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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:
Land Requirements for Manure from hogs fed Phytase – Amended Rations
Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 2006 | No Comments
Land Requirement for Manure from Hogs Fed Phytase-Amended Rations
Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments
The application of manure based on crop N requirements will lead to the accumulation of phosphorus in the soil. High soil phosphorus content increases the risk of soil loss to surface water. To address the problem of phosphorus accumulation in the soil, hog producers use phytase supplement in swine diet. While this has been shown to reduce the phosphorus content of manure, its impact on soil test P level and land requirement for manure application are unknown. Therefore the objectives of this study were: (1) To determine the concentration and forms of phosphorus in swine manure from a phytase and non-phytase barns; (2) to measure soil test P following the addition of manure from phytase and non-pyhtase barns; and (3) to determine whether or not the longevity of a parcel of land utilized for manure spreading will be reduced or enhanced with the use of phytase in hog rations. To achieve these objectives we carried out a field study in 2004 and 2005 on a farmer cooperator’s field on which the dominant soil types were the imperfectly drained Red River clay and the poorly drained Osborne Clay. Six experimental treatments were imposed on a strip of land with a total area of 91 by 122 m. The six treatments were: manure from the large cell of a phytase barn; manure from the small cell of a phytase barn; manure from the large cell of a non-phytase barn and manure from the small cell of a non-phytase barn; and two controls. These plots were seeded to barley in 2004 and canola in 2005. During manure application, samples of manure were taken for total P measurement and a detailed analysis of forms of P in the manure. In the spring and fall of each year, soil samples were taken from 20 random positions of each strip of land and were analyzed for various extractable phosphorus. Our results show that the use of phytase resulted in a significantly smaller manure phosphorus compared to the barns that do not use phytase. On average, the phosphorus content of manure from the phytase barn was one-half of that from the non-phytase barn. Manures from the large cells had smaller phosphorus concentrations and higher N:P ratios compared to that from the small cells. The results from the two years of study confirmed that, not only is the P concentration of manure from barns that do not use phytase greater than those that use phytase, the manure from non-phytase barns are also more water soluble particularly those from the large cells of these barns. All manures had considerable amount of labile phosphorus, however, the highest was found in manure from the large cell of the non-phytase barn (88%) and the value of the labile P from the other manures was about 60%. The soil test P was significantly greater for soil that received manure from the small cells compared to those that received manure from the large cells. Also, plots that received manure from the phytase barn had smaller soil test P compared to plots that received manure from non-phytase barn. The rate of increase in soil test P was similar among various manures. While soil test P increased by about 0.2 lb/acre for every lb/acre of added manure according to Mehlich-3 P, the corresponding value for Olsen was 0.1 lb/acre while the rate of increase in water P was 0.03 lb/acre for every lb/acre of manure P. Based on this, and using the P concentration in the manure we estimated that twice the amount of land will be needed for manure from a non-phytase barn compared to a phytase barn. Stated differently, if the same size of land were used to apply the manure from the phytase barn and the non-phytase barn, the land that received manure from the phytase barn will have twice the longevity of the land that is applied with manure from the non –phytase barn. This study, thus, show the importance of management practices, such as the use of large cell and small cell to separate manure and the use of phytase to reduce the phosphorus level of manure, in reducing soil test P values with an increase in the longevity of land receiving this manure and reduced risk of P loss from the soil to surface water.
ANNUAL ODOR EMISSION RATE FROM DIFFERENT TYPES OF SWINE PRODUCTION BUILDINGS
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ECONOMIC MODELS FOR TMDL ASSESSMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION
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A Solid-Phase Microextraction Chamber Method for Analysis of Manure Volatiles
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Economic Assessment of Manure Phosphorus Regulations for Manitoba's Pig Industry: Part 1 Costs of Alternative Manure Management Strategies
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One of the challenges of trying to implement regulations or recommendations to control agricultural pollution is to evaluate the economic impacts on the livestock sector. Therefore, the main objective of this project was to propose a framework for the economic evaluation of the impacts of the new phosphorus P regulations. To demonstrate the new regulations, manure application rates were assessed with the help of three different nutrient management options: N-based nutrient recommendations, up to two times crop P2O5 removal and up to one times crop P2O5 removal. Costs per marketed pig allowed an effective comparison between the different strategies. The lowest average incremental costs of compliance were for annual application on land (up to two times P2O5 crop removal) and for the multi-year land application (up to one times P2O5 crop removal), averaging $0.15 in increased costs per marketed pig for farrowing and finishing operations. As for the strategies where no extra land was available and manure needed to be transported over a certain distance, increased cost per marketed pig averaged $1.11 per marketed pig for the two types of transport and distances assessed. Finally, for the strategy where no additional spreading land was available, incremental costs for manure treatment with solid-liquid separation technology averaged $1.08 per marketed pig and with aerobic technology, $3.50 per marketed pig. As for manure storage, incremental costs averaged $0.62 per marketed pig over a 10 year-period, using an interest rate of 7.5%. Overall, the assessment of the impacts of the new proposed environmental regulations on the selected scenario farms presented the following results: Negative impacts on farrowing operations were larger than on finishing operations, Grain corn was the cropping system with the least increase in land required and pasture was the crop with the highest increase, In areas or on farms where there is not sufficient nearby land for manure application a P2O5 removal basis, the cost increases are substantial, Incorporation of phytase into finishing rations will pay substantial dividends in lowering costs of manure management, For operations with cropping enterprises, the impact of exporting manure N to other farms and replacing with synthetic fertilizer N is substantial, equivalent to a decrease in net returns of 22-54%.
These increased costs could have significant impacts on Manitoba’s pork industry. For primary producers, this represents decreased profitability that will reduce further investment in this sector and an increased risk of losses during periods of low prices, threatening the viability of some existing operations. Beyond the farm gate, these increases in costs could also reduce investment and economic activity in other sub-sectors of the pork industry such as feed suppliers and pork processors.