Progress & potholes: Transporters talk the issues

Posted in: Production by admin on January 1, 2009 | No Comments

Livestock Transport Conference highlights animal care leadership role for truckers and other involved in the relocation of livestock.

There have been many advances in science, handling guidelines and training programs in recent years, both for humane livestock handling in general and increasingly for transporting livestock. Among the
examples are Canada’s Certified Livestock Transporter (CLT) program – a comprehensive training course and support service for livestock truckers, shippers and receivers that offers certification. A similar U.S. based program is Transporter Quality Assurance (TQA). As well, North America is moving toward third-party livestock transport audits as part of quality assurance, lead by the recent development of the American Meat Institute’s Animal Welfare Audit for Transportation.

Feed preference in pigs: Relationship with feed particle size and texture

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This experiment was conducted to study the relationship between the feed preference values of feeds reported previously and their particle size and texture characteristics. The effect of individual feed ingredients was studied
when added to a common basal diet. In addition to the basal diet, which included rice, a soybean meal product containing 56% CP, sunflower oil, and wheat bran, a total of 126 diets were studied. Of these, 63 were prepared
by replacing the rice in the basal diet with another cereal. It was concluded that the texture properties
of the feed could explain in part the feed preferences observed in pigs, whereas particle size characteristics had less impact.

For more information the full article can be found at http://jas.fass.org/

Localisation of swine hepatitis E virus in experimentally infected pigs

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The distribution of intravenously inoculated swine hepatitis E virus (HEV) was assessed by in situ hybridisation for a period of 50 days. Evidence of apparent clinical disease was found in only one pig in the HEV infected group. The only gross lesion observed was mildly enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes at 50 days post infection (dpi). Histopathologically, mild lymphoplasmacytic infiltration and focal hepatocellular necrotic lesions were found in HEV-infected pigs. Swine HEV nucleic acids were detected by RT-PCR in the faeces at 3 dpi in 100% of the 18 pigs infected with the virus. Thereafter, the number of positives declined. The most consistent and intense signal was found in the liver of infected animals using in situ hybridisation. The positive cells were hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, bile epithelial cells and interstitial lymphocytes. Swine HEV RNA was localised in the cytoplasm of the hepatocytes, with a slightly granular pattern of staining, but hybridisation signals were not observed in degenerative or vacuolated hepatocytes. HEV was much less frequently detected in extrahepatic tissues such as lymph nodes, tonsil, spleen and small and large intestine. It was concluded that swine HEV had replicated primarily in the hepatocytes and infection resulted in subclinical infection with minimal histopathological changes in the liver.

For more information the full article can be found at  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/10900233

Influence of sow dietary fatty acid composition on the behaviour of the piglets

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The aim of this study was to investigate if giving dietary supplemented polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) to the pregnant sow would increase the cognitive ability of her piglets. Our hypothesis was that sows fed diets with high content of C 18 n−3 PUFA, increasing the possibility of desaturation and elongation towards DHA, would get piglets with improved development of the central nervous system monitored in behaviour, compared to piglets from sows given diets with n−6 PUFA or less PUFA. However, the study did not show a substantial influence of fat content and composition in sow diet on the behavioural development of piglets. In order to draw any conclusions about possible enhancements of the behavioural development of the piglet, in the same ways as reported in other species, more studies need to be performed. Possibly, the behavioural tests need to be refined in order to reflect a prepartum effect of diet.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci

Evaluation of physicochemical models for rapidly estimating pig manure nutrient content

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Livestock produce large amounts of manure and this represents a valuable resource that, if used appropriately, can
replace significant amounts of chemical fertiliser. However, unless animal manure is managed carefully to minimise
odour, nutrient losses and emissions, it becomes a source of pollution and a threat to aquifers and surface waters. It can
also be a direct threat to human and livestock health. It is suggested that the development of reliable rapid and low cost methods for the assessment of manure nutrient content could encourage the uptake of improved techniques for the management and utilisation of livestock manure. Therefore the objective of this study was to provide a full evaluation and review of existing physicochemical models for predicting pig manure nutrient content using datasets compiled from various sources to test the validity of various physicochemical models. It was found that pig farmers could use easily determined properties, such as specific gravity, dry matter and electrical conductivity, to estimate pig nutrient content. The physicochemical method could not only achieve low-cost and rapid estimation of pig manure nutrient content, but could easily be understood by the farmers themselves.

For more information the full article can be found at  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/15375110

Pro-active manure managers

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Minnesota’s Three Generation Pork farm has received national
recognition for its environmental stewardship, including its
pro-active approach to manure management.
Each year the National Pork Board and National Hog Farmer
organizations select four US pork operations to receive a National
Environmental Steward award. The farms are chosen based on
outstanding work in a variety of areas:
manure management;
neighborhood relationships;
technology or management strategies to improve air quality
soil conservation practices;
promoting and managing wildlife habitat;
innovative ideas.

Employment Standards: Where Are We Heading?

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In most workplaces, employers are concerned with whether or not they are
meeting their minimum obligations under various pieces of legislation.
Employers have many obligations relating to employment standards,
occupational health and safety, human rights, workers compensation and so
on. For the purposes of this paper, we will look primarily at the obligations
imposed on employers in Alberta pursuant to the Employment Standards
Code, as well as the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and what it means
for those employers engaged in the farming industry in Alberta. Health and safety issues are important considerations in any business, including farm operations. Although farming may be exempted from the
Occupational Health and Safety Act, farm operations face the same issues. The importance to farms may be even greater because of the potential for
lawsuits. It is essential that due diligence is exercised to prevent and deal with
safety incidents on farms.
While most farming operations are exempt from certain portions of the Alberta
Employment Standards Code, it must be remembered that certain portions do
apply, namely payment of earnings, maternity and parental leave, and
termination provisions. Employers engaged in such activity should be mindful
to comply with such minimum standards.

The use of ractopamine to enhance the environmental sustainability of pork production

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This experiment was conducted to determine if ractopamine HCl (RAC) can increase nutrient utilization and decrease water use in hog operations. This experiment combined growth (GEXP) and metabolism (MEXP) experiments using 9 dietary treatments (trt) arranged as a 3 x 3 factorial: 3 levels of RAC (0, 5 & 10 ppm) and 3 standardized ileal digestible LYS: DE ratios (1.75, 2.25 & 2.75 g/Mcal DE). In MEXP, higher levels of RAC and LYS improved ADG. RAC decreased water intake and urine output. LYS had no effect on water balance. Therefore, RAC may reduce the environmental footprint of pork production through improved nutrient utilization and reduced water requirements.

Porcine Circoviral Disease – from inception to successful control

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Although the classical gross and histopathological lesions associated with PMWS were described over a decade ago, the definitive diagnosis of PCVD in individual pigs is not always simple. In individual cases, the classical clinical signs (wasting, diarrhea, dyspnea, lymphomegaly, jaundice), histopathological lesions (granulomatous inflammation, lymphoid depletion) and PCV2 antigen associated with the lesions must be evident. However, the presence of simultaneous infections often makes diagnosis difficult. In these cases, diagnostic results may yield multiple viral or bacterial pathogens in addition to PCV2, and the significance of each must be ascertained.
Another complicating factor in the diagnosis of PCVD is that PCV2 may be present, albeit at low levels, in the tissues of sub-clinically infected but seemingly healthy pigs. Thus, antibody testing in serum is not an effective tool to determine if a farm or pig is affected by PCVD. It only shows that PCV2 is present in a herd or that a pig was exposed. However, quantifying the levels of PCV2 in tissues may be useful in ascertaining the significance of PCV2 infection. Good production practices might help to reduce the impact of PCVD and coinfections. Thus, the MADEC 20 principles were at least partially effective in controlling PMWS in many European herds prior to the use of PCV2 vaccine. However, the concensus view is that the use of PCV2 vaccines, led to the rapid decline in the number of PCVD herd epizootics in North America in 2007. To judge the efficacy of a vaccine in the field, reduction of mortality, reduced number of culls and improved performance are the most relevant parameters. Based on these the economical benefit of piglet vaccination can be estimated, and is reported to be as high as 9.85 USD in a non-complicated case of PCVD. Importantly, the piglet vaccines are efficacious in the presence of maternal antibodies, and when coinfections including PRRS59, and Mycoplasma hyorhinis exist. Moreover, there appears to be cross-protection between the two PCV2 genogroups. Thus, the North American and the global swine industries are very fortunate, in that effective PCV2 vaccines are now widely available, and enhance the profitability of pork production systems

Daily Routine Changes in Young Group-Housed Swine Infected With Salmonella

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Illness can result in compromised welfare and altered needs for the sick nonhuman
animal. This research was done to determine alterations in the daily routine
of groups of young pigs containing an infected individual. Twelve groups of
5 Landrace/Yorkshire weaned pigs (n D 60 pigs) were housed in separate biosecure
rooms. One animal was randomly selected from each group as the seeder
animal and given 10e7–10e8 colony forming units of Salmonella Typhimurium
orally on Day 0. Pens were videorecorded during daytime hours and 5-min scan
samples were used to assess behavior from Day 􀀀1 to Day C6 of the trial.
Observers were able to identify pigs by individual markings and were blind to
treatment. Mixed model analyses with repeated measures statements to account
for correlation were constructed.
The amount of time spent performing various activities, such as lying, standing,
and moving, did not differ between seeder animals and their penmates (p >
.05). There was a significant day effect, with lying decreasing and standing
increasing by day as the trial progressed (p < .0001). The amount of time spent
at the feeder was not significantly different between seeders and their penmates (p > .05); however, the amount of time at the feeder increased in all animals
by day until Day C5 of the trial (p < .0001).
In conclusion, in these small groups of young swine in a stable social
hierarchy, the amount of time spent performing various activities did not appear
to alter with a low dose of Salmonella. The welfare of these animals may not
be compromised during nonsevere Salmonella infection.