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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:
Continuous Housing of Dairy Cows
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Research Watch by admin on April 5, 2012 | No Comments
Continuous housing of dairy cows is a controversial topic in the UK. Grazing is considered to be a more humane way of keeping dairy cows but has draw backs like lower milk outputs and welfare problems such as heat stress and hunger periods. European herds vary in style but in some regions up to 50% of herds are kept in continuously housed operations. Problems that arise in continuously housed operations are generally a result of management being unable to handle welfare, sanitation and feeding properly.
Mastitis In Dairy Heifers
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Dairy cows infected with mastitis are generally diagnosed when they are mature, around two and a half years old. Studies have shown that cows can become infected as early as six months old, going 45% of their life untreated. It is suggested that producers look for mastitis at the time of preg check or AI when the animal is being handled anyway. Infected heifers should be separated from non-infected heifers to avoid comprimising the dairy herd.
Elevate Calf Hutches For Better Ventilation
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Research Watch by admin on April 3, 2012 | No Comments
A study done at Washington State University found that raising calf hutches off the ground can increase ventilation and lower temperatures in the hutches improving calf health and welfare. A hutch raised off the ground kept temperatures down during the hot times of the day, while a hutch on the ground had higher temperatures than outside, causing an increase in breathing. Increased respiration indicates a level of heat stress.
Fertilizer Use Responsible for Increase in Nitrous Oxide in Atmosphere
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Research Watch by admin on April 2, 2012 | No Comments
Nitrogen Isotope ratios have made it possible to distinguish which N2O particles came from fertilizer as opposed to naturally occurring methods. A study found that fertilizer has a role in recent increases of N2O in the atmosphere. The researchers believe this information should be used to alter fertilizer application techniques to save the environment and buy sometime in the fight against global warming.
Pig Behaviour: Cameras Catch What Humans Miss
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Research Watch by admin on March 30, 2012 | No Comments
A study was done looking at pig behavior and reaction to humans. A researcher recorded pig reactions using the human eye when she entered a pen, at the same time photos were taken to record how the pigs reacted. It was found that the camera caught behavioral signs of the pigs that the human missed.
Feeding and barn management practices that improve feed efficiency
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Production by admin on | No Comments
This presentation by Dr. Goodband of Kansas State University was presented at the 2nd in a series of 8 webinars on Feed Efficiency hosted by Prairie Swine Centre. To access the presentation scroll down and click on Download PDF
Global Investment in Sustainable Agriculture Needed
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Research Watch by admin on March 29, 2012 | No Comments
Scientific leaders from13 countries have come up with recommendations for the world as it faces climate change and an increasing demand for food. Some suggestions proposed were investment in sustainable agriculture and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The scientists also suggested that better diets should be imposed to avoid a rash of dietary related diseases.
Measuring farmers’ attitudes to animal welfare and health
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This article is an abstract of a paper that investigated what animal welfare means to farmers. The study found that farmers perceive animal welfare as being about animal health and comfort in particular.
Ten Rules to Optimize Nursery-Grow-Finish Productivity
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Improving nursery and grow-finish performance can help to increase profitability. PRRS is an expensive virus in terms of its effect on performance, so every effort should be made to keep it out of the nursery where pigs are vulnerable to disease challenges. Ways to manage nursery PRRS are to eradicate it in the sow herd if possible, or to increase the age of infection for nursery pigs. Nursery pigs should be given sufficient space, and kept in an environment at the optimal temperature. Good stockmanship in the nursery includes proper sanitation, adjusting temperature, feeders, and drinkers, and intervening if pigs are not eating 36 hours post-weaning. The nursery should have a feed budget that switches pigs to simpler diets as soon as possible. The feed budget’s effectiveness can be maintained by proper room management, increasing the age of weaning, and measuring weights as much as possible. The health status should be kept high through controlling other pathogen levels by vaccinating, medication, or depopulating and repopulating. The grow-finish room should be clean and set-up before the nursery pigs are transferred over. Grow-finishers often are affected by respiratory diseases around week 20, so vaccinations, ventilation and density management can be used to help prevent this. The finishing feed diets should be budgeted to avoid wasted costs and feed wastage. Chores like barn walk-throughs and individual pig treatments can help fix problems before they become serious. Finally, grower diarrhea incidences should be controlled through medication, sanitation, and biosecurity.
Large Group Auto Sort Systems for Managing Growing-Finishing Pigs – 2012
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Production by admin on | No Comments
Some of the challenges facing pork producers are the high costs of production, increasing consumer demands, and lack of quality workers. New technologies can help address these problems, and one example is large pen auto sorters. Auto sorters can provide similar performance levels to smaller groups, and also provide an economic benefit. However, both of those require proper management of the system, otherwise problems like pigs dying, poorly designed layouts, and reduced performance can occur. Recent producer experiences have shown that auto sort systems can maintain or improve performance, especially as group size and density increases. Also, producers had production savings that varied depending on system, feed, and genetics, and can receive packer bonuses from providing more pigs in the target weight.