Annual Report 2009 Released!
Posted in: Press Releases by admin on August 20, 2010
Prairie Swine Centre’s Annual Report for 2009 is now online!
It consists of the following highlights:
- Providing pigs with low protein diet, manipulation of manure pH, and employing a high level of
cleanliness inside barn facilities could potentially reduce ammonia concentrations. - Savings of 1,956 ($200) to 12,468 kWh ($1,250) per year are possible by switching to compact flourescent bulbs.
- No major differences in the overall energy use (natural gas and electrical energy) was observed
between rooms with infrared radiant heater and forced-air convection heater systems. - When handling near-market weight hogs, group sizes of 4 or 8 pigs is preferred for minimizing
stress based on handling and behavioural measures. - Sows housed in the ‘T’ pens used the free space area significantly more than the sows housed in the ‘I’ pens”.
- When transporting hogs to market, pigs in the bottom front compartment had the highest heart
rate measures at unloading, and also produced the highest incidence of DFD pork. - A diet containing 5% flaxseed, fed as a 50:50 co-extruded pea/flaxseed blend increased the
omega-3 content of pork fat. - The utilization of net energy for body weight gain was unaffected by feeding level or by energy
concentration of the diet. - Feeding co-extruded flaxseed to increase the alpha linoleic acid content in loin muscle did not result in levels sufficient to meet label requirements in Canada.
- The non-starch polysaccharide (NSP)-hydrolyzing enzyme increased nutrient digestibility, both
in-vitro and in-vivo. - Fermentable fibre modulates the gut environment, extends health-promoting properties and
reduces ammonia excretion. - Peas and pea-fibres reduced nitrogen excretion and could possibly contribute to improving the gut health of pigs
To view the 2009 Annual Report Click Here!