and Bacterial Properties of Feedlot Cattle Manure

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Measures for the prevention and control of Taenia solium taeniosis and cysticercosis

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Acceptable Phosphorus Concentrations in Soils and Impact on the Risk of Phosphorus Transfer from Manure Amended Soils to Surface Waters

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Manure is a valuable source of P for crop production. However, applying too much manure P,
especially in the wrong place, is not only agronomically wasteful, but potentially harmful to the
environment. As a result of recent increases in Manitoba’s production of livestock, the risk of
transfer of manure P from agricultural land to surface water is probably increasing. However,
the amounts of P that are discharged from livestock production and other agricultural activities
are very difficult to determine due to a lack of hydrological data and, more important, a lack of
data on the transfer of P from soil to water. Part of this problem is due to the highly variable
impact of soil type, P management, landscape and climate on P retention and release by soil,
information that is not well documented for Manitoba conditions. Fortunately, livestock
producers have a wide variety of potential techniques for reducing P discharge from their
operations; however, the technical and economic merit of these techniques is generally not well
documented either, for Manitoba conditions. As a result of these challenges, legislation and
regulation regarding P management should be introduced cautiously to ensure environmental
protection without undue hardship to the agricultural industry.

Emission of greenhouse gas from livestock waste and wastewater treatment in Taiwan

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Efficacy of Alum and Coal Combustion By-Products in Stabilizing Manure Phosphorus

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The Importance of Feed and Feeding the Lactating Sow

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Maintaining high levels of feed during lactation benefits both the current litter, subsequent letters as well as the sows overall productivity. Most problems arise in the first or second parity if the sow does not consume enough feed to meet energy requirements. If not enough feed is consumed milk production will decrease and body condition is lost as fat reserves are mobilized to synthesize milk. Loss of body fat can also compromise reproductive performance.
There are several management practises to help ensure sows are consuming enough feed during lactation to avoid weigh loss. Feeding levels and intake during gestation is unlikely to influence litter size unless feed intake is restricted significantly. The target for weight gain should be based on backfat thickness at time of weaning and her weight at weaning. All sows should have 18-20mm of backfat at time of farrowing and should be fed an extra 1kg/day at 100 days from breeding. Protein levels in the diet have shown to have an influence on feed intake as well as piglet weaning weight. For example, sows fed 12-14% CP consumed less than sows fed 16-18% CP. Several other factors have been shown to influence feed intake during lactation such as environment, number of daylight hours as well as the form in which the ration is fed. It is possible that the differences in sow productivity may be a result of feed and feeding programs over a sows reproductive lifetime.

Pre-planned segregation: The effect of grouping by weight at weaning on variability in body weight at nursery exit

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Variability in pig growth costs producers due to sort losses at marketing and reduced barn utilization. This experiment was designed to determine if pre-planned segregation (PPS), the separation of the total population of pigs into sub-groups expected to differ in performance, could improve barn utilization. A total of 2080 pigs, weaned over 8 weeks, were divided into groups based on weight at weaning. Segregation had no effect on variability of the entire group, or percentiles of the lightest or heaviest subsets of that group at d 50. Since it is expected that the rooms housing the heavier pigs would turn over more quickly, PPS could therefore be used to improve overall barn utilization.