Better Pork - April 2003
Sweden develops hog pens with moving floors to remove manure
Trials show that the system reduces ammonia and carbon dioxide in the air and results in improvements in hog health and mortalityby NORMAN DUNN
Moving floors for hog pens, made out of steel plate, are now being developed in Sweden and will offer almost continuous removal of manure with very low ammonia levels in buildings.Behind the idea is hog farmer and inventor Tommy Lindvall from the Baltic Island of Gotland. His patented sensor-controlled, steel-belt flooring has now completed farm trials. Development was aided by the Swedish government.
Moving Floor pens are now available for calves as well as growing and feeding hogs. An endless belt covers the whole width of the pen, making a complete circuit about 1.5 times every 24 hours in normal setting. Infrared sensors control the belt and stop it automatically if a hog is lying too near the manure exit point. In this way, the manure is continuously removed from the pen into a receiving channel, where it is immediately conveyed out of the building by a sensor-controlled chain and flight system.
First test results with 12 Moving Floor pens, used as farrow-to-slaughter accommodation for feeding hogs at Lövsta Farm School in Gotland, recorded in-house levels of ammonia and carbon dioxide of just 1-2 ppm and 600-800 ppm respectively when the sows and newborn piglets were in the boxes. Measured again when the growing hogs averaged 15 kg liveweight, the house air contained 0-1 ppm ammonia and 450-550 ppm carbon dioxide, with respective readings at 1 and 550-700 at an average 85 kg liveweight.
Annika Nilsson, who conducted the trials at the farm school, says that such results are many times lower than average readings in commercial hog housing and were definitely due to the system's rapid removal of manure from the housing. A general improvement in hog health and reduced mortality rates were also reported after the Moving Floor pen system was introduced at the farm school.
Where straw or other bedding material is used, an additional attraction of the Moving Floor pen is the availability of an automatic littering system with a bale shredder running on a monorail above the pens. The shredder is computer-controlled to react immediately after the pen floor has moved one or two metres and also to give exact amounts of material with a precision of 100 g to each pen. After littering, the electrically powered machine automatically returns to a docking station, where it is recharged.
The non-rust steel floor is specially treated with sandblasting to give a surface that is easy to clean but still non-slip for the animals.
Thomas Isaksson, the development manager helping with the commercialization of the moving floor idea, points out that each hog pen is a self-enclosed unit which can be fitted into existing buildings without any excavations or other major alterations. The most advanced models so far even feature weighing cells incorporated into the supporting legs so that continuous weight recording of livestock is available.
Isaksson reckons that, when fitted inside existing buildings, costs for a Moving Floor system work out at about 20 per cent less per hog place than a conventional slatted system. Even with completely new housing, the lower capacity ventilation required because of very low ammonia levels reduces overall investment. Some 3,000 hogs have so far been successfully reared in prototype Moving Floor pens on Tommy Lindvall's farm.
For more information go to: www.movingfloor.se and annika.nilsson@lovsta.com BP
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Centralized manure marketing comes to Germany
by Norman Dunn
Centralized manure markets are helping thousands of German hog farmers stay in business. Even though units in the traditional Lower Saxony hog production region have only 60 sows or 700 feeding hogs on average, farm area is generally small with 50 per cent less than 70 acres. This means expanding hog production is hard because there are strict limits to the amount of hog manure that can be spread on each acre of farmland, the threshold often reckoned at the average annual output of eight hog places per acre in liquid feeding enterprises.
The pressure to find a way of disposing of excess liquid manure has led to the formation of central manure markets -- organizations that collect liquid manure from hog farms and deliver it to arable farmers as a natural fertiliser. This saves the crop growers money and allows the hog producers to expand their units, so spreading their production costs over larger herds.
In Lower Saxony, more than 90 per cent of hogs are kept on slatted floors with all manure stored in liquid form, which is more suitable than solids for storage, transport and application. The Lower Saxony district of Vechta features one of the largest central manure markets, which now collects around 250,000 cubic metres annually from more than 800 hog farmers plus another 200 dairymen. Hog producers sign a three-year supply contract and pay the market organisers the equivalent of $10 Cdn per cubic metre of liquid manure (at an average eight per cent dry matter content).
Apart from a mandatory annual laboratory test of manure constituents, that's all the farmer pays and the fee covers collection of the slurry throughout the year from the farm. Contractors are hired by the market organizers to collect the manure in 30-tonne road tankers for delivery to crop growers within a 50 km radius. The market also hires farm contractors to spread the manure. All the crop grower has to pay is one half of the application cost, which last spring averaged $1.25/cubic metre.
Trials in recent years have indicated that making efficient use of this cheap manure boosts crop gross margins by as much as $60/acre. The manure centre also offers a fertilizing advice service to its crop-growing customers with field plans produced for manure application rates over several years. BP
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Male-dominated litters bad for breeding
by Norman Dunn
Selecting replacement gilts from your own piglets? Then recent German farm trials indicate that you should pay close attention to the male-female ratio in the litters from which you are choosing females.
In a recent series of farm trials in northern Germany, females chosen from 2,115 litters were evaluated for later breeding performance. Where males dominated the litter, the female members showed a definite drop in fertility-related traits.
Where the male proportion was under 60 per cent, 10 per cent more litter females were classified as suitable for breeding than when more than 60 per cent of litter members were males. Main problems leading to female rejection in the male-dominated litters were low bodyweight at 22 weeks and poor development of teats. Throughout the trial it was found that, where female litter members were in the majority, teat numbers and positioning were generally better.
Fertility performance of the selected gilts included a total average of 81 per cent farrowing after first insemination. But the gilts that came from male-dominated litters recorded a farrowing to first insemination level of only 64.7 per cent. On top of this, the latter group produced slightly fewer piglets per litter, according to the scientists. BP
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The world's most modern slaughterhouse
by Norman DunnA state-of-the-act facility processing around 75,000 hogs each week is planned for Denmark to support the country's aim of increasing hog slaughtering by eight per cent to 25 million per year, with 90 per cent of the resulting meat exported. Behind the $400 million investment is leading meat processor Danish Crown. The company claims its slaughterhouse will be the world's most modern with robots used wherever possible in a scale never before seen in the meat processing industry.
The 76,000 square metres of floor space will accommodate three separate slaughter lines with CO2 stunning. The carcasses will then be channelled into a single line with robots taking over for automatic evisceration, deboning, backbone removal and splitting. Carcass grading is also done without human help, with improved AutoFOM computer screening plus the support of identification systems ensuring traceability for all cuts right back to the farm of origin.
Danish Crown is still farmer-owned and is one of only two co-operative meat processors left in Denmark. Currently, it slaughters 20 million hogs and 400,000 cattle every year. Horsens, the site of the new facility, was the location of Denmark's first co-operative hog slaughterhouse back in 1887. While the original plant employed only a handful of men, the new facility, targeted to open at the end of 2004, will employ some 1,400 staff with day and night shifts and a throughput of 1,050 hogs per hour. Output from the deboning department is aimed at 260,000 primal cuts per week. BP
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Test your knowledge of swine digestion
Who has the most taste buds -- a human or a pig? You might be surprised at the answerby JANICE MURPHY
If you are like me, your first real exposure to the pig digestive system came during biology class in high school, when we were asked to dissect a fetal pig. For most people, that was probably too much information. But for me, the knowledge I gained in high school proved to be a good basis to build on later.
I recently found out that I have the opportunity to travel to Banff, Alta., in May to attend the 9th International Symposium on Digestive Physiology in Pigs. As a result, I've been thinking about how much I really know about the digestive system of the pig. The science of nutrition is obviously closely linked to the science of physiology of the digestive system, but it's not something nutritionists study every day.
So here are some questions to test your knowledge of the pig's digestive system. A hint to get you started: the pig's digestive system is much like the human digestive tract in its structure and function, so you have some "inside" information, if you'll forgive the pun.
1. How many taste buds does a pig have?
a) 15
b) 1,500
c) 15,000
d) 150,0002. The process of digestion actually begins in the...
a) mouth
b) esophagus
c) stomach
d) small intestine3. How many teeth does a mature pig have?
a) 32
b) 36
c) 40
d) 444. The largest component, in terms of capacity, of the pig's gastrointestinal tract is the...
a) stomach
b) small intestine
c) cecum
d) colon5. If you laid out the small intestine of a fully-grown pig, how long would it be?
a) 1.8 metres
b) 18 metres
c) 180 metres
d) 1,800 metres6. The large intestine is the major site for absorption of...
a) energy
b) protein
c) vitamins
d) water
Answers:
1. (c) Pigs have 15,000 taste buds. If you compare this to other beasts, pigs have a more sophisticated palate than humans, dogs and chickens. Pigs have definite preferences, so flavours (or off-flavours as the case may be) can have an impact on what feed ingredients are acceptable. Smell is by far the most advanced of the pig's senses, so this may also affect what pigs find palatable.
Animal # of Taste Buds Chicken 24 Bat 800 Dog 1,700 Human 9,000 Pig 15,000 Goat 15,000 Rabbit 17,000 Cattle 25,000 Catfish 100,000 2. (a) Digestion begins in the mouth, where chewing accomplishes two important objectives. The grinding action of the teeth breaks down feed into smaller particles to make it easier to swallow and to increase the surface area that is exposed to enzymes. Chewing also mixes the feed with saliva, which lubricates it and adds enzymes, like amylase, that begin to break down the feed.
3. (d) Mature pigs have 44 teeth, with the following formulae on each side of the jaw (on both upper and lower) -- three incisors, one canine, four pre-molars and three molars. In pigs, the transition from deciduous or baby teeth to permanent teeth happens between eight and 20 months.
4. (b) The digestive capacity of a fully grown pig has been estimated as follows:
Component Capacity
(% of Total)Stomach 8 L (29%) Small Intestine 9.2 L (33%) Cecum 1.6 L (6%) Colon 8.7 L (32%) The size of the small intestine plays a vital role in determining the amount of feed a pig can eat. It has been suggested that the capacity of the small intestine is a major limiting factor in young, growing animals, and that the length of the intestine is correlated to lean tissue growth. This is why young pigs are fed very concentrated rations to maximize the quantity of digestible nutrients per unit of feed and therefore the amount of nutrients consumed per day by the pig.
5. (b) The length of the pig's gastrointestinal tract has been estimated as follows:
Component Length (% of Total) Small Intestine 18.3 m (78%) Cecum 0.2 m (1%) Colon 5.0 m (21%) The small intestine is designed to maximize absorption. The surface of the small intestine is covered with fine projections called villi that increase the surface area and absorptive capacity of the gut. The height of the villi is used as a measure of absorptive capacity. On the villi themselves, there are further small projections called microvilli.
6. (d) The major role of the large intestine, which consists of the cecum and colon, is to absorb water and certain minerals. Also, in the large intestine, bacteria break down undigested feed particles and help extract more nutrients, especially energy. BP
Janice Murphy is Swine Nutritionist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food in Fergus. E-mail janice.murphy@omaf.gov.on.ca
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Strategies to reduce or control odours on the farm
There are many steps you can take to limit this common cause of complaints. But the best method is reduce potential for gases, starting at the pig, followed by fast, regular manure removal from the barnBy RON MACDONALD
Farms odours have been a continual problem in the world swine industry. Even Western Canada, with large distances between farms, is not immune.Manure is the cause of many of the complaints, but the manure storage is not necessarily the sole source of odours. The barn ventilation air may be the main source. The following are some of the strategies that can be reviewed to see if they can help reduce odours on your farm:
1. If you are retrofitting or building a new fan-ventilated building, chimney fans work well at dispersing exhaust air at a level high above the buildings and surrounding roads. This has the additional benefit of providing the farmhouse with a pleasanter smelling yard area. But do not simply install chimneys on wall fans or install chimneys without a good quality fan controller. Otherwise, wind effects will create havoc in the barn.
2. The Prairie Swine Center has experimented for several years now with dust control, which has a direct correlation to odour. By spraying canola oil onto the entire room facility, including pigs, dust levels and odours can be reduced dramatically. This could form part of an odour-control program for nearby residences for certain times of the year only, making it an affordable method.
3. Check the pH of feed water and manure. Ideally, pH should be from six to seven; anything above seven and into the eight range enhances the bug population that produces ammonia gases. For new facilities, spraying the concrete surfaces with citric or other benign acids can reduce the opportunity for high pH manure and resulting odours or gases. For existing facilities, a thorough cleaning and pH adjustment can also help reduce bug populations that cause ammonia problems.
The easiest and fastest way to verify your level of ammonia is to use ammonia dosimeter tubes. They give the average concentration of ammonia over a one to ten hour period, and only cost about $6-7 a tube.
4. The use of additives can also reduce odours. Researchers at Iowa State University have tested a number of these products and published results. Some of these are detailed below. However, caution is required when using additives. In many cases, they had limited ability to control levels consistently. If the pH is out of the required range for the additive, it was even less effective. If gases are coming from wastes above the pit, in corners of full-slat barns or on floors of a partial-slat room, pit additives do not help. Feed additives will work here.
5. Cleaning up all feed spillage inside and outside the barn, along with water, will reduce the smell of rotting feed. It will also reduce fly populations by removing breeding grounds.
6. In the case of pull-plug facilities, rapid removal of manure from the barn will also help. By removing all manure on a three-week cycle, gas-causing bugs do not have adequate time to populate and cause odour problems. Fly problems are also reduced, as the housefly is on an approximate 21-day cycle (fruit flies are tougher, with as little as a three-day breeding cycle).
If this method is used, recharge water is required to ensure solids do not build up. This may require recycling of supernatant from existing storages, making a settling chamber as part of the manure storage system a necessity.
7. Generally, the cleaner the facilities, the lower the odours, inside and out. Trees and bushes around the perimeter of the barn can reduce the drift of smelly air from reaching roadways and neighbours, or your own dwelling. Dust and other contaminant buildups inside will further contribute to odour potential.
8. Outside storages can be covered to reduce odours picked up by the winds. Some alternatives:
9. Finally, application of the manure to the land has its own set of problems. Containment of the manure produces and retains a significant proportion of odourous gases in suspension. These are quickly released to the air during agitation and spreading. As mentioned earlier, the use of additives can stabilize manure and odours, which will also help at this stage.
- A concrete cover is very effective and also the most expensive and long-lasting method of odour control. However, even concrete has a life and any cracks that allow inside gases to attack the rebar can shorten life substantially.
- Straw blown on top (research has been conducted and results published by the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute or PAMI) can greatly reduce odours. It should be replaced on a regular basis, depending on straw type, depth and precipitation.
- A new product on the market mirrors the technology used by indoor tennis and other sports clubs. A poly cover is filled with air with a low- pressure pump to keep it inflated. It is far cheaper than concrete, but will require more upkeep and maintenance.
- Another variation on the cover is one that has a fan system creating a vacuum beneath the cover to keep it in place.
- Pit additives may continue their work in the outside storage.
- Aeration by electric and wind pumps shows some promise. Currently, costs for electric pumps systems are high, but the wind pumps currently being demonstrated look interesting.
- New technologies are being developed, some adaptations of other processes, some new. Typically, costs for any of these are currently quite high.
However, the best method is to reduce potential for gases, starting at the pig, followed by fast, regular manure removal from the barn, and timely application onto adequate land base. BP
Ron MacDonald P. Eng., is an agricultural engineer with Agviro Inc. in Guelph.
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