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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:
Finding New Technologies in the Pork Industry
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on February 20, 2018 | No Comments
The term “Precision Farming” is used, especially in arable agriculture, to describe the collection of data in the field and the judicious use of expensive inputs to improve net income, reduce waste and impact on environment (sustainability), and speed (even automate some) decisions. From my perspective what will determine the success of any of these ideas will be their ability to use them in a barn environment (must be robust), and they must address a fundamental business need of collecting, analyzing and acting on aspects of production that have economic value.
The use of new Precision Farming technology is so prolific within arable farming that there are companies and newsletters devoted to the subject. The Top 10 Technologies are discussed in one publication https://www.therobotreport.com/top-10-technologies-in-precision-agriculture/. A review of the article reveals that most of the topics are not easily translated into animal agriculture: GPS; Mobile Devices; Robotics; Irrigation; Internet of Things; Sensors; Variable seeding rates; Weather modeling; Nitrogen modeling; Standardization. Some however, are important and relevant, such as mobile devices, Internet of Things, and standardization as they are at the heart of how we will assess what we need and what will become available to us in pork production.
Swine Health Management and Biosecurity
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre, Swine Innovation by admin on February 7, 2018 | No Comments
ACTIVITY 4. Swine Health Management an Biosecurity – Rapid Assessment of Transport Trailer Cleanliness
Objective: Demonstrate the use of ATP bioluminescence meter for rapid assessment of surface cleanliness of swine transport trailers.
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Auditing On-Farm Best Management Practices
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Swine Innovation by admin on | No Comments
ACTIVITY 3. Auditing On-Farm Best Management Practices
Objective: Measure the pork industry’s adoption of best management practices that reduce cost of production,
enhance sustainability and reduce labour commitments.
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| Farrowing | Nursery | Finishing | Water Management |
Reducing Water Consumption in Swine Barns
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Swine Innovation by admin on | No Comments
Demonstrating Management Practices that Enhance the Sustainability of Pork Production
Activity 1.3 – Reducing Water Consumption in Swine Barns
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From Innovation to Adoption: RESULTS
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Swine Innovation by admin on November 23, 2017 | No Comments
Activity 5. From Innovation to Adoption: RESULTS
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| Water Intake Checklist | Feeder Design Considerations | 6 S’s of Successful Enrichment | |
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Successfully Converting to Group Sow Housing
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Swine Innovation by admin on November 7, 2017 | No Comments
Demonstrating Management Practices that Enhance the Sustainability of Pork Production
Activity 1.1 – Successfully Converting to Gestating Sow Group Housing
In September 2017 two group sow housing seminars were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Strathmore, Alberta. The goal of these meetings was to better inform those producers who are currently looking to make the conversion to group sow housing. The meetings brought together a combination of speakers that addressed the areas of renovation, producer experience, technology & innovation, types of renovations and nutrition. The agenda for the meetings can be found below, in addition to copies of the PowerPoint presentations and video presentations.
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Videos |
In the Media |
| Effective Strategies for Reducing Aggression Among Group Housed Sows (view article) |
| Advance Planning and Training Key to Grouping Sows (view article) |
| New or Renovate Hog Barns (view article) |
| One Producer’s Experience in Switching to Sow Group Housing (view article) |
| Hog Barn Codes – To Renovate or to Build New is the Big Question (view article) |
| Pas de retour en arrière pour les truies en groupe (French) (view article) |
FarmScape InterviewsDeciding to Build New or Renovate Comes Down to Cost Cost Key When Deciding Whether to Renovate or Build from Scratch Partial Renovation Popular In Converting to Group Sow Housing Non-Competitive Feeding Allows Greater Range of Weight and Larger Group Size Researchers Identify Strategies For Reducing Aggression Among Group Housed Sows Adoption of Group Housing Varies by Region Access to Research Improves Decision Making When Moving to Group Sow Housing Group Sow Housing Offers Opportunity to Reduce Energy Costs Right Diets and Right Volumes Critical to Peak Sow Productivity Nutrition Key to Improved Reproductive Performance and Longevity of Sows Pork Producers Encouraged to Formulate Sow Rations Based on Parity Modern Communication Technology Aids in Monitoring Swine Herd Performance Adoption of Technology Helps Improve Productivity |
Demonstrating Management Practices that Enhance the Sustainability of Pork Production
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Swine Innovation by admin on | No Comments
Demonstrating Management Practices that Enhance the Sustainability of Pork Production
Activity 1.1 – Successfully Converting to Gestating Sow Group Housing
Innovation to Adoption: On Farm Demonstration of Swine Research
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Swine Innovation by admin on | No Comments
From Innovation to Adoption: On-Farm Demonstration of Swine Research is an integrated collaborative project involving Swine Innovation Porc, Centre de développement du porc du Québec and Prairie Swine Centre. This project will help the 7,000 pork producers across Canada seize new opportunities and incorporate novel technologies and strategies in their production systems. Specifically, this project involves three primary components:
- Partner with commercial pork producers/organizations to serve as Lead-Users (demonstration sites) for the new technology or management practice;
- Communicate results and information gathered through the demonstration sites to others within the Canadian pork industry increasing the adoption of new technologies and management practices throughout Canada.
- Develop tools to increase the speed of adoption of new technologies and strategies on pig farms
ACTIVITY 1. Demonstrating Management Practices that Enhance the Sustainability of Pork Production
Objective: Identify efficiencies in transitioning gestation sows from stalls to group housing systems through early adopters and science.
1.1 Successfully Converting to Gestating Sow Group Housing
1.2 Environmental Enrichment Strategies
1.2 Improved Laying Areas for Sows
1.3 Reducing Water Consumption in Swine Barns
ACTIVITY 2. Demonstrating New Nutritional Strategies – Low Cost Feeding Strategies for Sows
Objective: Demonstrate low cost feeding strategies for optimum sow productivity
2.1 Low Cost Feeding Strategies for Sows
ACTIVITY 3. Auditing On-Farm Best Management Practices
Objective: Measure the pork industry’s adoption of best management practices that reduce cost of production, enhance sustainability and reduce labour commitments.
ACTIVITY 4. Swine Health Management an Biosecurity – Rapid Assessment of Transport Trailer Cleanliness
Objective: Demonstrate the use of ATP bioluminescence meter for rapid assessment of surface cleanliness of swine transport trailers.
ACTIVITY 5. Communications
Objective: Increase the speed of technology of adoption of Lead-User activities by communicating demonstration results to the Canadian pork industry.
| This project ‘From Innovation to Adoption: On-Farm Demonstration of Swine Research’ is funded by Swine Innovation Porc within the Swine Cluster 2: Driving Results Through Innovation research program. Funding is provided by Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada through the AgriInnovation Program, provincial producer organizations and industry partners. |  |
Water Intake Checklist
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on October 27, 2017 | No Comments
EUTHANASIA – CODE OF PRACTICE FOR THE CARE AND HANDLING OF PIGS
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre, Swine Innovation, Welfare by admin on October 26, 2017 | No Comments
The following is a list of acceptable and unacceptable methods of euthanasia of individual animals for
use on-farm, as well as methods that are only considered acceptable with the noted conditions. The
chart is based on the information that was available at the time of publishing1. For any method to be
considered acceptable, it must render the animal immediately insensible and the animal must not return
to sensibility prior to death. Individuals who euthanize pigs must be trained in the appropriate methods.