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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:
Characterization of Odor Components from Swine Housing Dust Using Gas Chromatography
Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 2001 | No Comments
Study of water Consumption and Waste Production During Different Growth Stages in Hog Operations
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This study was initiated to quantify and update values used by the swine industry and regulatory authorities for water consumption and waste production for swine operations using modern management practices. A second objective was to apportion total water usage and total waste production into components according to stage of production and function. Nine swine operations of similar design and management practices, but representing a cross section of herd sizes were selected and monitored for approximately 18 months. The following conclusions were drawn from the data collected: Total water use for all production phases and functions averages 89.5 litres/sow/day, eighty percent of total water use was for animal drinking, with the remainder used for animal cooling (10 a
Gaseous emissions from outdoor concrete yards used by livestock
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Swine Lagoon Effluent as a Source of Nitrogen and Phosphorus for Summer Forage Grasses
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In-Crop Application of Liquid Hog Manure in Irrigated Potato Production
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Manitoba produced over 4 million hogs in 1998, up 15% from the previous year, with the trend toward larger hog barns. Strategies for waste disposal need to be an integral part of management of hog operations. The high volume of liquid waste associated with hog operations, combined with the high costs of liquid waste transport highlight the need to identify approaches to waste disposal that maximize efficiency both of nutrient use and transport.
Application of swine manure on potatoes affords distinct advantages to both the hog and potato producer. Potatoes are a high value crop that require large nutrient inputs to achieve maximum production. To the hog producer, manure is the cost of doing business. A heavy user of the waste product of the hog industry would be of considerable benefit. And unlike cattle manure, swine manure does not appear to cause scab lesions.
Fall manure application raises serious concerns related to odour production, and volatile and leaching losses. Nitrate leaching could be particularly serious on the light-textured soils that are ideal for potato production. There are, as yet, no adequately explored alternatives to fall swine manure application on potato soils.
In this study we explored the use of in-crop soil injection of swine manure on potatoes prior to canopy closure as an alternative to fall manure application. The advantages to this approach are 1) it provides the crop with nutrients at a time when nutrient demand is rapidly increasing, 2) it reduces the losses of N due to volatilization and leaching, 3) it minimizes the spread of the odour to at or near ground level, and below the canopy.
Odour Emissions From Confined Swine Production Facilities
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Odour is diluted by dispersion as it is transported in the atmosphere. The further it travels, the
more it is diluted. Therefore, adequate setback distances are a key in preventing odour
complaints. The important factors that influence odour dispersion are wind, atmospheric stability,
and topography. Odour is carried by wind from the source to the receptor. Therefore, the
prevailing wind direction should be considered when choosing sites for livestock facilities. The
wind direction should be checked before agitating and spreading manure to avoid odour being
carried to neighboring residences by the wind. The atmospheric stability is commonly described by the Pasquill stability classes: A – strongly
unstable; B – moderately unstable, C – slightly unstable; E – slightly stable, F – moderately stable,
and D – neutral (overcast). Odour is diluted quickly when the atmosphere is unstable. Therefore, it
is a good practice to spread manure when the atmosphere is unstable so that odour is diluted to an
acceptable level before it reaches the receptor (residences).
If possible, livestock facilities should be built on relatively flat topography for good dispersion. It
should be avoided to build facilities near hills to prevent the effect of aerodynamic downwash.
Windbreaks (walls, trees and shrubs) may be used to trap odour and dust, and to create more air
turbulences for stronger dispersion. The dispersion theories (eg., Gaussian dispersion model) indicate that increasing the odour
release height reduces odour intensity at the ground level. Exhaust stacks (chimneys) may be used
to raise the release points of the ventilation air, thus to reduce odour complaints originated from
animal buildings.
Fours Years of Hog and Cattle Manure in East-Central saskatchewan: Impact on Soil and Crop Performance
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A study was initiated in the fall of 1996 in east-central Saskatchewan to examine the soil and crop
response to application of liquid hog manure and solid feedlot cattle manure at different rates,
timing and methods of application. Low, medium and high rates of manure (equivalent to 100,
200 and 400 kg total N/ha, respectively) and of urea (50, 100 and 200 kg N/ha, respectively) were
applied in various timing combinations. Field crops (canola, spring wheat, hulless barley and
canola) were seeded in spring of 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, respectively. This paper only looks
at the effect of rates of liquid swine manure and solid cattle manure in comparison to rates of urea.
Results show significant crop response to rates of both hog and cattle manure. Effect of hog
manure on grain yield was higher than that of cattle manure and comparable to that of urea.
Annual application of the medium and high rates of hog manure resulted in grain yields similar to those at the low rate. However, annual application of the high rate of hog manure resulted in significant elevation of available N in both the upper (0-60 cm) and the lower (60-120 cm) soil depths. A single application of either hog or cattle manure at the beginning of the study showed no residual effect on either crop or soil by the third year. Cumulative N use efficiency (NUE) of swine manure was lower but comparable to that of urea at the corresponding rates of application.
Environmental Measurements in Production Swine Facilities
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