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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:
Antimicrobial Resistance – What is it and Why should you care?
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Production by admin on January 29, 2014 | No Comments
Antimicrobial resistance in bacteria is concerning in both a human and animal aspect. New antimicrobials are unlikely to be developed, so it is important to slow resistance to maintain the effectiveness of the current ones. Antimicrobial resistance happens when a bacteria acquires or develops a gene for resistance. The, since it has increased survival, the gene is likely to spread to a larger portion of the population. Cross-resistance results in bacteria being resistant to multiple antimicrobials, and then the group can be transferred rather than a single gene. Antimicrobial resistance affects pork producers because it can impact animal health, consumer confidence, and occupational health. Currently, surveillance of resistance and prudent use of antimicrobials is the best way to slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Zonejection: Conservation Tillage Manure Nutrient Delivery System
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Production by admin on August 2, 2013 | No Comments
Manure application in minimum till (MT) systems is a challenge worthy of attention because residue cover is a keystone for environmental protection. To develop a system combining zone tillage and manure application into one operation (zonejection), two experiments were conducted. In Exp. 1, liquid swine manure (LSM) was applied in fall or spring for two site years (A, B). In Exp. 2, LSM was zone-applied either all preplant (PP) or split between preplant and sidedress (SP) for three site years (C, D, E). In both experiments, dietrich (DMI), vibro shank (VS), or subsurface deposition (SSD) applied the LSM, corn (Zea mays L.) was seeded in the manured zone, and NO3–N movement was monitored. Nutrients were supplied by inorganic fertilizer (IF) in control treatments under conventional till (CT), no till (NT), and zone till (ZT). With fall-applied LSM, aft er a mild winter, more N was lost from the soil–plant system (i.e., 35 kg ha−1 soil NO3–N) than aft er a cold winter with snow cover (18 kg ha−1), and corn grain yield was reduced (by 1.2 Mg ha−1), even though supplemental fertilizer N was sidedressed. In Exp. 2, with LSM zoned all PP or SP, grain yield and N use effi ciency were comparable to that with IF, except when double the crop N requirement was zoned all PP (Site D). Planting into a zone of concentrated LSM (3.4 S m−1) reduced grain yield when the LSM was injected by VS. With careful management, zonejection allows efficient utilization of manure nutrients while preserving residue cover.
Impact of Calcium and Phosphorus on Sow Lameness and Sow Longevity
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Production by admin on July 31, 2013 | No Comments
The current NRC Swine (1998) recommendations for Ca and P
feeding levels for gestating sows are primarily based on data for
stall housed sows. Additionally, much of the literature on Ca and P
requirements is older and may not be relevant to the modern, high
producing sow. A trial was conducted to determine if the current
recommended feeding levels of Ca and P during gestation are
adequate for high producing sows housed in stalls or groups. We
found that the current recommendations are adequate for group
housed sows in a non-competitive group housed situation. We also
observed increased performance in the group setting, with group
housed sows giving birth to larger litters and heavier piglets.
The Efficiency of Energy Utilization by Growing Pigs Selected for Potential Growth Rate
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Feeding pigs specific diets based on potential growth rate as
determined by growth rate in the nursery may decrease variability
in grow-out and finishing. In our study, however, pigs separated
into slow, average or fast potential growth rates by determining
growth rate in the nursery had comparable growth rates, feed
intake and rates of protein and lipid deposition in late finishing.
Effects of Altering the Omega-6 to Omega-3 Fatty Acid Ratio in Starter Diets on Piglet Inflammatory Response
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An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of altering
the omega-6 (n-6) to omega-3 (n-3) fatty acid (FA) ratio in starter
diets on the inflammatory responses of piglets post-weaning.
Piglets were subjected to an inflammatory challenge by injecting
lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of gram-negative bacteria
which triggers an immune response. Weanling pigs fed diets
containing different n-6:n-3 FA ratios responded differently to an
LPS induced immune challenge, and thus the FA profile of a ration
may affect the response of piglets to inflammatory challenges in
the nursery.
Spray-Dried Animal Plasma Mitigates the Negative Impact of Deoxynivalenol (DON) in Nursery Pigs
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Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin of concern to grain and
livestock producers in Canada. It is prevalent in cool, temperate
regions and often occurs on wheat and barley. The use of DON
contaminated grain in livestock feed leads to depressed feed intake
and growth performance. Pigs are especially susceptible to its
negative effects relative to other livestock species, and thus a study
was carried out to determine if the negative effects observed with
feeding DON contaminated diets could be mitigated by feeding a
clay binder and/or spray-dried animal plasma (SDAP). Pigs fed
a DON contaminated diet plus SDAP performed as well as those
consuming a non-contaminated diet in terms of ADFI and ADG.
Creep Feeding in the Farrowing Room: Do the Outcomes Depend on Weaning Age?
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Creep feed could benefit older weaned piglets by supplementing
nutrients in sows’ milk. Additionally, it could aid the transition to
solid feed at weaning, perhaps more of a benefit to the younger
weaned piglet. In our experiment, body weight at nursery exit was
greater in piglets offered creep feed for one week prior to weaning,
regardless of weaning age (3 vs 4 wk weaning). However, less than
4 % of the piglets weaned at 3 weeks of age showed evidence of
creep feed consumption.
Enhancement of Litter Size in Commercial Swine
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Prenatal mortality is a significant concern in commercial swine.
Mechanisms for this loss are not clearly defined but previous
research linked poor blood supply to the developing fetuses as a
leading cause. We conducted a trial utilizing biologic derived from
bacteria and assessed its effects on overall litter size and postnatal
health in swine.
Identifying the Cause of Death of Hogs that Perish In-Transit: A Pilot Project at Two Ontario Packing Plants
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Market hog shipping mortalities are commonly assumed to be due
to heat exhaustion or stress although the actual cause of death
is seldom identified. Determining the cause of death and the
associated risk factors is important if we are to reduce in-transit
losses. To accomplish this, hogs that died in transit to two federally
inspected slaughter plants in Ontario were necropsied to determine
the cause of death.
Effect of Rubber Flooring and Social Grouping on the Utilisation of Free Space for Sows in Walk-in/lock-in Stalls
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Walk-in/lock-in stalls (also known as free access stalls) are a
group housing system that provides sows with individual feeding
protection, with the ability for sows to also freely enter or leave
the stalls to loaf in a communal “free space” area. Walk-in/lock-in
stalls are a very flexible system that is relatively easy to manage
compared to other group housing systems, but a common finding
is that many sows tend to remain in the stalls, and thus do not gain
the benefits associated with group housing. This study investigated
whether the addition of rubber mats to the free space area of two
pen configurations would increase the amount of time that sows
spend in this area. A second objective of the study was to examine
the effects of grouping high and low parity sows separately, to
determine if this would result in the increased use of the free space
area by younger, lower parity sows. Results show that in the I-pen
configuration, both ‘young’ and ‘old’ sow groups spent significantly
more time in the areas with rubber flooring than concrete flooring
(P<0.05), while in the T-pens, only the young group increased their
use of the free space area when rubber flooring was applied. Sow
body posture on the rubber flooring indicated an increase in sow
comfort, with a greater amount of lateral lying observed.