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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:
Methane emissions from an anaerobic swine lagoon
Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 1999 | No Comments
PSC Elstow Feed Grain Utilization
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on | No Comments
Performance and carcass quality of growing-finishing pigs submitted to reduced nocturnal temperature
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on | No Comments
Summer months bring elevated temperatures, which can reduce pig growth rate by decreasing feed intake. It has been suggested that a reduced temperature setpoint during summer months could sustain pig performance by perhaps modifying pig eating behavior and stimulating the average daily feed intake. Both a pilot study and a large scale experiment were conducted to evaluate the impact of a reduced nocturnal temperature strategy on the performance and carcass quality of growing-finishing pigs over summer months. The reduced temperature setpoint was set 6A?A?C lower than typical commercial barn temperature setpoints. The rooms with reduced temperature setpoints resulted in a lowered nocturnal room temperature, 1.6A?A?C cooler at night, but no effect on daytime room temperature. The average daily temperature fluctuation in the reduced nocturnal temperature (RNT) rooms was increased by 2.1A?A?C. In the large scale trial, feed intake and ADG was higher than in the control rooms. These results were not found to be statistically significant; however, reducing temperature setpoint could provide a net return of 0.80 CAN$/pig sold raised during summer months in Saskatchewan.
Psychobiological consequences of two different weaning methods in sheep.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments
Opioid peptides and behavioral and physiological responses of dairy cows to social isolation in unfamiliar surroundings.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments
Cattle were placed either into social isolation in unfamiliar surroundings for 15 minutes, or remained in their home stalls with or without naloxone treatment to test whether endogenous opioid peptides were involved in the behavioral and physiological response of the cattle to stress. Naloxone in the home stall increased cortisol concentrations in the blood. It also tended to decrease the response latency to local thermal stimulation of the leg by means of a laser (pain sensitivity), but did not induce vocalization. When the cattle were housed in social isolation, the incidence of high-frequency vocalization and defecation/urination, heart rate, cortisol concentrations, and response latencies to the laser were increased. Prior administration of naloxone increased the incidence of low-frequency vocalization in isolation, but did not affect heart rate or response to the laser, and it had a limited effect on blood cortisol concentrations. It seems as though brief periods of social isolation in unfamiliar surroundings are stressful to the cow. This was indicated through increased heart rate, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis activity, and vocalization. Pain sensitivity is reduced when cattle are housed in isolation, suggesting a stress-induced analgesia, or pain reliever. However, no evidence of naloxone-sensitive opioid receptor involvement in these responses was found.
Mexicoa
Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments
As part of a technical assistance project for emerging markets, USDAa
Daylong Monitoring oof Odor and Gas Emissions from Animal Facilities
Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments
Emision data for hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and odour were measured from a total of seven farm representing 1 poultry, 1 dairy and 5 swine operations. The process consisted of one day sampling at each site with samples being collected every two hours enusring a total of seven sets of data were collected during a 12 hour sampling period. Accoridng to this study, the nursery building has the highest emission rates for odour and hydrogen sulfide. The naturally ventilated swine finishing building has the highest ammonia emsission rate. The data also showed there was no significant differences in terms of the levels of ammonia nd hydrogen sulfide in the daily course for all the animal facilites studied. Ventilation rates play an important role in determining the emission rates of aerial poolutants from animal buildings.
A Manure Nutrient Profile of 100 Missouri Swine Lagoons
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One hundred mature swin lagoons were studied and analyzed for: toal nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, electrical conductivity, total solids, phoasphorus and potassium. Deep lagoons (20-25 ft) has average TKN levels of 1373 mg/L while shallow lagoons (8-12 ft) had TKN levels of725 mg/L. The study also found the variability of niotrogen and electric conductivity to be greater in shallow lagoons than deep lagoons. Deep lagoons exhibited nitrogen levels approximately twice that of shallow lagoons The coefficient of variation values for deep and shallow lagoons indicate significant risk in planning land receiving areas based on average lagoon nitrogen or phosphorus levels. Ammonia nitrogen/TKN levels are approximately equal for deep and shallow lagoons. Surface area to volume ratio appears to strongly influence the equilibrium concentration levels of nitrogen in deep versus shallow lagoons. N/P/K ratios for lagoon effluent and typical mid-west United States crops suggest phophorus will be over applied in most cases when nitrogen is used as the limiting factor. Selection on phosphorus as the limiting nutrient factor will increase thje land use requirements by a factor of 1.3 to 2.8 depending on the crops being grown.