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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:
A note on possible link between behaviour and the occurrence of lameness in dairy cows.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2000 | No Comments
The number one welfare concern and one of the more important economic concerns in dairy cattle is lameness. There are numerous causes of lameness. What remains unclear is why certain individuals within the same environment are more prone to foot lesions than others. It is thought that differences in social and individual behaviour may be the underlying cause of these differences. The incidence of lameness in 40 dairy cows was compared with their social behaviour and individual time budgets. The cows’ agonistic and individual behaviours were videotaped. From these tapes the cows social status was determined and cows were categorized as low, middle or high ranking. The rate of lameness during this study was 42%. Social rank did not affect the amount of time the cows spent standing. Low ranking cows did, however, spend more time standing still in the passageways and standing halfway in the cubicle than middle or high ranking sows. The amounts of time spent standing did not differ between lame cows and cows that were not lame. Cows that did become clinically lame did stand half in the cubicles longer and were displaced from the cubicles less than cows that were not lame. This study may offer future researchers an idea of the direction to go when trying to study the relationship between behaviour and lameness.
Growth, carcass characteristics, and incidence of ascites in broilers exposed to environmental fluctuations and oiled litter.
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Using male broilers, the impact on growth, carcass characteristics and occurrence of ascites was tested by manipulating the diurnal temperature and application of canola oil to the litter to remove respirable dust. The temperature fluctuated 3C above the set temperature during the day and 3C below the set nightly temperature, while the control birds were kept at a constant temperature. The oil was applied to the litter every second week at a rate of 1.1 L/m2. . Once the chickens reached 6 weeks of age 30 out of the 150 chickens in the pen were slaughtered and their carcasses weights of the breast muscle, fatpad and hearts were taken. Acites lesions were also scored at this time and the areas of each chamber of the heart. Broilers that had oil applied to the litter gained significantly less weight than those that did not have oil applied to the litter (2 249 vs 2 293g). The various treatments did not result in a difference in fatpad weight, shank length, lung weight and percentage of breast muscle. However, the pectoral muscles were significantly heavier and the right ventricle was heavier in broilers that were exposed to temperature fluctuations. Broilers on the temperature fluctuation treatment had a higher mortality rate of 1.4%. It was concluded that fluctuations in temperature can negatively effect broiler growth, and the impact is more distinct when the litter is coated with excessive amounts of oil.
Immunocompetence and viability under commercial conditions of broiler groups differing in growth rate and antibody response to Escherichia coli vaccine.
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An increasing amount of loss due to mortality and morbidity is being seen in the broiler industry, however if the chickens are bred to have increased disease resistance these losses may be reduced. The study examined the impact that breeding broilers to have a stronger immune response to Escherichia coli would have within a commercial broiler population. Comparisons were made between hens with high or low responses to E. coli vaccination, commercial broilers and crosses (high x commercial, low x commercial and high x low). The chicks were test under a standard vaccination program during 1997 and 1998. All incidences of mortality were recorded, while body weights and blood samples to determine the anti-body response of natural exposure to E. coli and vaccination with Newcastle disease virus was taken from a sample group within the pen, depending on group size. The commercial line had the highest growth rate, moderate growth rates were seen in the high x commercial and low x commercial line, and the slowest growth rates were observed in high, low and high x low broilers. The highest antibody response was seen in the high line and the lowest response can from the low line. Moderate antibody responses were seen in the crosses and the commercial line, the lowest response out of the three from the low x commercial line and the highest from the high x commercial line, with the commercial line between the two. There was a high strong correlation between the chickens’ antibody response to Newcastle disease and E. coli, which may indicate that there is a common genetic component in the immune response to these antigens. The commercial line had the highest mortality rate and the lowest mortality rates were seen in the slowest growing lines (high, low and high x low). The mortality rate of the low x commercial line was 33% higher than the high x commercial line. The results indicated that there might be an interaction between the antibody response and growth rate on the mortality due to infectious disease
Meat Packer Vertical Integration And Contract Linkages in the Beef and Pork Industries: An Economic Perspective
Posted in: Economics by admin on | No Comments
This report describes and analyzes the current vertical integration, producer-processor or first handler contract and
cash market linkages in agriculture, emphasizing the beef, pork, and poultry producer and processor vertical market structures, and how they compare to the vertical linkages in other important agricultural commodity systems; Driving forces for the changes observed in the food and agriculture market structure, and the economic incentives for tighter vertical coordination linkages in the beef, pork, and poultry industries; Benefits and costs of these coordination system changes in agriculture, emphasizing those in the beef, pork, and poultry industries for processors and merchandisers, independent and contract producers, other industry participants, and consumers; and Implications of packer vertical integration or contract linkages with cattle and hog producers for independent and contract livestock producers, packers, other industry participants, consumers, global market competitiveness, price discovery and reporting, policy makers, and regulators. The results indicate that the consumers of beef and pork are willing to pay an additional 20 to 30 cents per pound for meat from a system of production that results in a branded, customized
product. The results also suggest that this premium will grow over the next five years. Evident, too, from the results is the value consumers place on food safety and the ability to trace product to the point of origin. A potential market for attractively packaged products is also suggested here. The results also indicate that a group of consumers is willing to pay more for products from hormone-free and other animal- friendly environments. This added value to beef and pork products cannot be captured without innovative vertical linkages throughout the beef and pork production, processing, and merchandising system. That perceived value, as it increases in the future, serves as an increasingly important driving force in the industry reorganization which is now underway and very likely to continue.
Environmental Engineering Challenges and Opportunities for the Pork Industry
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The Sask Pork Chair in environmental engineering for the pork industry was established at the Department of Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan with the finacial support of SaskPork and the Prairie Swine Centre in 2000. Six different responsibilities and two major objectives were identified for that research position, the most important being the establishment and pursuit of a comprehensive research program focsued on manure management engineering. One of the main goals of the Chair position is to develop and validate a system engineering approach for issues and problems related to manure management engineering because of the increasing number of parameters that need to be considered in the selection of manure management systems. Another issue with the Chair is currently actively involved is the development and implementation of a National Standardized Environmental Management for the Canadian pork industry.
High Dietary Copper Improves Odor Charcteristics of Swine Waste
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Two experiments were conducted to determine the impact of dietary copper concentration and source on odor characteristics of swine waste. In both experiments, 192 weanling gilts an barrows were alotted 24 pens. Pen were randomly assinged to one of six dietary treatments consisting of control, 66 or 225 ppm Cu as CuSO4 or 33, 66, or 100 ppm Cu as cupric citrate. An antibiotic was added in the diets for experiment 1 but not 2. On day 28 fecal samples were randomly obtained from one pig per pen stored at -20 degrees Celsius until preparation and evaluation by an odor panel. The odor panel consisted of 10 individuals, and each panelist evaluated the odor intensity, irritation intensity, and odor quality of the air samples. In experiment 1 the odor and irritation intensity of the feces were lower from animals consuming 225 ppm Cu and 66 or 100 ppm as compared to the control. The odor quality of the waste from animals consuming diets containing and 66 or 100 ppm was impri=oved compared to the 33ppm treatment. In experiment 2, the odor intensity of the feces of the pigs receiving diets supplemented with all concentrations of Cu-citrate was lower than that of feces from the control animals. Irritation intensity of the feces was not affected by treatment. Odor quality of wase of pigs supplemented with 225 ppm Cu from copper sulfate and all concentrations of Cu-citrate was improved when compared tothat of wste of the control pigs.
Managing Manure as a Fertilizer for Prairie Agriculture
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All jurisdictions recommend manure management plans, with some requiring formal submission. This is because all manure is not created equal. Nutrient compositions vary greatly in both solid and liquid manure and are a function of livestock type, age, type of feed, composition of feed, rations climate, the presence of bedding, manure storage and manure handling. Therefore manure should be tested annually. For liquid manure (<4% solids), agitated samples should be collected as close to time of application as possible to establish nutrient levels. Solid manure (4-20% solids) samples can be taken prior to application from holding areas or manure piles. If we consider manure as a fertilizer, crop selection is unlimited. The only requirement is to balance manure nutrients against crop uptakes and residual soil N. Soil test and fertilizer recommendations should be used to calculate annual manure application rates. All fertilizers should be managed to reduce nutrient losses that occur from harvest, erosion, volatilization and denitrification. Effective manure management practices during storage, handling and application and time of application will minimize losses. Managing manure to minimize losses will indirectly address other issues like air quality, water quality, odour and human health.