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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:
Pressure on Conventional Agriculture
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Production by admin on March 30, 2011 | No Comments
Public concern for animal welfare in agriculture has been increasing, and producers should be aware of which practices the public is likely to scrutinize and how to respond. Animal suffering and the ability of animals to express natural behaviours are two issues that are a concern in public surveys. Some of the commonly targeted practices are housing that restricts movement and natural behaviour, painful procedures without pain control, abusive or rough handling, euthanasia, and failing to treat animals as sentient beings. Producers should be familiar with animal cruelty regulations and the code of practice in case their practice comes under question. As well, staff training and animal welfare incidents should be documented. Finally, communication to the public and calm, reasoned responses can help to mitigate negative public or media attention.
Rethinking Pig Barn Design
Posted in: Economics, Energy, Pork Insight Articles, Production by admin on | No Comments
Increasing energy costs and stricter environmental regulations mean a more efficient, sustainable barn design is needed. More efficient heating, lighting, and ventilation equipment can help to reduce energy use, but designs that consider environmental and animal performance impacts are more intensive. An integrated system of environmental control, manure management, and feed delivery and storage will allow for greater efficiency and animal performance than individual parts. Energy use is generally evaluated on a per pig basis, but this does not always accurately indicate performance and efficiency. A more accurate measure of energy use would be to measure on per weight of meat produced. Rather than focusing on single inputs and outputs, systems should be designed and evaluated based on animal performance. Temperature can affect weight gain and feed efficiency in pigs, so having the optimal temperature is important to have good performance. Hot temperatures can cause heat stress, reduced gain, and more fat deposition. Manure handling affects air quality within the barn and emissions outside of the barn. Scraper systems have an advantage for manure handling as they reduce emissions, reduce the risk of hazardous gases within the barn, and would be suitable for use with an on-site anaerobic digester. During hot conditions, cooling is necessary to maintain performance, and floor cooling will keep pigs dunging in the right areas for partially slatted floors. An evaporative system reduces the need for ventilation by 1/3, and a geothermal system by 2/3. Creating more efficient building concepts requires larger capital input, so any designs would have to be offset by increased pig performance.
Failure to Thrive
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Sow barns strive to produce high quality piglets consistently, efficiently, and profitably. However, enteric diseases can often affect these goals, and are also one of the leading causes of piglet morbidity and mortality. Increasing piglet immunity can help reduce the impact enteric diseases have. Colostrum is the first step to immunity, as it provides all of a piglet’s passive antibodies along with glucose and fat. Gut closure after birth is exponential, so piglets should receive colostrum as soon as possible after birth. Colostrum also impacts intestinal growth and absorption capability. Husbandry and sow colostrum production both play a role in ensuring piglets receive adequate colostrum. Good husbandry starts with providing a farrowing environment that is as free from pathogens as possible through proper washing procedures. Cleaning the sow before she enters the farrowing crate, and regularly scraping the farrowing crate will also reduce pathogens present. Having a technician present during farrowing and increased attention for three days post-birth can reduce mortality rates. Split-suckling and cross-fostering are two strategies that theoretically should help piglet survival, but the research on both practises has shown variable results for any benefit. Finally, piglets should be born into a warm, dry environment, as energy used to warm themselves could be taken away from energy used to develop their immune system or for growth. Identifying which pathogen is causing piglet scours can help with prevention, containment, and treatment. E. coli is the most common pathogen in farrowing rooms, it can be one of several genotypes, and causes malabsorption leading to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Clostridial diseases are mainly referring to three agents. One can be controlled through vaccination, but the other two cannot. Rotavirus and TGE are viral pathogens. So far, only Rotavirus Type A can be tested for, but PCR advancements are allowing for Types B and C to be studied. TGE can be tested for, and any presence requires intervention as the mortality for pigs under two weeks is near 95%. Coccidiosis has greatly been reduced since the use of slatted floors has been increased, but once the pathogen is in the environment it is resistant to degradation and sanitation is the main elimination method. Developing immunity in piglets remains a key strategy to reducing mortality, and colostrum access and good husbandry practices can help achieve this.
A Revolution in Pork Production
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Brazil is rising in the global pork market due to various non-technological and technological reasons, and despite some of its limiting factors. Brazil’s climate allows pork producers to use natural ventilation and light, and allows for two crops a year to be grown. Water and potentially arable land are also readily available in Brazil. The low pig density indicates there is a lot of possible expansion, and low labour costs can make the industry globally competitive. One of the technological advantages the Brazilian pork industry has is its chain organization: there is a high level of integration, and agribusiness companies generally handle coordination. Production has grown due to the high level of integration, and also because processors often work with both poultry and pork, and can use poultry resources like infrastructure and marketing. Brazil has also benefited from the increase in global communication and availability of knowledge. Crop production has increased, and swine genetics have been improving. Brazil also has the advantage of being PRRS free, the high use of ractopamine, and advancements in immunocastration. Brazil’s two biggest limiting factors are the lack of capital due to high interest rates, and the positive foot and mouth status limiting market access. Brazil has potential to continue to grow its industry and to increase its presence in the global market.
Demanding Consumers vs. Conventional Agriculture
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The UK pork industry is smaller than it was 15 years ago, but has high production performance and product differentiation. UK pork producers can only supply about 50% of the UK’s pork consumption, however careful marketing, industry lobbying, and welfare group support means the demand is still higher than for imported EU pork. Outdoor housing systems and banning gestation stalls have put the UK on the leading edge of sow welfare, and consumers within the UK recognize this. The Red Tractor logo and the RSPCA’s Freedom Foods help to indicate quality and welfare standards to consumers. As well, the use of the British pound sterling rather than the Euro means British pork is cheaper for processors than imported European pork. The availability of straw in Eastern England also provides affordable bedding for swine. All of this means that UK pork differentiates itself from competitors. The UK intends to remain at the top of swine welfare, and is beginning to introduce 5 measures to quantify welfare. Overall, UK pork has a strong position in its domestic market, and continually improving quality and welfare standards will help to ensure it remains there.
Lessons, Opportunities and Challenges
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The decline and variability of economic profit for swine producers has led to various strategies including increasing provincial and national demand, subsidies, and trade barriers for imported products. Since the pork industry exports much of its pork, the Canadian exchange rate can have a large impact on profits. Canada’s corporate tax rate is lower than the States, and expected to decrease, so businesses and investors are seeing Canada as an opportunity. There has been a decline in pork consumption due to health, animal welfare, and food safety concerns. As well, many people choose not to eat pork, or meat in general, due to vegetarianism, religious or other dietary restrictions, or the availability of meat substitutes. The Canadian pork industry produces more than Canadians can consume, so exportation is necessary. The industry and government should market more aggressively to the global market to increase exportation demand. Increasing global competiveness through creating a cheaper packer sector, coordinating Canada to be as competitive as America, and continuing technology development and utilization can help the Canadian pork industry increase profits.
Dealing with Post-Weaning Diseases – Post Weaning Disease Challenges and Management Solutions to Improve Production Efficiency
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The stress of the weaning process and the immune system transition can leave the nursery pig vulnerable to disease challenges. In order to control disease challenges in the nursery the type of pathogen, the clinical symptoms, the severity of the disease, the herd health status, and long-term impacts should all be understood. Intervention strategies can help reduce the impact, and can involve antimicrobial therapies, vaccination, and good production practises for standard challenges. For more serious or external disease threats, depopulation and repopulation can be used, or herd closure.
Dealing with Post-Weaning Diseases CSI-Swine: “Crime Scene” Investigation
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A veterinary investigation to solve a problem within a barn begins with accurate data collection. Questioning workers and using any documentation will be helpful in this process. Once there is data, an odds ratio can be performed to see if there is any association between two variables. A veterinarian can use the disease behaviour for profiling, and for viruses it is important to know if the virus is DNA or RNA, and enveloped or non-enveloped. Knowing the time frame of the disease will help a veterinarian decide to focus on looking for an agent or an antibody. Time also affects the course of the disease, and how many animals are affected. With more information, a more accurate decision on what to test for can be made, and what to do with the results.
The Nutrition and Economics of Feeding Entire Males Through the Grow-Finish Period
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Finishing entire males allows for better feed conversion, greater lean yield, and higher animal welfare. Historically, the problem with raising entire males was the possibility of developing boar taint when boars reach sexual maturity. However, immunocastration is a viable option for raising boars and preventing boar taint. Entire males will likely have higher amino acid requirements due to the increase in protein deposition, but feed efficiency is increased which will likely result in lower feed costs overall. Some progress has been made in genetically or nutritionally reducing boar taint, but the most effective method is immunizing against gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH). Immunocastrated males have a lower feed efficiency than entire males after the second dose is given (4-6 weeks prior to slaughter), but it is still above that of barrows. Restricting feed intake or dietary energy may be able to reduce fat deposition after the second dose. Immunized males may be practical option to utilize feed efficiency and protein deposition close to entire males while avoiding boar taint, resulting in increased financial returns.
Immunocastration in Swine: a Practical Approach
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Immunocastration can offer many benefits to producers, and Brazil share notes on their experience and recommendations. The vaccination team should be composed of the right people for the job with proper training, knowledge, and skills. The team should have clear tasks and a schedule, be provided PPE, monitor the assessment points, and be aware of how to proceed if self-injection occurs. For facilities, separating pigs by sex makes the vaccination process easier, but may result in multiple source batches. The vaccination is convenient in that timing of the first dose is flexible. The facility should have proper infrastructure to handle animals while vaccinating. The producer should monitor animals to find any animals that may have been missed, or any vaccinated animals that develop abscesses. The supply pharmacy should have sufficient cold and monitored refrigerators, carry different sizes of bottles, have contingency stock, and have specific applicators. The slaughterhouse should be phased into handling immunocastrated animals, as they may require new task assignments and need to consider the destination of the testicles. National legislature needs to be changed to allow boars into the food system, and government veterinarians should be consulted. Finally, ways to make immunocastrated boar products appeal to the customer are through the increased animal welfare, strict food safety assurance, and improved sensory evaluations.