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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:
Sprinkling canola oil in barn rooms
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on January 1, 1995 | No Comments
Dust concentrations in animal buildings can be reduced by sprinkling a small quantity of canola oil. The sprinkling pressures and oil temperatures have already been defined (PSCI 1994 Annual Research Report). However, we have not yet optimized how much and how often oil was sprinkled at six application rates in three identical swine growing/finishing rooms. For the six oil application rates, dust concentration was reduced between 37% to 89%. Sprinkling more often was more effective than less often in terms of dust reduction. However, sprinkling more often than once a day is difficult when the oil application is less than 10 mL/m2 per day. Sprinkling more oil can reduce more dust, but a daily dosage of more than 10 mL/m2 caused greasy floors. Variable daily dosages for oil sprinkling had a higher efficiency of dust reduction than a constant daily dosage. A recommended variable oil sprinkling dosage is 40 mL/m2 for the first two days, 20 mL/m2 for the second two days and 5 mL/m2 for the rest of the production cycle with a 20 mL/m2 surge every two weeks. For grower/finisher units, this oil sprinkling schedule can reduce dust by 80% using only 0.5 L oil per pig marketed.
Dust suppression in swine feed using soybean oil.
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Dust generation from pig feed (maize/soybean meal diet) treated with soybean oil was investigated using a cement mixer in a plywood box. Airborne total dust concentrations in the box were measured gravimetrically using a vacuum pump and filters while 12-kg feed samples were constantly mixed. Treatment factors were soybean oil concentration (0, 1 and 3%), maize bulk density (normal, 730 and low, 600 kg/m3), time of oil addition (before or after grinding the maize), and storage time (0, 7 and 14 days). The feed was a mixture of soybean meal, base mix and adjusted amounts of ground maize and soybean oil. Total dust generation from feeds made with normal-bulk density maize was 29.1, 3.39 and 0.99 mg/m3, respectively, for 0, 1 and 3% soybean oil added after grinding. Adding soybean oil after grinding suppressed dust generation more than adding the oil before grinding at every oil level (P<0.001). More dust was generated by feeds made from low-bulk density maize at every oil level. Storage time or treatment X storage time interactions were not observed.
Environmental Farm Plan – Our green agenda and Atlantic Environmental Farm Plan Workbook
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The Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) was developed by the Atlantic Farmers Council (AFC) to help farmers become more aware of their farm environmental situation and take action to work toward a more sustainable agriculture. On a voluntary basis, 2 steps are followed by each farmer, the first one is to assess the environmental situation of their farm using the Atlantic EFP Workbook and the second one is the implementation of an action plan that is designed considering the particular situation of each farm. This approach is done on a voluntary basis and the AFC hopes that within 5 years, 75% of the primary agricultural sector will have completed an EFP and 95% within 10 years. Education, leadership/stewardship and incentives are also effective tools to b included in the achievement of environmental sustainability in agriculture.
This program is very interesting however it needs a lot of commitment from the farmers and incentives must support their approach.
Biological and Chemical Contamination of the Air in a Growing-Finishing Pig Building Using Deep-Litter Systems
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The measurements and analysis of the ambient conditions in a building that on deep-litter show important risks to the human health. The highest concentration of total and Gram-negative bacteria were found during the winter period and those concentrations were 27 and 4 times (respectively) higher than the limits recommended in waste treatment and composting facilities. The highest concentration have been measured after the litter is being stir (weekly necessary maintenance procedure for the deep-litter). Exposition to the high level of those contaminants by the farmer or stock person can result in respiratory problems.
A Review of the Literature on the Nature and Control of Odors from Pork Production Facilities
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This review on odour covers many aspects. The chapters subject are presented as follow: Odor and Odor Perception, Psychological Impact of Swine Odors, Odor Detection and Quantification, Legal Mechanisms for Odor Regulation, Relation Between Local Climatology and Odor Transport, Sources of Odor Associated with Pig Production, Techniques of Odor Reduction and Their Applicability, Chemical and Biological Additives to Achieve Odor Reduction, Effect of Feeding/Diet on Odors from Swine Manure, Air Treatment Processes, Integrating Site Selection, Facility Design and Odor Control Technologies, Separation Distances and Land Areas: A Manure Nutrient Balances Approach, The Real Odor Control Questions, and Research Opportunities Having Potential to Reduce Odor Complaints.
Noise Propagation in the Agricultural Environment.
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As noise become an increasingly important environmental factor, methods that would help better understand noise propagation would be valuable tools. Many factors that are interrelated affect noise propagation such as distance, air absorption, meteorological conditions, ground cover. On those factors, ground cover could be controlled by farmers. However more work is needed in order to understand the effect of for example ground surface coverage, roughness, barrier insertion on the turbulence on noise propagation over agricultural land.
Marketing by pig or by pen
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The most common method of marketing grower-finisher pigs is to sell individual pigs that have reached a pre-set target weight that typically maximizes carcass index. However, marketing for the highest carcass index does not guarantee the highest net revenue for each hog or for the barn. For example, if no replacements are added to the pen when individual pigs are sold, the barn cannot operate at full capacity.
Marketing method can affect barn efficiency. In this study we consider two such marketing methods. The first method simply sells all pigs in the pen when the average pen weight reaches 105 kg. A second method is to market pigs individually as each pig reaches 105 kg. An extra step in the latter method is to regroup and mix the remaining pigs from several pens into a single, full pen. Pigs are often mixed and sorted in nurseries and at entry into feeder barns to maximize pig uniformity and space utilization. Mixing finisher pigs is less common because finisher pigs may fight more and experience poorer gains after mixing.
Testing new management approaches such as different marketing schemes or mixing near-market pigs is financially impractical on most farms. We have used a less costly method to test these economic effects by using a computer model to simulate these marketing schemes.