How Benchmark Database are Used as a Decision-Making Tool

Posted in: Production by admin on January 1, 2007 | No Comments

The use of benchmark results is not a new concept in swine production but has been minimally utilized in nursery and grow-finish pig production. Measuring nursery and growing pig performance is of paramount importance for a number of reasons. These include: identifying strengths, weaknesses and opportunities compared to defined targets; performing corrective diagnostics; assessing plans and progress, either technical or financial; assessing the value of a business proposal; and most importantly, to compare and benchmark. Benchmarking tools incorporating technical and financial metrics are also useful for validating the on-farm effect of new technologies and feeding strategies, including those derived from growth simulation models. This paper will highlight the power of benchmarking and describe experiences with a proprietary system, Compiporc. Closeout results for nursery and grow-finish pigs are entered into the Compiporc system according to the farm details. Wean-to-finish performances are not currently included, but will be part of future enhancements. Currently the Compiporc database contains closeout data since 2000, which includes over 8,000,000 nursery and grow-finish pigs. Various reports can be produced for nursery and grow-finish including: a general benchmark report, a technical and economical report per period, a nutrient management report and a slaughterhouse report. The use of benchmarking data to support decision-making processes has always and will continue to be of crucial importance in pork production. This paper illustrates a few examples of how it has been and could be used but there are endless other ways of mining the data to improve performance and profitability.

Selective impairment of drug-metabolizing enzymes in pig liver during subchronic dietary exposure to aflatoxin B1

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Time to take a look at alternative feed ingredients for your pigs?

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The rising cost of corn and its declining availability has resulted in increased retail pork prices and pork production costs over the past year. And further increases are expected, according to a new study conducted by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
The study assesses the potential size of the U.S. biofuels sector and estimates the subsequent impact on crop markets, the livestock and poultry sectors, exports, as well as wholesale and retail food prices.
The researchers estimate that, since last August, ethanol production has boosted pork production costs by 30 per cent – about $20 million a week – with similar increases in the dairy, beef, egg and poultry sectors. Those increases translate into higher U.S. retail food prices to the tune of $14 billion annually.
The CARD study suggests that this amount could reach $20 billion in a scenario where crude oil prices range from $65 to $70 per barrel and U.S. corn prices jump to $4.42 per bushel. The study also projects that, if U.S. ethanol production reaches the estimated 30 billion gallons by 2012, it would consume more than half of U.S. corn, wheat and other coarse grain production.
As the demand for grains for the bio-fuel industry increases, the cost of feed energy will continue to increase globally. It had been previously estimated that the cost of feed energy will increase by 10 per cent, while the cost of feed protein will likely decline by more than 20 per cent between 2006 and 2012. The assumption is that feed protein will become cheaper because of increased supplies of protein-rich co-products from the bio-fuel industry, such as distillers’ grains and distillers’ solubles. So, as heavy users of feed energy, pork producers will be looking for more cost-effective alternatives.
Researchers Hans Stein of the University of Illinois and Kees de Lange of the University of Guelph recently collaborated on a presentation at the London Swine Conference, which looked into some of these alternative ingredients and their nutritional value.

Feeding Fusarium-Contaminated Grain to Livestock

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Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) is a fungal disease of various grasses. It is found most often in wheat but can also affect barley, oats, rye and some forage grasses. Under certain environmental conditions, the fusarium mould may produce a mycotoxin called DON (deoxynivalenol). DON is a mild toxin compared to other toxins which canform in grains and forages. Reduced feed intake, and the accompanying decrease in performance, are the only symptoms of DON toxicity livestock producers will likely encounter.
This response to DON appears to occur through the central nervous system. DON belongs to a class of mycotoxins (tricothecenes) which are strong protein inhibitors. Inhibition of protein synthesis following exposure to DON causes the brain to increase its uptake of the amino acid tryptophan and, in turn, its synthesis of serotonin. Increased levels of serotonin are believed to be responsible for the anorexic effects of DON and other tricothecenes. Irritation of the gastrointestinal tract may also play a role in reducing feed intake.
Because DON functions as a protein inhibitor, it may also reduce the production of antibodies by the immune system and increase an animal’s susceptibility to disease.
Different livestock species respond differently to DON. In pigs, DON is efficiently absorbed, poorly metabolized, widely distributed through body tissues and excreted at a comparatively slower rate than in other farm species. This makes pigs quite susceptible to the effects of DON. With ruminants and poultry though, DON has been shown to be poorly absorbed, extensively metabolized, and rapidly cleared from tissues and fluids.
The effects of DON on different livestock species and the Agriculture Canada guidelines for DON intake are discussed below.

How do we Keep PRRS out of Ontario Herds?

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Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome (PRRS) has had a huge
impact on pork producers in Ontario and around the world. This has
spurred researchers at the University of Guelph, led by Dr. Cate Dewey, to study
PRRS in Ontario in order to understand how it spreads, what strains are currently
here and why farms which were negative break with the disease. Their research project, sponsored by Ontario Pork, is taking a look backward
to see where the virus was in the past few years, as well as looking forward to try
and understand how it is changing and moving. Any positive blood tests taken
since September 2004 are of interest to the researchers.

Associations Between Feed and Water Antimicrobial Use in Farrow-to-Finish Swine Herds and Antimicrobial Resistance of Fecal Escherichia coli from Grow-Finish Pigs

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The objective of this project was to investigate the dose–response relationships between on-farm antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in E. coli from grow-finish pigs. It was found that although this study considered E. coli grow-finish pigs only, AMR was associated with antimicrobial use in all production phases. This indicates that antimicrobial use in pigs distant from market may have food safety repercussions. Five of the resistance outcomes were associated with exposure to unrelated drugs, suggesting co-selection. Although co-selection is familiar to scientists, producers and veterinarians need to understand this phenomenon before AMR can be addressed at the herd level.

Manitoba – Foreign Worker Destination

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Worker shortage in Canada is becoming critical. The labour shortage in Manitoba and across Canada is forcing producers to utilize programs such as a Temporary Foreign Worker or a Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program. Roy Hildebrand outlines 5 steps that should be followed in order to obtain foreign workers for your operation: 1) Plan and prepare – take into account how many positions you may need to fill with foreign workers; 2) Service Canada, Foreign Worker Application: follow the steps required for obtaining a foreign worker as outlined by Service Canada; 3) Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program: looks to ensure that you as a producer have done enough to prove that employees were unable to be obtained, and then further helps you to obtain a foreign employee; 4) Selection of Foreign Workers – once a job has been posted and has applicants, it is recommended to do certain routine background checks on work history and education; 5) Settlement of Foreign Workers: proper care must be taken to ensure adequate transportation, housing, and support for your new employees.

Detection of two porcine circovirus type 2 genotypic groups in United States swine herds

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In late 2005, sporadic cases of an acute onset disease of high mortality were observed in 10- to 16-
week-old growing pigs among several swine herds of the United States. Tissues from the affected pigs
in Kansas, Iowa, and North Carolina were examined, and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) was
detected consistently among these tissues. Phylogenetically, PCV2 can be divided into two major
genotypic groups, PCV2-group 1 and PCV2-group 2. Whereas PCV2-group 1 isolates were detected in
all the diseased animals, only two of the diseased animals harbored PCV2-group 2 isolates. This observation is important because PCV2-group 1 isolates had never been reported in the United States
before (GenBank as of May 16, 2006), and they are closely related to the PCV2-group 1 isolates that
have been described in Europe and Asia, previously. Our analysis revealed that each genotypic group
contains a distinct stretch of nucleotide or amino acid sequence that may serve as a signature motif
for PCV2-group 1 or PCV2-group 2 isolates.

Economic Analysis of the Hog Production Industry in Manitoba – Final Report

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The Manitoba hog and pork industry is an agricultural success from any economic perspective including growth, jobs, incomes and trade. The Manitoba and, in fact, the entire industry in Canada has undergone a period of three years in which it has suffered disproportionate losses relative to US competitors. As a result, the industry now finds itself in a period of rationalization of packing plants and more rapid attrition in producer numbers. The summer 2007 announcement by Olymel that it would reduce its pricing structure in Red Deer will accelerate the attrition in producer numbers on the prairies. Furthermore, the prospects for packing plant closures on the prairies and in Ontario are factors that, again, will involve massive challenges for producers. Lastly, the pending US legislation regarding Country of Origin Labeling has the potential to further reduce pricing in Canada relative to the US. There will be a period of two to three years of industry pressure and reduced production in much of the prairies and the hog regions of Eastern Canada. At the same time, however, Manitoba is in a strong position on two key fronts. First, and most importantly, the province has enormous production capability in feed grains and land available for hog production. Fundamental factors that made the province the number one growth area in North America are still in place and are at the forefront for the future. The key problems that Manitoba faces in feed grain competitiveness are policy related not natural disadvantages. These policy issues can, and likely will, be addressed. Key among the non-feed grain policy issues relates to environmental legislation. Manitoba must ensure that its regulations address real environmental issues in a way that does not unfairly burden the industry relative to competing jurisdictions. In addition, the packing sector has determined that Manitoba is a place of growth for the future. The packing sector is expanding in Manitoba and new entrants are hoping for the opportunity to participate in the market. Just as importantly, producers have ready access to packers in the United States. Manitoba producers will not escape the coming difficulties but they are in a good position to endure it, compared to other areas of Canada. Furthermore, when the difficulties pass, Manitoba’s model has proven it to be the best place to grow and move forward.

A Decision Tree for Co-Product Utilization

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The aim of this paper is to describe a decision tree for judging the economical value, safety and applicability of new co-products. The risk assessment of both the supplier and the co-product is an essential part of the analyses for decision making. Co-products from the agro-food industry do play an important role in modern animal and fish nutrition. Total feed consumption by the livestock and aquaculture industry in the 25 EU countries (EU-25) is estimated to be approximately 450 million tonnes per year. Besides 270 million tonnes of home grown cereals and forages, farmers use about 140 and 40 millions tonnes of industrial compound feed and purchased straight feedstuffs, respectively. The major reasons for using co-products in animal feed are related to costs, availability and nutrition value. Pigs and in particular ruminants are capable to convert fibrous components into valuable nutrients finally resulting in high quality animal products, such as milk and meat. As a consequence, many co-products can be fed to those species, even high-moisture co-products. The latter is feasible because of the existence of sophisticated liquid feeding systems, especially designed for the feeding of high-moisture co-products. Nevertheless, the use of co-products in animal feed certainly has its limitations. Many species show physiological constraints which require a more specific nutritional approach and some co-products require appropriate risk management. Increasing awareness in both the food and feed industry and continuously improving risk management strategies, such as the NuTrace® program (Nutreco, Boxmeer, The Netherlands), have proven to be effective to reduce the number of incidents. These measures and the reform in the European food and feed legislation, including the implementation of the General Food Law, the Hygiene Regulations and other legislation addressing quality, safety, health and environmental protection, make it possible to use co-products from the agro-food industry in a sustainable way. A logical start of the process is to introduce the product and the supplier. In the first step information is gathered about the supplier, product composition, production process, available volumes, some major quality aspects and indicative prices for assessing the technical-economical feasibility. Finally, the economical feasibility is assessed in a least-cost formulation exercise. If the results demonstrate that the co-product is financially attractive, time is invested in the risk assessment. If not, there will be a ‘no-go’ for the co-product. In the next phase a questionnaire has to be filled, which functions as a checklist for the risk assessment. The quality assurance program of the producer is reviewed and critical control points of the production process, the product and the logistics are defined. After approval by the responsible quality manager and nutritionist, the purchase department is informed that there is green light for the supplier and the new co-product. The last step is to judge whether the co-product is technically and economically worthwhile to use in animal studies. Resources to asses the quality and risk of a new material may be limited, but in principle all steps in the decision tree have to be taken by a pig farmer that is offered the new co-product as a single ingredient. In many cases, the feed company, the supplier of the co-product and other authorities provide the information and advice that is necessary for decision making at farm level.