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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:
Night-time roosting in laying hens and the effect of thwarting access to perches
Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2000 | No Comments
The undisturbed roosting behaviour and the reaction of commercial laying hens when roosting on perches was thwarted were studied. Hens were kept in two groups of 26 in litter pens with perches at heights of 23, 43, and 63 cm. Immediately after lights-out and within ten minutes, over 90 % of hens were on perches provided and roosting close together (experiment 1). In experiment 2, hens were kept in groups of three in experimental pens equipped with perches. The birds were tested in four different situations: (1) the pen unchanged (Base), (2) the perch was covered with plexiglass, (3) the perch was removed, and (4) the unchanged pen (Post; control treatment). All birds experienced the four treatments. When perching was not possible, the hens spent less time sitting and tended to spend more time standing than the control hens. The hens also moved more when the perch was inaccessible. When the perch was visible but inaccessible, the birds showed more attempts to take off. The authors interpreted the findings to mean that the birds were experiencing increased frustration and/or exploration, probably to find an alternative roosting site. These results and the findings that there was a high use of perches for night-time roosting under undisturbed conditions led the authors to conclude that laying hens were motivated to perch. They also concluded that hens kept under conditions where perching is not possible may cause the birds to experience reduced welfare.
A note on possible link between behaviour and the occurrence of lameness in dairy cows.
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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.
La biosecurite a un nom: filtration
Posted in: Air Filtration, Pork Insight Articles by admin on December 27, 1999 | No Comments
L ‘elevage Maguer, selectionneur Large White a Elliant pres de Quimper dans Ie sud-Finistere, est I’une des tetes de pyramide en lignee male du groupe ADN. napprovisionne en cochettes LW les huit multiplicateurs du groupe, qui pro. duisent les fameux verrats LW x Pietrain, .mais aussi Ie nouveau verrat croise trois voies: LW x(Duroc x Pietrain) qui a ete presente pour la premiere fois cette annee au Space (voir aussi I’article sur I’inauguration de la troisieme station de production de verrats d’ADN. Cette station permet au groupe.
Bien gérer l’introduction des sujets de remplacement : DU LA PROBLÉMATIQUE SRRP
Posted in: Air Filtration, Pork Insight Articles by admin on September 20, 1999 | No Comments
L’introduction d’animaux de remplacement constitue toujours un risque sanitaire. À cet égard, le virus SRRP représente un défi particulier. En effet, non seulement certaines souches de ce virus peuvent causer des problèmes considérables, mais en plus, ce virus possède des caractéristiques qui en font un agent difficile à contrôler. Donc, une gestion adéquate du virus SRRP, bien que difficile, est essentielle au bon équilibre sanitaire des élevages.
Il est bien évident que les programmes d’introduction de sujetsde remplacement ne doivent pas se limiter au seul virus SRRP mais
doivent aussi prendre en considération les autres agents infectieux importants (Actinobacillus, Mycoplasme, virus GET, etc.). Cependant, en raison de l’espace imparti à ce document, seule la problématique spécifique du virus SRRP sera traitée.