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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:
Evaluation environnementale, agronomique et economique de differentes methodes de gestion des engrais de ferme au champ a l'aide du logiciel FECES: rapport final
Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 1994 | No Comments
New means to assess manure management methods are presented using a global balance approach that consider environmental , agronomic and economical aspects. An important literature review was realized to evaluate the nutrients behavior of manure from the moment the manure is applied to soil. Certain aspects are well documented and can be used for a assessment of manure and they are: nitrogen volatilization, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) run off, nitrogen availability during the first year and nutrients uptake by plants. However many other parameters needed to make the assessment are not documented or appropriate for Eastern Canadian conditions and they are: nitrogen denitrification, leaching (N, P, K) and N, P, K stocking and immobilization to soil particles. Considering those limits, it is difficult to elaborate a complete balance approach for nutrients in the farm manure from the first contact to soil at spreading through plant’s uptake. More research is needed to investigate those aspects of nutrients – soil interaction. As a result, the software, FECES, that was developed from the literature elements to help in nutrients (N,P, K) balance determination for specific cases, have to be used with caution. This software could be implemented as parameters are determined by research results. However the simulation helped pointing out that a vast majority of farmers put fertilizers in excess on their field: using mineral fertilizers and not really considering the nutrients contained in the manure they apply. Those excess outweighed the management practices they could use (ex: spring spreading rather than fall).
Better manure management practices have to be integrated in the whole nutrient balance of the farm considering the farm situation (crops, soils), the manure available and also the mineral fertilizers used. This report presenting an important literature review and software development is the result of a project founded by Quebec Environmental and Wildlife Ministry as part of special program of support of research and development in environment on better manure management practices.
Growing-finishing pig performance monitoring system
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on | No Comments
Pork producers are always looking for a new way to achieve better performance from their grower-finisher barn. In order to improve you must have a way of evaluating current performance and set a goal for future performance. It is the difficulty of evaluating current performance that has prevented us from achieving higher levels of production. The Growth Master, developed at the Prairie Swine Centre is a performance monitoring system that allows you to estimate the current level of animal and financial performance in the grower-finisher barn. With this easy to use computer system you can monitor using a technique of developing feed intake and growth curves. This produces a unique method of management for each farm while reflecting genetics, health, environment and nutrition of the herd. This program goes beyond identifying a
Road transportation of broiler chickens: induction of physiological stress.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments
Nitrite plus Nitrate Recoveries in Piggery Slurry by Direct Distillation and Modified Kjeldahl Methods
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In order to evaluate the NO3 (nitrate) – NO2 (nitrite) present in aerobically treated slurry different methods had to be investigated. A combination of two methods (direct distillation and modified Kjeldahl) gave significant results.
The Watershed Protection Approach – 1993-1994 Report
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The watershed approach aims at solving environmental problems through local organizations leadership. First a diagnostic is made of the major environmental problems affecting the watershed and actions taken or proposed are presented. Different watersheds are presented with the names of the organizations involved, their problems and the solutions chosen. Best management practices to reduce sediments and nutrients, education, resource management are some of the general steps proposed and more specific measures are proposed for each watershed.
The approach of local organizations involvement is interesting as the solutions chosen to solve have to satisfy the communities and come from the communities in a specific watershed that present specific problems.
New Ventilation Guide
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on | No Comments
Introducing Swine Building Ventilation a
Lighting for the production and welfare of turkeys.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments
Ventilation System Choice and Economics
Posted in: Energy by admin on | No Comments
Excessive ventilation in winter expels heat and increases heating costs. This can occur due to oversized fans and/or poor controllers. Energy to operate air inlets and exhaust fans varies significantly. Self adjusting air inlet baffles require no energy at all to operate. Every exhaust fan consumes between 1000 and 10000kWh of electricity per year based on continuous operation. Energy efficiency in terms of ventilation equipment is very important. Producers can determined the electrical energy demand of a fan by the following equation:
reference kWh x hr/day fan is running x #days/yr fan is used x current energy cost $/kWh