Ammonia Volatilization Trends Following Liquid Hog Manure Application to Forage Land

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Viral zoonoses – a threat under control?

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Canada's Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990-2001

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Canada’s agriculture sector emits and removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The main emission sources include: methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from animal production, i.e. enteric fermentation and manure management, and N2O is released from agricultural soils. Removals of CO2 are mainly from Canada’s agricultural soils. This net removal of CO2, observed as an increase in soil carbon storage, is due to greater adoption of conservation practices such as no-till farming and the reduction of summer-fallow on the Canadian prairies.
As there is only a small amount of rice production in Canada, therefore, CH4 emissions from rice production are considered to be negligible and are not inventoried. Similarly, field burning of agricultural residues is no longer considered a common practice in Canadian agriculture and therefore is not inventoried. Prescribed burning of savannas is not a relevant practice in Canada. Greenhouse gas emissions from on-farm fuel combustion are included in Chapter 3: Energy.
For each emission source category, a brief introduction, methodological issues, uncertainties and time-series consistency, quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) and verification, recalculations and planned improvements are provided. The detailed inventory methodologies and activity data are described in Annex 3

Landscape context and carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) communities of hedgerows in western France

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Organic and Other Management Strategies with Two- and Four-Year Crop Rotations in Minnesota

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Are low crude protein diets practical?

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Nutrition has become increasingly complex. Normally, feeding programs are adopted to maximize the farm’s return over feed costs. However, certain circumstances lead to other issues such as minimizing nutrient excretion into the slurry, which is also important. Past research done at the Prairie Swine Centre and elsewhere has shown that feeding low crude protein (CP) diets can decrease the nitrogen output in manure. The use of synthetic amino acids in a low CP diet is becoming more economical, but producers still fear that growth and carcass quality may be adversely affected with the application of such a diet. Results from this study of three diets prove that low CP diets are practical for commercial productions. Growth rates were unchanged in pigs fed the low protein diet compared to those fed the control diet. Carcass quality was unchanged or improved slightly. Overall performance, and uniformity of performance was excellent. The economics of low protein and high synthetic amino acid diets is currently very favourable, saving $2 per barrow and up to $4 per gilt in this trial (based on November, 2003 prices).

Greenhouse gas odour emissions from pig production buildings, manure storage and manure treatment facilities

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Agriculture as a whole accounts for 9.5% of the total Canadian greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is also estimated that 42% of this is from the livestock sector, and that 1/3 of the 42% is associated with manure management. Odour is also a large issue associated with livestock operations. It is important to better assess the effects of the different components of operation emissions. To do so, an experiment was conducted to evaluate methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and odour emissions from swine operations. The study was to determine GHG and odour emissions from different types of swine production buildings and building floor design, from manure storage facilities and from two manure treatment systems. Carbon dioxide was found to be the most important contributor to GHG emissions from swine buildings. Methane emissions were much less than CO2 and N2O was almost negligible on an animal mass basis. The lowest CO2 levels were found to be in the gestation rooms, and the highest levels in the grow-finish rooms. Average total GHG emissions from uncovered earthen manure basin (EMB), covered EMB and uncovered tank storage facilities measured in this study were 4.23, 2.52 and 6.65 respectively. Carbon dioxide remained the most important component of the GHG emissions throughout the different facilities. Odour emissions were positively impacted when blown chopped straw covered the EMB. Odour concentrations and intensities were measured on three swine operations equipped with a conventional pig manure storage tank, an aerobic-anoxic manure treatment system and a biofilter manure treatment system in Quebec. The aerobic-anoxic manure treatment system emitted fewer odours than the biofilter treatment system.

On-farm monitoring of pig welfare by assessment of housing, management, health records and plasma haptoglobin.

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Poor health records and increased levels of haptogobin have been shown to correlate with a poor environment, but there is limited data regarding variation between individual animals. This study was carried out using 78 farrow-to-finish pig farms spread throughout the yearly seasons. Data on housing and management were collected on each farm visit. Pathological findings and blood samples were taken from each pig at slaughter. Ten blood samples were analyzed for Lawsonia intracellularis (PIA), Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, salmonella, and haptoglobin values (HAP). Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. Pigs from farms ranking higher in housing (space allowance) and management (sanitation, cleaning, disinfection, climatic control, and breeding protocol) scores showed lower HAP levels and had a lower within farm variability. Pigs infected with PIA or who had lung lesions also had higher HAP levels. Fasting before transport was found to be negatively correlated with lung lesions. HAP levels were lower when pigs with lung lesions were fasted. In conclusion, haptoglobin sampling on the slaughter line was determined to be relevant for integrative welfare assessment of slaughter pigs at the individual level and for longitudinal monitoring at the farm level.

Social discrimination and aggression by laying hens in large groups: from peck orders to social tolerance.

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Laying hens kept in small groups exhibit social behaviour similar to that of their wild ancestors, red jungle fowl, with a dominance hierarchy which is most likely based on establishment fights. In larger groups this system is thought to break-down, and hens may adapt to the new environment with a different social strategy. The present study tested the ability of laying hens living in groups of 10 and 120 to discriminate flockmates from unfamiliar birds. Subjects were presented in test cages with vertical bars, positioned outside the home pens in one of two places. Sixteen subject hens from each group size were presented to their home group (familiar) and a different group of the same size (unfamiliar). Hens in small groups discriminated between familiar and unfamiliar subjects by showing more aggression towards unfamiliar hens. In large groups, the overall level of aggression towards subjects was reduced in that attempted fights were rare, and aggressive outcomes were no different in response to unfamiliar or familiar hens. Certain individual hens in large groups were more likely to approach the subjects showing no evidence that hens have limited ‘territories’ within the pen. Those birds approach and aggressive towards the subjects in large groups were heavier and had larger combs than the subjects. These findings are consistent with idea that in large groups hens become less aggressive and may change their social system to one where dominance is determined through direct assessment and ‘status signalling’ rather than the remembered individual assessment of a small group pecking order.

The effects of feeding method, milk allowance and social factors on milk feeding behaviour and cross-sucking in group housed dairy calves.

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This is a review of factors affecting cross-sucking in group housed calves. Evidence is presented to indicate that cross-sucking is a re-direction of normal sucking behaviour. It is primarily seen when calves are fed milk or milk replacer rather than being allowed to suckle their mother. Prolonging the milk meal by reducing the flow rate (orifice size) in teat buckets reduces the problem of cross-sucking, as does leaving the buckets in the pen after the meal is ended. In large groups of calves, fed via computerized milk feeders, a protective stall for the calf that is drinking is helpful to reduce cross-sucking directed toward the drinking calf. However, both means of reducing cross-sucking in such conditions, reducing flow rate and protecting the drinking calf, reduce the number of calves that can be fed from a feeding station. Additional work is needed on determining the appropriate number of calves that can be fed from a computer controlled station while keeping cross-sucking within an acceptable level.