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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:
Reducing gas emissions from swine barns using zinc oxide nanoparticles
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on May 6, 2011 | No Comments
The abstract of a study on the use of zinc oxide nanoparticles in manure to reduce levels of H2S and NH3. The zinc oxide significantly reduced H2S levels, but had no effect on NH3 levels.
Ethology Program at the Prairie Swine Centre
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Press Releases by admin on April 6, 2011 | No Comments
This powerpoint presentation on the Ethology Program at PSC was presented at the 2011 Spring Producers Meetings held in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The meetings were sponsored by Prairie Swine Centre, Alberta Pork, Manitoba Pork, Saskatchewan Pork, Elanco and Masterfeeds.
From Nanoparticles to Natural Gas: Keeping Barns Efficient and Healthy Places to Work
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Press Releases by admin on | No Comments
This powerpoint presentation was presented at the 2011 Spring Producers Meetings held in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The meetings were sponsored by Prairie Swine Centre, Alberta Pork, Manitoba Pork, Saskatchewan Pork, Elanco and Masterfeeds.
Managing Feed Costs
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This powerpoint presentation on managing feed costs was presented at the 2011 Spring Producers Meetings held in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The meetings were sponsored by Prairie Swine Centre, Alberta Pork, Manitoba Pork, Saskatchewan Pork, Elanco and Masterfeeds.
Prairie Swine Centre 2011
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Press Releases by admin on | No Comments
The Mandate of the Prairie Swine Centre is to produce and distribute knowledge derived through original research, scientific review and economic analysis. To access information on the Prairie Swine Centre in 2011 in an easy to read powerpoint presentation click on the link!
Free space utilization of sows in free access stalls
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on August 4, 2010 | No Comments
With announcements by the largest producer/packers in both the USA and Canada that they will transition all of their production facilities to group housing for sows over the next ten years, all North American producers are anticipating a change to group housing. This can be a challenging step for producers, and it is made more difficult by the lack of scientific information currently available on the implementation and design of alternative systems. Group housing systems can be complex to initiate and require greater input from stockmen, however when done correctly, can produce sows that are able to socially interact with one another and have the freedom to move. Sows currently housed in gestation stalls have almost no opportunity to exercise and perform natural behaviours, leading to a possible decline in well-being. It has previously been suggested that exercise is required to maintain bone composition and strength, and when exercise is insufficient, calcium will be mobilized from the bone itself (Lanyon, 1984 and 1987). Exercise is important to allow the development of bone and muscle to their maximum potential. Decreased muscular strength (which is commonly observed in confined sows) can contribute towards difficulty in lying and standing, and higher susceptibility to lameness due to increased slipping. Lack of exercise in confined housing has also been shown to cause bone weakness in other species. For example, confined laying hens have significantly weaker humeri and tibiae than birds housed in non restrictive environments (Knowles and Broom, 1990). One possible alternative to gestation crates are free access or walk-in/lock-in stalls. This system provides sows with opportunities to interact as a group in a communal area, or remain alone in a free access stall. There is some concern regarding the degree to which sows use free space group areas, and how to avoid aggression, particularly when new sows are mixed into a group. This study investigates the implementation of walk-in/lock-in stalls for group housed sows. More specifically, the objectives of this study were to compare two different pen configurations by determining the proportion and type (size/parity) of sows that are using the free space areas of the walk-in/lock-in stalls, and also how sows utilize the free space areas.
Comparative evaluation of infrared radiant and forced-air convection heating systems for hog barns
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Comparative evaluation of infrared radiant and forced-air convection heating systems for hog barns
The overall goal of this study was to compare a gas-fired infrared radiant heating system with a conventional forced-air convection heater for supplying supplemental heat to pig production rooms. Forced-convection air heaters that are widely used in commercial barns typically heat the air near the ceiling, and in turn the heated air had to be physically moved using fans and inlets to the animal occupied zones. A radiant heater transmits heat to surfaces (i.e. floor, pen wall, animals, etc) through radiation heat transfer, thus facilitating the heating process at the pig’s level and at the same time the heated surfaces serve as a thermal reservoir that help maintain the setpoint conditions in the room. Because of this difference in mode of heat transfer, it is hypothesized that infra-red radiant heating could help reduce heating costs in pig production rooms.
Nutritional Value of Flaxseed for Swine and its Effects on Carcass Fatty Acid Profile
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Canada, or more specifically Western Canada, is the largest producer of flaxseed in the world, producing over 0.9 million tonnes last year. Almost 75 % of the crop will be exported, more than 60 % going to Belgium. Flaxseed possesses properties which make it unique as a feed ingredient for swine. One of its nutritional attributes is, of course, the oil (also called linseed oil) which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Flaxseed contains 41% oil and the oil contains 57 % omega-3 fatty acids (primarily alpha linolenic acid or ALA) making it the richest plant-based source of ALA.
Prairie Swine Centre, in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe Research Centre, the University of Alberta and the University of Saskatchewan, has conducted a series of experiments examining the use of flaxseed as an ingredient in swine diets. The overall objective of these series of experiments was to develop low-cost feeding protocols which will result in a consistent enrichment of the carcass with ALA without compromising growth or carcass quality.
The Effect of Different Feed Ingredients on Fermentation Metabolites and Nitrogen Excretion in Pigs
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on July 4, 2010 | No Comments
There is growing interest for including dietary fibre (DF) in pig diets due to its potential health benefits and possible contribution to a reduction of nitrogen (N) excretion from the swine production facility. Different ingredients could be used as the source of DF in swine diets. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of different DF sources with varying indigestible protein (iCP) on bacterial fermentation and associated metabolites (short-chain fatty acids, SCFA) production, and N excretion when used in swine diets. The sources of DF and its iCP content had a major effect on accumulation of ammonia in the colon and N excretion. Peas and pea-fibre based diets decreased N excretion and enhanced bacterial fermentation and SCFA production in the intestine of pigs. Thus, peas and pea-fibres could be considered for swine nutrition, in order to reduce N excretion and potentially improve gut health of pigs, compared to other ingredients studied.
In vitro fibre fermentation characteristics of specialty ingredients with varying non-starch polysaccharides levels
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The objective of this study was to evaluate the fermentation characteristics of some non-conventional feed ingredients with varying fermentable fibre and their possible influence on intestinal environment and nitrogen excretion, in the intestines of pigs, using an in vitro technique. We concluded that fibre fermentation characteristics in the pig gastrointestinal tract are extremely variable from one ingredient to another. Of the feed ingredients evaluated, peas and pea fibres had higher fermentability and bacterial protein synthesis capacity,