Design criteria for enhancing cleanability and welfare characteristics of pig transport trailers
Various aspects of trailer design and construction significantly impact the cleanability and welfare characteristics of the trailer, such as surface smoothness, exposed screws and weld joints, and presence of structures and hard-to-clean areas that may be prone to dirt accumulation....
Water intake
Table showing recommended flow rate and height of nipple drinkers. Tips for saving water include adjusting nipple drinkers to proper height, check flow rates, and repair or replace leaky drinkers and water lines, among others. Water intake (full article)
Now is the time to look at market weights
With feed prices at or near all-time highs now is he time to look at how heavy you should market your pigs. Calculating your optimal market weight is a relatively straightforward exercise, once you have all the required information. Once...
Particle size
What can I do to reduce my feed bill? One option is to maximize feed utilization through processing. Grinding (particle size reduction) is an integral part of feed processing that increases the digestibility of nutrients. The smaller the particles, the...
Strategies to reduce feed costs, feed formulation, feed efficiency, and economics of feeding programs
Do you know what your feed is actually costing you? The most basic calculation to consider is feed cost per kilogram of gain ($/kg gain), which is feed efficiency (kg feed/kg gain) x feed cost ($/kg feed). Determination of either...
The utilization of corn DDGS in swine rations. Some “reminders”
Corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is an ingredient that has been successfully incorporated into swine diets for many years. The following is an update on some recent research with this ingredient, plus some ‘tips’ or reminders when incorporating...
How do we manage high feed prices?
Over the past several years, grain prices have increased significantly with wheat and barley prices close to doubling the values seen in the fall of 2020. Therefore, finding strategies to minimize the impact of high feed prices will be important...
Making the most of your water
Previous work has shown finishing pigs can waste 25% of water from well-managed nipple drinkers, therefore opportunities exist to reduce wastage when flow rates are adjusted on a regular basis. Actual on-farm water flow rates and nipple drinker heights were...
We need to start thinking about more than essential amino acid requirements
An increased understanding of essential amino acid requirements has led to the ability to reduce dietary protein content while maintaining animal performance. A major assumption behind these low protein diets is that pigs are capable of producing sufficient amounts of...
Investigation of enhanced sanitization and disinfection measures applicable for antibiotic-free pig production system
This project aims to develop enhanced biosecurity measures that can eliminate or reduce the proliferation of disease-causing pathogens in antibiotic-free pig production as well as in conventional barns for all-inclusive disease prevention. Specifically investigating alternative sanitization and disinfection measures that...
Increased adaptation time improves pig response to functional amino acid supplementation
A previous study conducted at the Prairie Swine Centre and the University of Saskatchewan revealed improved performance of pigs under Salmonella infection when fed functional amino acids (FAA) above requirements for growth. Here, researchers attempted to assess whether a longer...
Impacting greenhouse gas emissions through diet change
Understanding the impact of nonconventional ingredients in swine diets on the environment is important; specifically how they may alter manure output and GHG emissions. Increasing dietary fibre may increase hindgut fermentation and the production of GHG emissions, but might not...
