Prairie Swine Centre turns 20 in 2012, time for thinking outside the box – again

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on April 18, 2012 | No Comments

During the past 20 years of operation Prairie Swine Centre with its funding partners and research collaborators world-wide has developed a reputation for practical solutions addressing global competitiveness through developing technologies, personnel and knowledge products. Since inception the research objectives for the Centre spoke a language that both the industry and researchers could embrace and pursue.  After nearly 20 years the Centre has trained 48 graduate students, plus summer students, post-doctoral fellows and employees that every day work in academia, commercial production, government and supplier industries.  Our compliments and thanks to those pork producers, university and government leaders who foresaw the need, attracted the necessary people, funding and leadership to make Prairie Swine Centre happen.

Centred on Swine Volume 15

Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on November 10, 2011 | No Comments

Individual articles in these issues of Centred on Swine are located in our PorkInsight Database.

Volume 15 Number 2

• Benchmarking – The Right Tool for the Times
• Nutritional Value of Flaxseed for Swine and Its Effects on Carcass Fatty Acid Profile
• Whittington Honoured for Industry Leadership
• Comparative Evaluation of Infrared Radiant and Forced-Air Convection Heating Systems for Hog Barns
• Free Space Utilization of Sows in Free Access Stalls
• Common Misconceptions in Benchmarking

Volume 15 Number 1

• Message from the President
• Evaluating Energy Usage and Various Energy Conservation Strategies for Swine Barns
• Net Energy Contect of Canola Meal and Full-Fat Canola Seeds in Swine
• Transportation of Pigs in Western Canada:  Temperatures Within Trucks During Winter and Summer Months
• Ractopamine Hydrochloride and the Environmental Sustainability of Pork Production
• Feeding the 2009 Crop
• The Plant Extract Micro-Aid, has Unexpected Effects on Litter Size

Does a high water sulphur level increase odour and gaseous emissions?

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on November 4, 2011 | No Comments

A recently published paper by Bernardo Predicala and John Patience of the Prairie Swine Centre, describes a study that was conducted to determine if high levels of sulphate in the drinking water results in an increase in odour and gaseous emissions from the barn or affects other swine manure properties.

Introduction

Sulphur intake is of particular concern because out of the 10 most odorous components of swine odour identified so far, six were found to contain sulphur. These odour components are produced mainly from anaerobic breakdown of unutilized nutrients excreted by pigs into the manure.

Drinking water can contribute significantly to sulphur intake of pigs. One major source is the sulphate content in water supplies, which has been found to exceed 1600 mg/L in certain geographic areas. Studies showed that pigs offered water with increased sulphate levels (up to 1800 mg/L) had increased prevalence of non-pathogenic diarrhea, although growth performance was rarely impaired. However, no one has assessed the impact of poor water quality on air emissions and swine manure properties.

The overall goal of this study was to determine the effect of varying levels of sulphur in drinking water on odour and gaseous emissions and on manure nutrient composition. Pig growth performance was also measured. Four water treatments were compared, normal water, with a low sulphate content and water with 600, 1200 and 1800 milligrams per litre of sulphate. The waters containing elevated sulphate were formulated to reflect the composition of water observed on commercial farms experiencing high mineral levels in their drinking water.

The 2-ft deep manure pits in the rooms used for the trial were emptied every two weeks. To evaluate the effect of the treatments on manure properties and gaseous emissions from manure under long-term storage, manure samples were collected from each room just before emptying the pits. The manure sample was transferred into a 205L (45 gallon) barrel, one for each room, and stored for an additional five weeks to simulate longer-term manure storage.

Gas levels spike when pits pulled

The levels of ammonia (NH₃) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) in each room were monitored continuously but were not markedly different between the different treatments.  There was no statistically significant impact of the sulphate levels in the water on the concentrations and emissions of these gases from the treatment rooms.

Monitoring of hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) levels in each room showed that they were extremely low, less than one part per million, which was less than the minimum that the detection equipment could measure. However, when the manure pit-plug was pulled to clear the manure from the pits, H₂S levels increased during the approximately 15-min period in which the manure slurry was flowing out of the pit. A typical plot of the H₂S levels during the plug-pulling day is shown in Figure 1; a similar pattern was observed in all of the rooms.

The peak H₂S levels in the treatment rooms that received high-sulphate water (1200 and 1800 ppm) tended to be higher than in the low-sulphate rooms (Control and 600 ppm). However, these spikes occurred for only a short period of time and the high levels (288 and 134 ppm H₂S for 1200 and 1800 ppm sulphate respectively) were dissipated to less than 10 ppm in less than 10 minutes. Nevertheless, it is possible that high-sulphate levels in drinking water could contribute to the generation of high H₂S levels during manure clearing operations. If not conducted properly, this could potentially lead to exposure of barn workers and pigs to elevated H₂S levels.

Odour and emissions not affected

Odour concentration and emissions were not affected by the water treatment and high sulphate levels did not lead to an increase in the measurements of these parameters.

Analysis of manure samples collected from the manure pit of each room and from the barrels used to simulate longer-term manure storage showed no significant effect of water treatment on total nitrogen, ammonia-N, total solids or phosphorus in the room manure samples, but there were significant effects on potassium and sulphur levels. As would be expected, the manure sulphur level increased as water sulphate level increased.

Interestingly, comparison of nutrient levels in the barrel manure samples showed significant differences between treatments for all nutrients tested. Manure samples from the treatment rooms with sulphate added to the drinking water tended to have about 10% higher nutrient levels relative to the control samples (excluding S and Na which had 50% more than the control due to the treatment). Thus, it would appear that high-sulphate drinking water may result in better retention of nutrients in stored manure.

Pig performance was not adversely affected by high levels of sulphate in the pig’s drinking water. During the study, no notable incidence of scouring or diarrhea was observed. The pigs’ average daily gain ranged between 0.86 to 1.12 kg/day but was not different between treatments.

Conclusions

Elevated levels of sulphate in the drinking water had no adverse impact on manure nutrient composition, odour and gas (NH₃ and CO₂) emissions or on the performance of grower-finisher pigs. Thus, water containing up to 1600 to 1800 ppm sulphate can be used for growing and finishing pigs with no concern for animal performance or for odour or gas emissions from the barn. However, we suggest one caution.  When using high-sulphate drinking water, the potential exists for higher H₂S spikes during manure handling operations. Appropriate measures should be taken to protect animal and worker health and safety. While water quality may impact other aspects of barn siting, growout pig performance and odour and gas emissions should not be a concern.

Photo caption:  Figure 1: Typical H₂S levels monitored in a treatment room, showing no detectable values throughout most of the day, except during the plug-pulling event (indicated by the spike in H₂S levels)

A comprehensive approach to animal welfare science

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Welfare by admin on October 5, 2011 | No Comments

The following article was adapted from presentations given by Harold Gonyou this spring at producer meetings in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. It gives a brief discussion of the emerging field of animal welfare science and
how this science can be used in evaluating management practices and identifying production systems that optimize animal health, economic factors and consumer satisfaction.

Evaluation of temperature conditions in trucks during transport of market pigs to slaughter in four seasons

Posted in: Environment, Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on | No Comments

Previous research at PSC has shown there is significant variation in conditions (temperature and humidity) among
different compartments in trucks transporting market pigs. This study examined conditions in truck compartments in greater depth by measuring temperature and humidity variation during transport of market pigs throughout the year.Pigs were transported from a commercial farm in Saskatchewan to a packing plant on a weekly basis, involving approximately 7.5 hours of travel.

This report describes the variable conditions observed during transport in different seasons, with pigs transported in the ‘belly’, upper-front and middle-front compartments encountering the least favourable conditions.

It was found that pigs are exposed to variable temperatures during transport, with pigs transported in ‘belly’ compartments encountering lower than average temperatures, and those in upper-front and middle-front compartments encountering elevated temperatures. The effects of different boarding and insulation treatments on transport conditions during winter were examined, but further analysis is needed to determine their effectiveness. The results of these studies will provide important information for improving conditions during transport, and for the direction of future research.

Message From the President 2009

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on October 4, 2011 | No Comments

If Change is a good thing – 2008/09 may be remembered as having too much of a good thing!

 Change was the watchword of the day in 2008; personnel changes topped the list with the career change of Dr. John Patience, first President/CEO of Prairie Swine Centre, taking a position with Iowa State University. Seeking a replacement became an important function of the Prairie Swine Centre Board of Directors in 2008. I am pleased to be writing this article today as the Centres new President/CEO.

 The year saw the opening of the new Sow Research Unit at our Floral, Saskatchewan location.  Every part of the 300 sow F-F operation facility has now been completely rebuilt over the past 17 years, providing very good quality, flexible research facilities and at the same time emulating typical commercial barns in Canada. Production staff are very pleased with the loose-housing system selected and both behaviour and nutrition studies currently have nearly 100% of the sows on trial in the new Sow Research Unit. The year was also marked with the disappointment of closing the PSC Elstow Research Farm. The 600 sow F-F farm had been operated since 2000 and contributed greatly to the development of knowledge in nutrition, engineering and behaviour through its ability to provide large numbers of pigs for experiments. The ability to simulate a typical larger production operation was essential in work such as sow management with electronic sow feeders, the use of alternative strategies in auto-sort grow-finish management and investigation of variability in piglet growth rate across thousands of piglets. This facility is certainly missed and alternative arrangements have been made to locate these larger group-size related trials at commercial pig farms. We recently completed a sale of this farm to JSR Genetics of the United Kingdom. This Arrangement will allow PSC Researchers some access to the barn and JSR Genetics has generously offered to have the Pork Interpretive Gallery remain open for industry and public tours.

 In fall 2008 we embarked on a revision to our strategic plan. So many changes had overtaken the industry in the past 5 years that certain aspects of how and what was needed, and whom we served were all up for discussion. In all the books on the subject of strategic planning one quote bears repeating here:

 “In today’s marketplace it is organizational capability to adapt that is the only sustainable competitive advantage” Willie Pietersen, in Reinventing Strategy Change is invigorating Where to start? Prairie Swine Centre had a business and research funding model that worked well for 17 years. That success of course affects your thinking and colours your outlook to the future, as does the success enjoyed by the Centre locally and internationally in recognition of its contribution to the various members of the pork value chain. Our emphasis on the pork producer has allowed our technology transfer and research efforts to succeed in speeding adoption of change at the farm. For example, the selection of feeder types, to the level of feed in the pan to maximize intake and reduce waste and the Net Energy value of that feed – all of these developments over the past decade and a half can be traced to a study, a report and countless producer and supplier meetings initiate by Prairie Swine Centre. There is no question the old formula worked to instil a competitive advantage for the Canadian pork producer. But times have changed and the current income crisis within the industry challenges us all first to survive an secondly to predict what the new industry that rises from this period will look like.

The ‘future’ makes a mockery of our attempt to predict its coming, but we are obliged to try. So this coming year we are on a path to reinvent our company, and its service to our stakeholders. Firstly, by broadening the definition of stakeholders to aggressively seek solutions for the many players within the pork value chain. This is a natural extension of the base of knowledge and expertise PSC personnel have within the barn and extend that up the value chain to include the transportation and packer components and down the chain in the opposite direction to the cereal breeder and genetics supplier for example. What about something more novel? How can we demonstrate a greater value to the broader Canadian population? The pig as a model for human or pet health and nutrition for example is an area where our in-depth knowledge of the pig would allow us to provide greater value to a greater portion of society.

At Prairie Swine Centre we believe in the Canadian pork producer’s ability to be internationally competitive and we will do our part to ensure that you have the research expertise needed to sustain your competitive edge in the future.

Lee Whittington

Setting Up an Effective Farm Trial

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on August 9, 2011 | No Comments

The pork industry is blessed with a number of innovators. I recall surveys from decades ago that compared the speed of adoption of new technology by the various commodity sectors, and pork producers were always very near the top of the chart. Perhaps it is the rapidity of turnover in the barn that lends itself to seeing a difference in management quickly. Maybe the intensive agricultural systems attract a certain type of person with a curious mind? Whatever the reason, it is without a doubt that all pig farms participate to a greater or lesser extent in experimenting to improve productivity, reduce costs, or make management easier. Sometimes the results of such experimentation are as expected – For example the pigs on the higher energy, more expensive diet grew more quickly. Often however the results, the time and effort and money required to innovate and experiment results in more questions than answers and does not lead to an innovation being adopted on the farm as part of a new long-term management strategy. This paper will help to explain why results are not always what we expect and how to improve your odds of success in future on-farm trials. It was found that there are many sources of new ideas and technologies awaiting pork producers. Assessing their economic value and appropriateness for your farm should begin with taking the easy route first and looking for third-party verifiable test results that give you confidence the results are repeatable and sufficient to provide a positive economic return under current economic circumstances.  If reliable information does not exist but you
believe the potential economic benefit is too great to ignore, and you have adequate resources to design and implement an on-farm test then use the Designing your on farm trial – A checklist for success trial checklist to increase your chances for success.

The response of piglets to phase one diets during the first two weeks in the nursery is not affected by creep feeding or weaning weight

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Average litter size on swine farms in Saskatchewan has increased from approximately 10.4 to 11.2 piglets in the past 5 years. Further improvement is expected and moreover is required, to maintain competitiveness of the industry in Western Canada. Research conducted recently at PSCI showed that as litter size increased from 8.4 to 15.4 pigs born alive, average birth weight decreased by approximately 250 grams, or almost 40 grams per additional pig. The number of pigs less than 850 grams increased from 0.2 per litter in the small (5 to 12 piglets) litters to almost 1 per litter in the largest (16 or more born alive) litters. It is apparent that as litter size continues to increase it is crucial that these small pigs survive and go to market or we will lose the benefits of the large litters. The period immediately post-weaning is characterized by problems such as low feed consumption, poor growth rate, and increased incidence of diarrhea (Levesque et al. 2002). Reducing the interval between weaning and resumption of feed consumption can mitigate these issues, thus the piglet must be encouraged to begin consuming solid feed upon entering the nursery.
Our objective was to examine factors which may limit resumption of solid feed in the nursery. Factors examined included provision of creep feed in the nursery, diet quality, and piglet  bodyweight at weaning.  It was found that by feeding a simple diet, formulated to meet all nutrient requirements, did not reduce growth of piglets in this trial when compared to a complex diet fed for 1 or 4 days post-weaning. Switching from a complex to a simple diet after one day reduced feed intake to a greater extent than switching after 4 days post-weaning. The complex diet was approximately $380 per tonne more than the simple diet. Feeding regime B would cost about $0.35 more per piglet than A, and $0.38 more per piglet than feeding regime C. We expect this difference to be greater if the piglets are housed in a more competitive environment, and have a less than ideal health status.

DON in Swine Diets

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The cool, wet weather we experienced this summer has caused many problems for the farmers in this area. This fall there is one more – there are reports of grain that is contaminated with fusarium mould.  Deoxynivalenol (a.k.a. DON, vomitoxin) is a mycotoxin that can be produced when fusarium moulds contaminate cereal grains, including wheat, barley, and corn. Pigs are more sensitive to DON contamination in their feed than other farm animals. Growing beef cattle, sheep, and poultry have an Agriculture Canada Guideline of 5 ppm, while the guideline for pigs is 1 ppm (1 mg/kg) . The most common symptom pigs show when given DON contaminated feed is a reduction of feed intake and a corresponding decrease in weight gain. Some decrease in feed intake will likely be seen if DON contamination exceeds 1 ppm. In research conducted at the Prairie Swine Centre, feed intake and daily gain of late-nursery pigs decreased 9.1 and 5.2%, respectively, when pigs were fed diets containing 1.57 ppm DON for 22 days. Although pigs may vomit at high levels of DON contamination (~20 ppm) it is more likely that they will refuse feed completely (~12 ppm) before that occurs. Younger animals will be more severely affected than older animals. While the general recommendation for swine is to limit DON in diets for pigs to less than 1 ppm, a maximum of 0.5 is preferable for nursery pigs. While there doesn’t seem to be direct negative reproductive effects from feeding DON contaminated diets to breeding stock, the reduced feed intake itself may be a problem. Therefore, DON contaminated feeds should be avoided in diets for breeding stock whenever possible.

Behaviour of Pigs in Large Group Auto-Sort

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Large group auto-sort (LGAS) systems require considerably more effort on the pigs’ part to access feed than in small pens. We studied the pigs’ behaviour in two LGAS systems to determine what adaptations they made. Pigs were able to maintain their typical diurnal eating pattern, with peaks at ‘lights-on and lights-off’ as seen in small pens. However, the pigs modified their eating by having fewer (5 vs 10-15) but longer meals than in small pens. Pigs made use of all of the available feeder spaces within the food court, visiting several each day. Although able to adapt their eating behaviour to the large group system, some had difficulty learning to enter and leave the food court several times a day. Management should ensure an adequate number of feeder spaces, sufficient room to move in the food court, and training methods to facilitate use of the auto-sort scale.