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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:
Reconsidering Integrated Crop–Livestock Systems in North America
Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 2007 | No Comments
The effects of manure application on soil aggregation
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Economic Overview of Manure Handling and Processing Options
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Manure is a valuable source of plant nutrients but also a potential pollutant. The proper management of nutrients from organic sources such as animal manures, bio-solids, and plant residues is important in order to protect our country’s environment and to have economically and environmentally sustainable livestock enterprises. Some segments of our society are claiming that there are readily available alternative manure processing and management technologies that have been adequately developed and verified to the point that they can replace existing systems such as EMS containment. However, while there are a number of different technologies and management systems available, the practicality of applying many of these alternative technologies is largely unproven at the present time. For example, many promising alternative technologies generate solids but only limited viable markets have been identified or established for the end products. This limitation significantly impacts the economic feasibility of the technology especially for products intended for compost markets. In addition, some manure processing systems have not performed well under performance verification testing or are cost-prohibitive. Other potential replacement technologies are still in field trials and need further evaluation before any definitive conclusions can be reached. The present level of research, development, and demonstration efforts, however, provides optimism that innovative alternatives may be developed and proven practical in the future. Waste management practices that generate economic, social and environmental benefits have value to both the public and private sectors. This is especially true with how livestock manure is managed on our farms. Other countries have seen what can happen to livestock production when manure from these operations is not properly handled or where livestock concentrations have exceeded local support. The choices we create and the decisions we make will determine the future of our livestock industries.
Peak flow as a measure of airway dysfunction in swine confinement operators
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To evaluate the usefullness of a portable peak flow meter in predicting airway dysfunction in symptomatic swine confinement workers, we conducted a study using an established cohort of swine workers in Iowa. Participants were randomly selected from a group of 207 swine confinement workers and a group of nonconfinement farmers who had been followed longitudinally. Swine confinement workers with work-related symptoms were identified, and two control groups (swine confinement workers and nonconfinement workers) without work related symptoms were frequently matched by age, sex, and smoking status to the symptomatic swine confinement workers. Peak flow measuers were obtained for 7 days using a mini-Wright peak flow meter and comparisons were made between the symptomatic swine confinement farmers (n=24) and both groups of asymptomatic workers: swine confinement workers (n=21) and neighbourhood farmer controls (n=25). Peak flow readings were recorded by subject five times per day for 7 days, initially on awakening, then after chores, before lunch, before dinner, and before bedtime. The actual hour of day for each measurement of peak flow was similar between the three groups. Percent changes from initial AM peak flow did not significantly differ between subject groups. However, symptomatic swine confinement workers consistently exhibited significantly lower initial and subsequent mean peak flow values compared with asymptomatic swine confinement workers and neighborhood control farmers, controlling for age, height, gender and smoking status. These differences occurred on most of the measures of peak flow throughout the work day. The persistence of these lower values throughout the work day is remarkably consistent during the study period and is suggestive of airway disease in the symptomatic swine confinement workers. Our findings suggest that peak flow meters are a useful indicator of potential airway injury and offer an additional portable, diagnostic tool in the assessment of sympotmatic workers.
Evaluation of the degree of P saturation for assessing the risk of P loss potential in Manitoba soils
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The objectives of this study were to
independently evaluate the P sorption capacity equations for Manitoba soils and to
determine the DPS threshold limit for Manitoba soils. Also, the influence of manure
application on the prediction P sorption capacity was evaluated.
To achieve these objectives, 40 independent surface soil samples (0-15 cm of 20
manured and 20 non-manured soils) representing the major soils of Manitoba were
collected. The chemical and physical properties of the soils were determined by routine
laboratory analysis. The P sorption capacities of the soils were determined using both
the single and multi-point sorption methods. Portion of the soils were further incubated
with different rates of P to provide different degree of P saturation. Manure application generally reduced the total capacity of the soils to sorb P. Manure
application affected the predictability of P sorption capacity of the soils because of the
influence of manure application on soil properties that directly influence P sorption such
as Mehlich-3 extractable Ca and Mg. It was found that the influence of soil texture on P sorption was
more pronounced in non-manured soils than in manured soils.
The pH range of the soils is another important factor that influenced the prediction of P
sorption capacity of the soils. The predictive equation worked better for soils with neutral
to high soil pH than for soils in the acid range pH probably because of the neutral to
high alkaline pH of the soils used to formulate the original equations. From our results, the DPS threshold of Manitoba soils is 20, values of DPS greater than this will lead to unacceptable loss of P from the soil to adjacent environments.
Cooling effects and evaporation characteristics of fogging systems in an experimental piggery
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Evaporation of water to the ambient air is generally a cost-effective solution to alleviate heat
stress but is also critically discussed due to its increasing effect on indoor humidity. The
objectives of this study were to investigate the impact on indoor temperature, humidity, and
ventilation rate using a high-pressure fogging system inside a mechanically ventilated research
facility for fattening pigs. Data were sampled quasi-continuously throughout four fattening
periods, including information on water consumption and energy use of the fogging system, as
well as on the averageweight gain of the pigs. It was found that for the pigs, the positive effects
of the reduction of sensible indoor temperature exceeded the negative effects of the increased
humidity, mirrored e.g. by a reductionof the temperature–humidity index (alert situationswere
reduced from 15.5% to 0.8%) and an increased weight gain of the animals during hot summer
conditions. Main effects were achieved on days with mean daily outside temperatures above
14 1C, during which water consumption of the fogging system averaged 4.9 ld1 pig1.
The evaporation characteristics, such as the evaporative fraction as well as the time
constant for reaching a steady state, were evaluated using a transfer-functionmodel. Both were
influenced largely by temperature and saturation deficit. While the evaporative fraction was
100% during steady state and 63% of steady state was reached within 65 s during warm and dry
ambient conditions (28 1C; 53% relative humidity RH), the evaporative fraction dropped to 89%
and 65% for moderate (21 1C; 69% RH) and cold/humid (131C; 83% RH) indoor conditions,
respectively, and the time to reach steady state was nearly doubled for the latter. The
information about such evaporation characteristics is crucial for an accurate control of fogging
and ventilation.
SWINE WASTE CHARACTERIZATION: A REVIEW
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