Odour Control and Reduction in a Pig Feeder Barn Using an Enclosed Dunging Area and Biofiltration

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Biofiltration is one of the techniques used to reduce odours produced in livestock facilities. It uses a filter capable of sustaining microbial life to treat odourous air. Microorganisms in the biofilter break down the odours in air flowing through the system. Several factors influence the performance of biofilters. These include:
-Filter media
-Airflow
-Moisture
-Temperature
-Nutrient availability

ONTARIO LIVESTOCK TRANSPORT EMERGENCY GUIDE

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Objective:
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On-Farm Odour Control Technologies: Issues, Current Options and Perspective for the Future

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Odour issues are no longer simply nuisances but are becoming health risks. In the U.S and elsewhere, agribusiness industries and research institutions are expending considerable time and resources towards on-farm odour control technologies and management practices to address this challenge.
Current odour technologies include diet manipulation, manure treatment, emissions treatment and emissions dispersion. Others include simply increasing the distance between odour producing sources and their neighbours.
Research in North Carolina has come up with a number of new technologies such as greenhouse vegetable production systems, constructed wetlands systems, upflow biofiltration systems, manure solids conversion to insect biomass (for value-added processing into animal feed protein meal and oil system), and many more. Some of these are in operation and others are still in design stages.
The current technologies, which are primarily for controlling water pollution, will not likely be adequate in the near future. This is why these new technologies are being identified and going through performance verification and economic feasibility tests. It must also be recognized that significant time, resources and incentives will be required in order to implement these new or adjusted technologies.

Cost of Meeting Manure Nutrient Application Standards in Hog Production: The Roles of EQIP and Fertilizer Offsets

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PIG AND PORK SECTOR PROFILE

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This sector profile focuses on the how many pig farms there are in Manitoba. It also discusses pork producer’s marketing options, and the market for Manitoba pork. It then mentions the pork processing that occurs as well as the trade partners and number of hogs exported from Manitoba. The final pages illustrate multiple graphs and charts that give an overview of the pork industry in Manitoba.

On-Farm Euthanasia of Swine: Options for the Producer

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Unfortunately, it is inevitable that animals will become ill or injured in such a way that euthanasia will be necessary. It is usually impractical or impossible for a veterinarian to regularly perform euthanasia farms; euthanasia then becomes the responsibility of the producer. The producer should be aware of the available humane on-farm euthanasia methods and how to perform them.
This brochure is designed to assist producers in making decisions about euthanasia while considering pig welfare, economics, safety and public health. Swine producers and their employees should read this
brochure, discuss the different options with their veterinarian and fill out the action plan on page eight.
The action plan should be reviewed annually with your veterinarian and your employees.
When illness or injury occur on-farm, the action taken on the part of the producer usually falls into
4 broad categories:
1. Treatment – If an appropriate treatment is available and practical.
2. Slaughter – If the animal is suitable for transport and human consumption. In Ontario,
a Veterinary Certificate for Direct Transport to Slaughter must be obtained from
a veterinarian if a non-ambulatory animal is to be transported.
3. Sell or Transfer – This option may be appropriate in case of injured or disadvantaged pigs
that may perform adequately in a different production setting.
4. Euthanasia – As a last resort, producers must decide to euthanise animals for humane,
economic and public health reasons.

Rural Perceptions on Livestock and the Environment

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Hog Production in the province is intensive: over 2300 animals on average per farm. Odour is a source of inconveniences for hog farm operatorsa

Ingredient Processing and Enzyme Supplementation for Minimizing Nutrient Excretion and Manure Volume

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Nutrient excretion in pig manure and the total amount of manure excreted by pigs presents major challenges to the swine industry and threatens future growth and development of the industry. This is because excessive nutrient excretion (particularly nitrogen and phosphorus) is implicated in environmental pollution while the large volume of manure increases the cost of handling and disposal. Of the many strategies that could be used to address these challenges, nutritional manipulation strategies have been suggested to provide the most effective means. The potential to use micronization (high intensity infrared heating) and enzyme supplementation to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus excretion and manure output from growing pigs fed barley-peas-based diets was investigated in the research project reported herein. The micronization procedure and enzyme supplementation have been reported to increase nutrient utilization in some studies with both poultry and pigs but their value in mitigating nutrient and manure excretion is poorly understood. In this project, three experiments were completed. The effect of micronization on indicators (lysine availability, starch gelatinization, and water extract viscosity) of nutritional value was assessed in Experiment 1. The results showed that micronizing peas at 110-115 C and a moisture content of 25% substantially improved indicators of the nutritive value of peas for pigs and that storage time (up to 6 weeks) had no effect on the composition of dried micronized peas. In Experiments 2 and 3, nitrogen and phosphorus excretion and manure output were determined; ileal and fecal digestibilities of nutrients were determined in Experiment 3 only. Fecal phosphorus excretion was reduced by 27% and 17%, respectively, when pigs were fed diets containing micronized peas with or without enzyme supplementation in Experiment 2. Overall, including micronized peas in pig grower diets reduced total (feces plus urine) phosphorus excretion by 16%. Total nitrogen excretion was reduced by approximately 20% in the two experiments. Enzyme supplementation substantially increased total tract phosphorus digestibly and both micronization and enzyme supplementation substantially improved ileal amino acid digestibilities in the barley-pea based diets. The findings of the current project clearly indicate that the two strategies tested, namely micronization and enzyme supplementation, are useful tools for mitigating environmental concerns associated with pork production. They should be investigated further to optimize their usefulness.

Use and accuracy of instruments to estimate sperm concentration: Pros, Cons & Economics

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AI success can depend upon sperm quality at collection, sperm age when inseminated, insemination volume, and AI times relative to estrus. However, in addition to these factors, another essential component of AI effectiveness is the number of sperm inseminated. In fact, concentration of sperm inseminated, may actually compensate for many deficiencies involving the technology when using AI, when conditions are less than optimal. Therefore, properly estimating the concentration of the boar ejaculate is critical for efficient boar use and for influencing the effectiveness of the AI technology to optimize farrowing rate (FR) and litter size (LS). Two billion sperm appears to optimize conventional AI for LS and FR when semen that is less than 36 h old, is administered within a

Handling Pigs – Work Smarter, Not Harder!

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Pigs can be challenging animals to move and handle. Aggressive pigs, stubborn pigs and frightened or stressed pigs all add their own unique challenges.
It is well proven that people who invest in learning proper pig handling techniques can save themselves a lot of time and money (in improved pork quality). Honestly, just reducing your frustration and making a difficult job easier makes it worth it. Here are some tips for moving and handling pigs with less stress – good for the pigs and the people!