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Industry Partners
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:
Agriculture In the Local Community: The Municipal Role
Posted in: Production by admin on January 1, 2001 | No Comments
Trends in Agriculture
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Modifying stockperson attitudes and behaviour towards pigs at a large commercial farm.
Posted in: Production by admin on January 1, 2000 | No Comments
The behaviour and welfare of pigs is greatly influenced by the treatment they receive from the stockperson. This study evaluated the effect of the stockperson’s attitude towards pigs and their job satisfaction on how they treated the pigs in their care. The effect of attempting to modify the stockperson’s attitude and behaviour towards pigs was also examined. On a large commercial facility, 43 stockpeople became involved in the study. Some of the stockpeople participated in a training program to attempt to modify their attitudes and behaviour towards pigs, while the others did not receive any training. Some of the information provided during the training sessions included: details about the sensitivity of pigs, proper handling techniques, and how improper handling can negatively affect productivity Data was collected before and after training through questionnaires and direct observations with the pigs. Training resulted in improved attitudes towards pigs. The results from the questionnaires indicated changes in their beliefs about the importance of proper handling and that petting and talking to the pigs would have a positive effect. Direct observations showed that trained stockpeople decreased their negative behaviours towards the pigs. Pigs also tended to show less fear-related behaviour in the presence of trained stockpeople. The training procedure was successful in modifying the stockperson’s attitude and behaviour towards pigs. This indicates that training programs for employees in the pig industry would be beneficial.
FAT THICKNESS AND LOIN EYE AREA EFFECTS ON PORK CARCASS QUALITY MEASURES
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EVALUATION OF SPACE REQUIREMENTS FOR SWINE FINISHING FEEDERS
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Management of Swine Mating
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A high reproductive rate is essential to the success of most swine enterprises. When space in the nursery and growing-finishing facilities or farrowing crates are empty because of reproductive failure, the cost of that failure must be covered by those spaces that are occupied. Therefore, buildings must be occupied at 100% capacity for maximum return on investment. Producers should identify and incorporate a breeding herd program (involving both males and females) to consistently
achieve a conception rate, farrowing rate, and litter size that will ensure enough animals for all available space. This approach is especially important during times of low profit margins.
When choosing a mating system, producers should not base their choice strictly on the amount of time and labor that needs to be devoted to the system. Rather, each mating system should be evaluated in terms of what stands to be gained or lost in reproductive efficiency with the implementation of each
mating program. For many, the inherent problems associated with pen-mating and the long-term improvements in reproductive performance that are attainable make switching from a pen-mating system to an individual-mating system well worth the added time.
Risk Factors Associated With Post-Weaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome of Swine (PMWS)
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Nursery pig management has become one of the major challenges of veterinarians in the past few years. The structure of the swine industry has changed such that newly weaned pigs are saleable and nursery pigs are moved and/or sold from one system to the next. With the advent of early weaning and off-site production, there are both healthier and sicker nursery pigs than there have ever been before. When the system is working, the growth rates are phenomenal. When the pigs are ill, there are significant losses due to mortality.
In the late a
DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROOT ZONE WATER QUALITY MODEL (RZWQM) FOR OVER-WINTER CONDITIONS
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