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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:
Personal Profile – Garrett Rozeboom
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Production by admin on August 1, 2012 | No Comments
Personal profile of Garrett Rozeboom, M.Sc. candidate featured in the Prairie Swine Centre’s Centred on Swine newsletter.
Top 10 developments in swine nutrition, 1991 to 2012
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In 1975, one sow in the USA produced 720 kg
of pork per year, but by 2009 it was 1816 kg
per sow, points out Dr. John Patience, from
the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State
University. In 2009, the US produced 10.4 billion
kilos of pork from about 5.8 million sows. “Using
1975 productivity , it would require 14.5 million
sows, an increase of 8.7 million, to produce 2009
quantities of pork,” he says. “At an average sow
feed cost of $336/sow/year, the added cost of
these sows, just for feed would be $2.95 billion
per year, adding $26 to the cost of each pig
sold.” The industry has been very focussed on
doing its job well. Technology has changed our
world. Improvements in nutrition have made a
major contribution to higher output per sow and
improved efficiency in the nursery and grow-finish
phase. Dr. Patience lists the 10 top developments
that have had the biggest impact over the last 20
years.
The overall response of piglets to phase one diets during the first two weeks in the nursery is not affected by creep feeding or weaning weight.
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Average litter size on swine farms in Canada has increased from approximately 12.3 to 13.7 piglets in the past 5 years. Further improvement is expected and is an important determinant of the competitiveness of the industry in Western Canada. However, research conducted at PSCI showed that as litter size increased from 8.4 to 15.4 pigs born alive, average birth weight decreased by approximately 250 grams, or almost 40 grams per additional pig. The number of pigs less than 850 grams increased from 0.2 per litter in the small (5 to 12 piglets) litters to almost 1 per litter in the largest (16 or more born alive) litters. It is apparent that as litter size continues to increase it is crucial that these small pigs survive and go to market or the benefits of larger litters will not be not realized. This experiment was designed to determine if the requirement for a complex dense feed immediately post-weaning is dependent on the weaning weight of the pig. We hypothesized that the light-weight pigs at weaning would show a greater response to the higher quality feed. We also studied the whether the provision of creep feed was beneficial.
Early detection and interventions for reducing lameness in gestating sows
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Sow lameness is the second most common cause of culling after reproductive failure. While good conformation and genetics contribute substantially to reducing lameness in sow herds, hoof problems commonly arise in fully slatted concrete systems. Pressure exerted from the concrete flooring generates a response in the hoof to increase horn growth. Combined with unbalanced weight distribution this can lead to malformations of the foot such as claw overgrowth and heel erosion. Little research has been conducted on the impact of early intervention and prevention of sow lameness during gestation. Historically, there was little option to treat sows with hoof problems due to the unwillingness of sows to have their feet held. The Zinpro Corporation, Minnesota, USA
have now developed the first chute to restrain sows allowing hoof trimming to take place, and a range of corrective trimming protocols to prevent and restore correct hoof conformation in sows. The use of corrective claw trimming can be used as a preventative or early treatment option for lame sows, and could significantly increase sow productivity and longevity.
A revolution in feed management is coming to your operations!
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Production, Swine Innovation by admin on | No Comments
Candido Pomar, a researcher for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Sherbrooke, Quebec, together with his brother, Jesus Pomar at the University of Lleida, Spain (and several teams of researchers from other universities and five countries) are behind what promises to be the next opportunity in swine feeding; one that has the potential to transform how we feed pigs within the next five years. This team of researchers is striving to develop technology for feeding pigs individually, on a daily basis, rather than using a phase feeding program targeting the average pig in a pen.
Euthanasia Alternatives
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Swine Innovation by admin on July 31, 2012 | No Comments
Euthanasia is essential for overall herd health and production costs, as unhealthy and unprofitable pigs are removed from the herd. For young pigs, blunt force trauma is the method most commonly used through-out the industry. Blunt force trauma is effective and in compliance with regulations, but it is not very pleasing aesthetically. A more visually pleasing alternative to blunt force trauma is a zephyr gun, which is a modified air gun that rapidly fires two 9mm depressions on the pigs head, rendering them insensible. The zephyr gun has been proven to be affective and can be used on pigs up to 9kgs (20lbs) where blunt force trauma is only acceptable up to 12lbs. The Zephyr is considered an effective euthanasia method which may be preferable to blunt force trauma for euthanasia of piglets.
Pathogen die-off rate following manure application under Ontario field conditions
Posted in: Environment, Pork Insight Articles by admin on July 30, 2012 | No Comments
Bacteria including E.coli, Listeria and Salmonella are commonly found in manure, and have the potential to become a human health risk if they contaminate food products. The die-off rates of E.coli, Listeria and Salmonella were tracked when manure spiked with the bacteria applied to soil samples in two different soil types. Sentinel vials were used to prevent the soil from washing away, and then dairy or swine manure with added bacteria was sprinkled on the samples. The vials were sampled for added or native bacteria, and bulk soil tested for coliforms and E.coli. The die-off rate was rapid for the first three weeks following manure application. Depth impacted the die-off rate in E.coli and Salmonella, but not Listeria. For E.coli, and Salmonella the rate is reduced at depths under 6″. Soil type, season, and manure type had no impact on the rate, but the study was conducted in a year with an unusually high precipitation rate which may have had an effect on the results.
Towards Integration Nutritional Management of Growing-Finishing Pigs
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Swine Innovation by admin on July 26, 2012 | No Comments
The University of Guelph has compiled research to improve nutritional management in growing-finishing pigs. The objectives of there research include improving efficiency/profitability of pork production, improve pork quality and safety, minimize environmental impact, and reduce reliance on in-feed medication. With these objectives as guides, research updates are provided for three projects: The first being Long-term impact of post-weaning feeding programs. There are opposing views on post-weaning feeding programs, one view argues strong growth post-weaning leads to strong growth thereafter, while the other view believes a poor diet and growth post-weaning will lead to compensatory growth resulting in the same outcome with lower feed costs. The research attempts to evaluate the effects of a complex diet and in-feed antibiotics versus a simple diet on nursery pigs and how it impacts grow-finish growth performance and carcass quality. Pigs were put on either a simple or complex diet, and tracked through their barn cycle. Results found that reduced gain in the nursery due to reduced diet complexity or feeding antibiotics did not effect days from weaning to market, gain to feed ratio from weaning to market, or carcass composition. The second project that is reported on is Variability of (Ontario) DDGs. Researchers attempt to assess the variability in nutrient characteristics of DDGS and to identify predictors of nutritional value. Twelve samples from each of seven sources were used. Results found that there was a large difference between and within processing plant differences, also conventional amino acid analyses overestimate reactive lysine by about 17%. The third project Decision Support System to evaluate the environmental & financial impacts of alternative management strategies attempts to identify and implement an optimum management strategy by further developing the pig growth model developed by the International Pig Growth Modelling Group, lead the development of models for “Nutrient requirements of swine” and explore aspects of nutrient utilization.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Euthanasia Methods for Suckling Piglets Using Signs of Sensibility and Behavioural Indicators
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Euthanasia is a practice in pig production that has welfare and economic impact. It is essential to understand when euthanasia should be carried out and that it is done properly to limit suffering of the pig. Early weaning of compromised piglets has both welfare and economic benefits. When a pigs birth weight is less than 0.9kgs it will rarely turn into profit for the producer so euthanasia will limit feed and maintenance costs and improves overall herd welfare. For pigs under twelve pounds there are three acceptable euthanasia methods, blunt force trauma, overdose on anesthesia and CO2 poisoning. Blunt force trauma is the most common method and fairly simple to carry out, but aesthetically it is not the most ideal method. An alternative to BFT is a non-penetrating captive bolt which has been deamed acceptable for suckling pigs. Co2 poisoning involves exposing a pig to greater than 90% CO2 for five minutes. Although this method is effective at causing death, it can appear inhumane as pigs squeal while being gassed, try to escape, and have high cortisone levels which suggests the pig has suffered increased stress. When choosing a euthanasia procedure producers should have clear guidelines about which piglets should be euthanized as well as how the procedure is carried out. To assess sensibility the pigs should be tested immediatly after the euthanasia. If the pig still has a brain or spinal reflex it is still considered sensible and the euthanasia attempt must be repeated. If physical contact is not possible behavior tests can be done by obseving absence of breathing, lack of muscle tone and abasence of vocalization.
On-Farm Euthanasia: Recommendations for Producers
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Welfare by admin on July 25, 2012 | No Comments
All pork producers face situations where pigs must be euthanized, such as when a pig becomes ill, injured, or otherwise disadvantaged. This brochure put out by the Pork Checkoff and American Association of Swine Veterinarians provides information about proper euthanasia techniques that are crucial for all pork producers and their employees to understand. The brochure discusses eight different ways to euthanize pigs, going into detail about how the euthanasia should be administered, how to limit the pigs pain, what equipment is required, what could potentially go wrong, as well as other important information. The methods discussed are Co2 poisoning, gunshot, penetrating captive-bolt, non-penetrating captive-bolt, electrocution heart-to-head, electrocution head only, veterinarian administered anesthetic overdose, and blunt trauma. Also provided is a chart that shows which euthanasia method is appropriate for pigs of a certain age (suckling, nursery, grow-finish, and sows and boars) and a chart that rates each method in terms of risk to human safety, skill required, aesthetics, and limitations. The end of the brochure offers a euthanasia action plan which can be printed and used.