SEARCH
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:
How Canada Plans to Stay Free of Foreign Animal Disease
Posted in: Production by admin on January 1, 2002 | No Comments
A disease such as foot & mouth disease would spread very quickly in Canada. Entry of a livestock disease into a susceptible population would devastate the economy, and tie up agriculture department personnel and resources. The blow to the economy would be the closing of borders to exports, which is extremely important. Serious diseases could be spread via an innocent traveler, a not so innocent traveler, and even docks in Vancouver that handle risky material from foreign countries. The outbreak of FMD in the UK served to show veterinarians worldwide that no country is invincible to disease. Canada has prepared for such an outbreak by conducting exercises designed to point out the weaknesses in the plans to fight a disease and improve on them. Additional money has been provided to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to employ more inspectors so that a higher percentage of incoming freight is being examined. This includes powerful x-ray machines to detect anything harmful. Public awareness is one of the most important factors in preventing and educating about foreign animal disease. Trust has to be given to countries that they are reporting all cases of reportable diseases so that the risk of spread to a traveler’s home country is eliminated. What must be dealt with is the swill (“garbage”) feeding that goes on. This is the feeding of rendered animals to livestock. Maximum monitoring must be present in order to ensure no disease enters.
The use of diet manipulation to alter water utilization patterns of growing pigs
Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments
Concerns relating to the use of water resources by the livestock industry, combined with the rising cost of storing, hauling and spreading manure have resulted in greater interest in more precisely defining the drinking water consumption of pigs. In particular, little information is available on the impact of diet composition on voluntary water intake in swine. In addition, diets are currently not formulated with considerations involving their impact on water usage in pigs. Some researchers studying the effect of diet on water consumption patterns of growing pigs have observed altered water intake patterns in response to changes in dietary crude protein or mineral levels, while similar studies have not produced conclusive results. Two experiments were conducted at PSCI’s Floral research facility to examine a nutritional approach to reducing the demand for water by pork production units while maintaining pig performance and well-being. Varying levels of dietary minerals and crude protein level as well as the protein source were used to examine the use of diet manipulation to alter pig water intake. The first experiment involved a total of 54 barrows averaging 72 days of age with an average body weight of 36.0 kg. Pigs were limit-fed diets of varying crude protein levels (14.5,18.5 and 22.5 % CP), an animal protein diet using meat and bone meal, a vegetable protein diet with mineral levels similar to that of the animal protein diet or a high mineral diet. A second experiment involved 48 barrows given free access to diets of increasing CP (16.9, 20.9 and 25.7 %) or a high mineral diet (20.6% CP). Drinking water intake was unaffected by the level or source of dietary protein or the mineral levels when pigs were limit-fed. Similarly, urine output was not different in response to dietary treatment. The high water:feed ratios and individual variability in water intake observed in the first experiment were suggestive of polydipsia, a behaviour that has been related to hunger in limit-fed pigs. To minimize the effect of over-drinking due to hunger, pigs were allowed free access to feed in the second experiment. There were no significant treatment effects on overall water balance; however there was a tendency toward increased drinking water intake and urine output in pigs receiving the highest protein diet. Further analysis indicated that dietary nitrogen and feed intake had a strong influence on the pig’s daily water consumption.
Farmers feedback on pig production technology in Kwara State, Nigeria
Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments
Responsiveness of Swine Waste Management Costs to Feeding Low Crude Protein Diets
Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments
Livestock waste management issues are of growing environmental concern in the United States and elsewhere. Lowering the quantity of nutrients excreted by pigs can ease associated environmental problems and at the same time can reduce waste management costs. Reduction in nutrient excretion can be achieved by feeding pigs with low crude protein diets. The paper develops a procedure for calculation of swine waste management costs as function of four dietary regimes. Feeding low crude protein diets significantly reduced amount of nitrogen excreted by pigs. As a result, reduction in waste management costs may be achieved, especially when the pig farm does not have enough land to apply all the manure it generates.
Strategies for Addressing Odor
Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments
A new University of Manitoba study has evaluated several strategies for addressing odor. The 100-page a
Removal of Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus in Pig Manure by Continuous and Intermittent Aeration at Low Redox Potentials
Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments
A laboratory experiment was conducted to study the effect of intermittent and continuous aeration at an airflow rate of 00667 l min1 l1 of manure on redox potential, pH, organic carbon, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) and soluble orthophosphate. Results showed that aeration at this rate could not bring redox potential up to truly aerobic level. A reduction of 24 and 264% in TKN and organic carbon, respectively, was observed during the continuous aeration process. The continuous aeration at this airflow rate also reduced the initial NH4+-N by 323%. Intermittent aeration was approximately as half as efficient in removal of organic carbon, TKN and NH4
+-N as the continuous aeration. However, within a 24 h aeration period, 75% of soluble orthophosphate was removed from solution for both treatments, suggesting that the phosphorus removal efficiency was independent of aeration schemes, so energy could be saved while still maintaining the removal efficiency.
New CAFO rule sits uneasily with livestock producers
Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments
Soil Sampling Manured and Non-Manured Fields in Grass Forage Production
Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments
This survey study was initiated to investigate the nutrient status of agricultural soils in South Eastern Manitoba that have a history of hog manure application and to compare these soils to 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 would be considered representative of soil landscapes commonly known as the Poppleton, Pelan and Malonton soil associations. The variability in soil nitrate nitrogen and phosphorus with depth was determined at twelve manured locations and six non-manured locations each about eighty acres in area. Three soil-sampling procedures were conducted at each field location. The first consisted of individually sampling fifteen randomly selected sites identified with global positioning coordinates. The second involved taking a sub-sample from each of these fifteen sites for a single composite sample. The third procedure consisted of selecting, at the investigatora