Intra-National Effects of a Countervailing Duty on the United States/Canadian Hog Market

Posted in: Economics by admin on January 1, 1994 | No Comments

This article examines the consequences of a trade barrier imposed on an industry that is characterized by spatially-dispersed producers and consumers, and substantial intra-national transportation costs. It was concluded that we may have witnessed a situation wherein the U.S. government protected a foreign industry with one trade barrier, and then was forced to establish another in order to offset the effects of the first. At any rate, this new countervailing duty (CVD) would have implied that the Canadian hog industry could expect new changes in relative hog prices across Canada and in the dynamics of price adjustments in the North American hog market, except for the fact that the new CVD was overturned in the first test of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement provision for challenging one nation’s trade policy before the Extra-Ordinary Challenge Committee.

Technique d'analyse de l'etat de structures d'entreposage des fumiers en beton arme et de selection des modes de refection

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This guide is meant to help in the evaluation of concrete manure storage facilities (CMSF) presenting structural and leakage problems. This tool has also been developed to help select the appropriate methods and material needed to repair the tanks. The whole approach is divided in different steps, the first one being the detection, quantification and evaluation of the default or damage of the CMSF. The next step is the determination of the means (method, material) needed to eliminate or reduce the damage of defaults. The final step is to evaluate the economics of such repairs or improvements and to estimate the profitability of such measures. This guide is to be used by engineers that have to find a solution to existing CMSF that present leakage or potential problems.

CMSF are important investment in the manure management chain and leakage problems that happen before the CMSF life is over always cause problems to the farmers. In Quebec many CMSF have been reported as presenting problems and few solutions where available. This guide is an attempt to help deal with the situation and solve problems.

Manure Management Effects on Surface and Groundwater

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Monitoring of surface and groundwater has been done on a two years period on corn fields that have been provided the needed crop nutirents by the injection of swine manure. The injection was done in the fall preceeding corn planting. The three years application rates were 10,000, 11,125 and 8,500 gal/acre for 1992, 1993 and 1994 respectively. In the experimental conditions, the results showed that little water losses occured through surface drainage consequently most of the nutrient loss were observed through tile drainage.The Nitrate-N levels in the tileflow was slightly above the 10 mg/L health level with an average of 13.8 mg/L. However this level was slightly lower than what would be expected from commercially fertilized crop ground. Phosphorus levels measured averaged 0.6 mg/L. The nitrate-N levels that were measured in the shallow water from the manure plots were higher the year after manure application. Overapplying manure resulted in higher nitrate-N levels.

Noise in the countryside

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Using immunomodulation as a tool to increase reproductive efficiency

Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on | No Comments

Reproductive efficiency is of low heritability. In the past, attempts to improve reproductive efficiency have focused on crossbreeding. The turnover rate of breeding stock in western Canada is quite high with about 40% of the average herd made up of replacement gilts. Gilts tend to have smaller litter sizes, which has been correlated to a lower number of eggs released from ovary in gilts relative to sows. The Animal Biotechnology Group at the University of Saskatchewan is attempting to develop a performance enhancement vaccine, which will increase the number of piglets farrowed to a gilt to bring gilts up to the performance level of sows. Understanding the physiology of the reproductive cycle has allowed scientists to make predictions on how to influence ovulation rate by modifying the levels of each of the different hormones. With failed attempts in the past, investigators have been attempting new, more specific methods to manipulate the reproductive cycle. A performance enhancement vaccine uses immunomodulation to stimulate an animals immune system to improve its own productivity. The advantage of this method over administering hormones is its specificity and duration of activity. It is possible to precisely modulate a hormone. The same has been done in the past by giving hormones such as estrogen and testosterone. Consumer acceptance of hormone administration to meat animals is decreasing and immunomodulation should be more acceptable. Immunomodulation leaves no residues following treatment since the antibodies used are completely broken down into amino acids and reused by the animal. The Animal Biotechnology Group is working with the Prairie Swine Centre to study and develop performance enhancing vaccines.

Water – Forgotten Nutrient and Novel Delivery System.

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Different aspects of the water in swine production are discussed in this article. The water consumption and the wastage and approaches can be taken to minimize the water wastage without lowering the pig performances and/or its welfare. Steps have to be taken to reduce the spillage by the pigs: first by selecting proper drinker design and also by adjusting to the pig drinking behavior and drinker operation. The diet of the animals can also be formulated in order to reduce unnecessary water consumption and be the closer to the animal’s requirements (lower salt content, lower dietary chloride and lower potassium concentrations, lower total nitrogen intake). Elements on water qualityand their effect on the production, water treatment and water medication are also discussed. Liquid feeding systems are also discussed and are presented as being efficient in the reduction of manure volume and improvement in the pig performances.

Different aspects of water utilization are presented and discussed. Water spillage and wastage can contribute to increasing the total volume of manure. Liquid feeding systems can be an avenue to reduce also water consumption however, no reduction are presented and special care has to be taken to these systems as all the feed manutention has to be done through pumps. The maintenance of such systems requires attention.

Influence de l'alimentation et des performances sur les rejets azotes des porcs

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An improvement in the productivity of the pig production (increase in the number of piglets produced per year, a better feed conversion ratio, improvements in the herd health) has a direct effect on the nitrogen excretion as the animals become more effective in their feed utilization.

Respiratory Health-Status in Swine Producers Relates to Endotoxin Exposure in the Presence of Low Dust Levels

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An assessment, including questionnaire and spirographic measurements, was conducted on the respiratory health status in 54 male swine producers, aged on average 36.3, who worked an average of 10.7 years in the industry and spent on average 4.7 hours per day in the swine barns. Atmospheric contaminants were measured including carbon dioxide, ammonia, total dust, respirable dust and airborne endotoxin. Respiratory symptoms and lung function studies did not relate to categories of low, medium and high exposure to respirable dust. The data suggest that respiratory health status relates to endotoxin levels but not to dust level exposures in the presence of low dust levels and indicates that control measures should include endotoxin as well as dust control.

Analyse des chantiers d'epandage des fumiers et lisiers pratiques dans l'Ouest de la France

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The value of animal excretion is increasingly appreciated by the farmers. To give a better control of the manure value through application, a thorough analysis of the elements around manure handling and spreading on the farm was done by the FRCUMA (a regional union of cooperatives of agricultural machinery users). The following elements were taken into account in the study: distances between the manure storage facilities and the fields where the manure is applied, spreading systems, actual application rates compared to the rates that are intended by the farmers, and fertilizing value of the manure applied. The factors affecting application rates are also presented.

Livestock wastes are often perceived as wastes and should be considered as a resource. However to reach this change in mentality, means have to be considered in order to understand all the elements such as technical, economical, psychological and social aspects contributing to practices evolution. In studying contract or cooperative manure spreading, consideration have to be put to technical, economical and labor aspects.

Farmer's Options to Reduce Odour and Ammonia Emissions from Animal Buildings and Storage

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For farmers, it is interesting to control ammonia and odour with a single measure. However, ammonia and odours have different impact regarding the environment thus the motivation for investments from farmers to control ammonia or odour are different. In the Netherlands were animal density is high, the control of both odour and ammonia became necessary as for other countries with lower animal density, odour is the first priority. As most measures to reduce emissions are not economically profitable, attention has to be given on measures that are applied where the emissions are important, as for the Netherlands the manure landspreading representing 1/2 the ammonia emission and a high proportion of the odour complaints. More effective proteins feeding will have an impact on the N excretion as urea and uric acid, thus lowering the ammonia concentration and emission. Housing systems that limits emission have also to be considered and the way manure is stored has also an impact. Outside manure tanks would be a better measure in reducing ammonia emission than in reducing odour emission. Housing systems with litter would result in odour control by lowering odor emission but not in the total N emissions (less ammonia but more NO, N2O than standard systems). Manure treatment have an effect on the emission however as anaerobic digestion reduces odour emission, it doesn’t reduce ammonia emission and as acidification prevent the ammonia emission, it has little effect on odor. Measures that reduce ammonia emission cannot be automatically considered as being effective in odor reduction and conversely. The control of ammonia has to be regulated otherwise the farmers tend to consider odours as a higher priority.

This article gives a general view of the situation and means to reduce ammonia and odour emissions. The need for regulation on ammonia control is stressed as it is generally costly and odour control is consider the first priority with its direct impact on the neighborhood.