Better Pork - February 2003
Nutrient Management Act doesn't eliminate the need for good neighbour relations
Notwithstanding the regulations, "it's always better to have the people around you as friends"by DON STONEMAN
By this spring, stringent provincial regulations will spell out how you must store and spread manure on your farm. Do good neighbour relations still matter?Huron County planner Wayne Caldwell and Northumberland pork producer Kevin Brady think they do. Regulation isn't going to solve all the problems in the countryside, says Caldwell, who doubles as a University of Guelph geography professor. People will continue to have concerns about large farms and they will continue to voice complaints.
A good-neighbour policy is key to making other policies work, says Brady, a partner in Pork 2005 north of Port Hope. If a lobby group gets strong enough, it can make nutrient management planning an impossibility, he says, citing the case of a company near Ottawa which wants to build a barn on the city's outskirts and has been refused a permit, even though it has met every requirement.
Nutrient management legislation is necessary to establish a level playing field for livestock development across the province, Brady says. However, good neighbour policies are just as important as before. "It's always better to have the people around you as friends," he says, "rather than require legislation to make you tolerable to each other."
Caldwell points out that it isn't clear how the debate over nutrient management will play out in terms of municipalities and local planning. Even with laws in place, it's still possible for a community or a government to circumvent the spirit of the law. He points to a proposal to build a barn near Ottawa that has been rejected by the city council, even though, the builders seem to have jumped through every hoop that has been required.
Brady was among a group of farmers involved in a two-year study of how neighbours felt about intensive livestock operations.
Caldwell and graduate student Melanie Williams surveyed the attitudes of neighbours towards 50 intensive livestock operations that had existed for five years or more. At the time the definition of an intensive livestock operation was more than 600 feeder pigs 750 sows and boars or 3,000 weaner pigs. While there were 21 pig farms involved, 11 beef farms, 10 dairies and eight poultry operations were also included. A total of 400 neighbours were contacted for the survey (a minimum of four at each operation) and 180 answered questions that were posed.
Ten per cent of neighbours said they thought negatively of the site when it was proposed five years ago. Now 20 per cent feel negatively about the big farm. The study's authors feel that a doubling of negative feelings in five years isn't good.
The good news is that 84 per cent of the neighbours who responded to the survey said they had never complained about the operation. Nine per cent said they had complained less than once annually, while five per cent cited several complaints per year and one per cent cited a complaint every week. Where there were complaints, the study said that, in most instances, resolution has been achieved, "usually on a one-to-one basis."
Many neighbours said they had changed what they do around their homes because of the intensive livestock operation. Almost 40 per cent keep their windows closed at some times of the year because of odour and 26 per cent don't hang clothes outside to dry.
As for operators surveyed, 70 per cent said they made changes in order to accommodate neighbours. Forty per cent had changed manure application techniques and 28 per cent changed their application schedule to avoid weekends, holidays and special occasions.
Most of the neighbours of the intensive livestock farms were long-time rural residents (almost three quarters lived at the current location before the operation was established), but a substantial number were new residents. Caldwell thinks this mix is representative of most parts of the province, but would be different in areas closer to urban centres where change is rapid.
About a third of the neighbours were either farmers running a smaller livestock operation or cash cropping, farm labourers (not working for the operation in question) or people working in an agriculture-related field.
As for the operators themselves, two thirds said they had been established in the area for more than 25 years, and three quarters were operating a facility classified as an intensive livestock operation for the first time. Nearly 80 per cent came to be an intensive operation through gradual expansion of an original operation. Nearly half of those surveyed predict that they will expand within five years.
Concerns about air quality, odour and water quality and the operation's appearance have declined, local residents said. The reduced concern about water quality was surprising to the researchers, considering the recent fallout from the Walkerton tragedy.
Caldwell says this has to be put into perspective. If an intensive livestock operation was built across the road from you five years ago and your well continues to work as well as ever, it's hard to have major concerns about water. Moreover, the effects of the Walkerton catastrophe on rural attitudes shouldn't be underestimated. Perhaps 30 per cent of residents are concerned about their water. If Walkerton hadn't happened, perhaps only 10-15 per cent would be worried about the large-scale farm next door.
The study gave high marks to "relationship building" by farmers with their neighbours. But the survey points out that neighbours often didn't recognize what the farmers were doing. Less than one quarter remembered being invited to visit the farm or attending an open house, only about two-thirds recognized "neighbourly actions" and about half remembered the farmer giving prior warning of spraying or manure spreading.
There was, however, very little concern about how animals were treated, a sign that the animal rights activist groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are making little headway among rural dwellers.BP
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Blood test enables Swiss farmers to develop E. coli-resistant swine for further breeding
This simple offers the possibility of reducing medicinal antibiotics with the resistant strains, a plus from the consumer's standpoint. But, say some farmers, there is some possible downsideby Norman Dunn
Swiss farmers are the first in the world to be offered a nationwide service for producing breeding swine genetically resistant to the important F18 strain of Escherichia coli bacteria.
Recurring epidemics of F18 coli oedematous disease are a risk even in some of the best-managed herds. The disease particularly affects weaners with substantial performance loss through poor appetite and diarrhoea. Subsequent blood poisoning from toxins produced in the intestines by the bacteria often ends in death.
Swine genetically resistant to this strain of E. coli had been identified during the 1990s, but at that time a breeding program was impossible to start because this trait could only be identified at post mortem.
Incidence of diarrhea amongst feeding hogs was slashed by over 50 per cent in a German trial in which extracts from cinnamon and garlic were added to the rations. Comparing rations with and without the spicy supplement, researchers at Osnabrück Technical University also found that feed conversion was improved. Cinnamon and garlic reduce swine diarrhea
While work on the potential of herbs and spices in hog rations has already proved that there are possible performance boosts with good scientific reasons behind them, sceptics on the farm are only now being won over, say scientists, as more conventional growth-promoting substances, such as antibiotic feed additives, are increasingly being banned.
The Osnabrück team took 158 PIC growers at 30 kg liveweight and fed them through to slaughter with 79 hogs on conventional wet mash feeding and the remainder on the same mash with a cinnamon and garlic supplementation available now on the market as "Enteroguard" (Cultech Agriculture, U.K).
There was only a very small improvement in daily liveweight gain, with control hogs averaging 899 g and the Enteroguard group 902 g. Proving that there's more than just a change of taste in the treated ration were small improvements in feed conversion returns, with the control group hogs averaging 2.99:1 against 2.88:1.
Good suppression of coli-caused diarrhea was confirmed for the cinnamon/garlic product. In the control group, 20 per cent of the pigs suffered from this illness, while only nine per cent of the Enteroguard group members were affected. The scientists say their work backs up claims for the antimicrobial efficacy of the garlic active ingredient allicin and for E. coli suppression by the cinnamon compound, cinnamaldehyde.
European hog producers are not so easily convinced, however. All this recent success has brought is renewed calls for much larger trials to establish efficacy once and for all after decades of debate and argument over the roles of these natural hog growth and health promoters. BP
Swiss scientists Dr. Hans Uele Bertschinger and Dr. Peter Vögeli from the Natural Sciences Department of the Federal Technical University (ETH) in Zurich then identified the DNA position of the gene controlling F18 coli resistance and through this developed a check for resistance in living swine via a simple blood test.
While the license to use the blood test has now been leased worldwide to major breeding company PIC International, the Swiss developers have retained the right to offer the test to farmers in their country and it is now available there to breeders for the equivalent of $42 Cdn. per sow or boar.
Initial response from farmers has been mostly positive. In the past few years, a number have tested their whole breeding herd and selected only resistant swine for further breeding. Results so far indicate that, among the pure breeders, about 20 per cent of the Swiss "Edelschwein" or Yorkshire stock appear to have natural resistance and can be used in such programs. Both male and female lines must be resistant to give guaranteed resistant offspring, however. Natural resistance to F18 E. coli with Swiss Landrace is less than this. The national boar testing and semen supply stations now have resistant boar lines available for commercial farmers.
Breeders who have moved over to 100 per cent E. coli-resistant herds report that there is no longer any oedematous disease in their herds. Since these herds were usually top performers anyway, average herd performance has only slightly increased in most cases. But in almost every case there has been a marked reduction in antibiotic and other medication costs.
Those farmers selling breeding stock on are now also able to claim a premium for the coli resistant animals -- generally around $100 extra per boar this year and half of that for each gilt.
There are those who claim that resistance against a single strain of E. coli bacteria is not enough. Several herd owners have reported that incidence of oedematous disease diarrhea was knocked out when they changed over to the F18-resistant animals, but that other forms of bacterial diarrhoea almost immediately stepped in to fill the gap.
One last danger has been highlighted with the Swiss experience so far -- the marker gene for F18 resistance is very closely linked to that for stress resistance in swine. Knocking out one carries the danger that stress resistance could suffer, with an increase in the inherent disadvantages in offspring such as watery meat.
Farmers have also warned that it is not worthwhile neglecting other positive performance traits when selecting for whole-herd F18 coli resistance. The Swiss breeders have found that a drop in overall herd litter and weight gain performance can quickly negate any financial gain from genetic resistance to the coli strain.
Probably one of the most important advantages is the chance of gaining a better public image through proven reduction in medicinal antibiotics with the resistant strains. Reporting in the specialist swine publication SUS, Swiss hog farmer Hansrudi Suter, who now has a 100 per cent resistant herd, says that documented reductions in veterinary medicine input are sure to put the Swiss pig producer in a better light as far as the pork consumer is concerned. BP
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Camera-computer weighing combination cuts stress for pigs
Computer assessment of photos taken as pigs feed will lead to very accurate weight assessment , it is claimed, and less stress for the pigs as the presence of humans is reducedby Norman Dunn
Both Denmark and Germany are in the final stages of producing digital photography systems for assessing on-the-hoof weight and carcass conformation of slaughter hogs. Both countries expect to have such systems ready for use on commercial farms in 2003.
As well as reducing human error during weighing, these systems aim for a real reduction in animal stress by introducing the computer-supported technology. As they are to be almost completely automatic, they reduce the presence of humans during otherwise highly stressful weighing and re-penning and should result in much calmer animals, according to Danske Slagterier, the umbrella Danish pigmeat production organization that is supporting the development in its country with a total grant of $945,000 Cdn. The German version is to include an automatic system for marking identified slaughter-ready hogs and of operating gates so that these hogs can also be penned separately.
The Danish system is to feature photographs taken from above as pigs are feeding in the pen. Computer assessment of the results, helped by comparison with hundreds of previous examples, will lead to very accurate weight assessment (to within one kilogram, it is claimed) without any human input.
The German developer, Hölscher & Leuschner, prefers to have the hogs more under control for photographing and its OptiFOM system so far requires human input for driving the animals into a crush. Co-inventor Hans Leuschner explains that the hogs can be captured on digital camera accurately enough without having to be halted as they move along the crush.
"The system is backed by software like that in the AutoFOM assessment system for carcasses in Danish -- and some British and German - slaughterhouses," he adds. "The OptiFOM software compares the photographs of pig hams, judging shape against thousands of others in the computer memory, and thus reaches a decision on carcass quality and weight in split seconds with a very high degree of accuracy. This accuracy and, of course, the lack of hog stress is what makes optiFOM so attractive. There is also a considerable reduction in labour costs."
Trials so far have shown that hogs are much quieter during the process than in conventional weighing and re-penning operations.
At a time when European hog producers are continually under fire from animal welfare organizations, researchers in both countries see the automatic weighing systems as offering a real contribution towards the farmer's image, as well as potentially producing better carcasses for the meat trade The lack of stress also means that weighing can be carried out more often for better management control of the whole feeding herd.
The camera information in both cases can be viewed instantly on a computer screen. The software for the German system features an easy-to-read diagram, which indicates how far each hog has progressed towards the ideal slaughter stage with a scale running from blue through green to red. If the image of the hog remains in the blue area, feeding has to continue. Green means the animal is ready for slaughter and red that the animal is above the ideal weight.
Leuschner says development work is continuing but that the system should be commercially ready within a year. Estimated price: between $22,000 and $30,000.
For more information, contact Hölscher and Leuschner at www.hl-agrar.de and Danske Slagterier at www.danskeslagterier.dk BP
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Emergency line for hogs in distress
by Norman Dunn
Long-term recording and analysis of the range of hog noises coming out of a housing unit has enabled scientists at Dummerstorf Research Institute for Livestock Biology (FBN) in north-eastern Germany to develop software that can "listen in" and recognise any distress calls.
The result is a patent-pending alarm system called STREMEDO, which not only warns the hog manager, via mobile telephone for instance, of any stress-related sounds in different houses but also records levels round the clock so that documentary proof of stress-free hogs (or otherwise) can be presented for any performance-linked analysis or quality-assured marketing scheme.
In German, STREMODO stands for "hog stress vocalisation monitor and documentation unit." Prof. Gerhard Manteuffel is an animal behaviour physiologist at Dummerstorf and head of the team that developed STREMODO. He says the results will also help farmers ascertain welfare and performance potential of different types of housing or stocking rates.
The software has been developed to react only to stress-related calls, filtering out all other sounds in the hog housing -- even machinery noises and human voices. Manteuffel says that the program can be altered relatively easily to recognise other livestock sounds such as those made by sows in heat. Trials have indicated that the error margin in identifying stress calls by hogs is only around two per cent.
The system has also been tried out in pig transport trucks and promises to offer a very accurate documentation of the stress level of hogs being taken to slaughter. The scientific team developing STREMODO also see a role for it in holding pens and other pre-slaughter areas of abattoirs for recording of stress patterns in such situations. The ultimate aim, says Manteuffel, would be the use of the system in developing more stress-free slaughter routines.BP
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Is there a market for selenium-enriched pork?
Research indicates that both pigs and humans are deficient in this essential trace mineral. Already Korea is marketing pigs fed a special premix containing organic selenium. Will it catch on elsewhere as a "health food?"by JANICE MURPHY
Selenium is an essential trace mineral that is required in very minute amounts by all animals, including pigs. Certain soils in North America are low in selenium, including the north-central and eastern regions of Canada and the northeastern, Pacific, southwestern and extreme southeastern regions of the United States. As a result, crops grown in these areas are also low in this trace mineral and, without supplemental levels, diets mixed exclusively from ingredients grown there will be deficient in selenium.
In the 1960s, selenium deficiencies in swine were reported in some areas of the U.S. Midwest, mainly in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Typical symptoms of selenium deficiency in pigs resemble those of vitamin E deficiency, including muscular dystrophy, pale muscles, small hemorrhages in the heart muscle ("mulberry heart"), and necrosis of the liver. In 1974, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the addition of 0.1 ppm selenium to all swine diets. In 1982, the allowable level was increased to 0.3 ppm for young pigs, because 0.1 ppm was not always effective at preventing deficiency symptoms. By 1987, the allowable level was increased to 0.3 ppm for all weights and classes of swine.
The dietary requirement for selenium suggested by the U.S. National Research Council in Nutrient Requirements of Swine (Tenth Revised Edition, 1998) ranges from 0.3 ppm for weanling pigs to 0.15 ppm for growing-finishing pigs, gestating-lactating sows and breeding boars. Selenium, usually in the inorganic form of sodium selenite, is generally included in premixes, supplements and complete feeds sold to producers. There is increasing interest in the benefits of supplemental selenium in human diets. Since selenium was determined to be essential, researchers have uncovered numerous health benefits. Selenium's primary role within animals and humans is as a component of the antioxidant enzyme system. Glutathione peroxidase, an enzyme found in every cell in the body, neutralizes toxic peroxides formed during the conversion of body fat to energy. If these peroxides remain unchecked, they can damage cell components and cause a whole range of health problems, including cancer. Selenium is a component of at least 20 other functional proteins in the body, most of which have some type of protective function.
Despite overwhelming evidence of the benefits of selenium to human health, there is a growing body of research that indicates humans are becoming selenium-deficient. Soils in the regions where the majority of livestock feed grains and soybeans are grown are low in selenium. These soils in turn produce crops with low selenium concentrations, which leads to deficiencies further down the food chain in animal products and, eventually, humans.
Dr. Margaret Rayman, a professor at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom, evaluated the selenium status of more than 42,000 people in Europe and the United States. Based on preliminary data, she concluded that the average selenium intake by Europeans and Americans is far below the 75 micrograms per person per day recommended by the United Kingdom's Reference Nutrient Intake and the U.S. National Academy of Science.
Organic selenium, produced through the fermentation of yeast, is another form of selenium that can be used as an alternative to sodium selenite for supplementing livestock feed. This organic selenium may play a role in reversing the trend towards lower selenium intakes and the related health problems, in humans. Ultimately the use of organic selenium to improve the selenium status of humans may involve the consumption of selenium-enriched pork.
Dr. Don Mahan, a swine nutrition researcher at Ohio State University, conducted some of the early research on the effects of organic selenium in pork. His results indicate that loins from hogs fed organic selenium (yeast-derived seleno-cysteine) did have higher concentrations of selenium than loins from hogs fed inorganic selenium (sodium selenite). Mahan also reported that drip loss values were higher in pork from hogs fed inorganic selenium than hogs fed either organic selenium or a ration without any supplemental selenium. Organic selenium may also have implications for improved shelf life.
Four co-operatives in Korea are currently marketing "Selen Pork", a specific brand of selenium-enriched pork. In 2000, these co-operatives collectively raised about 100,000 "Selen Pork" hogs by feeding a special premix containing organic selenium. Analysis of ham and loin samples has shown that "Selen Pork" boasts approximately 10 times the selenium content of traditional pork, is leaner and juicier, and has a noticeably redder color -- a characteristic that helps marketing in Asia. Although "Selen Pork" costs slightly more in feed, it is priced approximately 30 per cent higher in the Korean market than traditional pork.
The FDA has recently approved organic selenium for use in swine and turkey feed, following up on their approval for broiler feed in 2000. In Canada, only two organic selenium products are currently approved for use in swine feed, both selenium-enriched yeasts.
The consumption of selenium-enriched meat could have direct health implications for humans. In research conducted at the University of Arizona, a large group of men were given a pill containing either organic selenium or a placebo for an extended period of time. The group given a daily supplement of organic selenium showed a 63 per cent decrease in prostate cancer, a 58 per cent decrease in colon and rectal cancers and a 45 per cent decrease in lung cancer. In addition, the overall cancer death rate in this group was reduced by 50 per cent. Other researchers have reported benefits of adequate selenium nutrition on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) immunity, fertility and heart disease.
Time will tell whether or not selenium-enriched pork will catch on as a "health food." The meat industry has been touting meat's virtues as a superior source of nutrients, compared to food of plant origin, for many years. With regard to selenium, it looks like it may have the upper hand. 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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Watch for air leaks during cold weather -- they can compromise your ventilation system
Incoming cold air will drop to the floor, where your pigs may be resting, and upset the air pattern you need to ventilate the penBy RON MACDONALD
One of the more common complaints in barns is the inability of the ventilation system to function properly in cold weather, when the fan system slows down to a minimum ventilation rate. When this occurs, the system must be set up properly and there should be a minimum of leaks, otherwise air quality in the barn will deteriorate.The principle of air distribution remains the same, whether the fans are all on or only the minimum ventilation fan. There must be adequate negative pressure as measured on a static pressure manometer. If the pressure in the room is too low, the incoming cold air will simply drop out of the air inlet and lazily drift to the floor, causing chilly drafts where the pigs may be resting. At the same time, we will have lost the air pattern in the pen. An air pattern is essential to ensure no stale air zones develop and fresh air is delivered throughout the pen.
Air infiltration into the barn from locations other than the air inlet causes many problems. Energy efficiency, ventilation system effectiveness and control may all be compromised, especially during cold weather. The following are reasons that ventilation systems do not perform up to the level they should during cold weather in many of today's barns:
- There is no static pressure manometer reading the pressure from the attic (or duct if one is present) to the inside of the room. Without a static manometer, it is impossible to adjust air inlet settings (both self-adjusting and actuator-controlled) properly. Target pressure in the winter is 0.05-0.08" water column.
- The air inlet is not sealed at the joint from the ceiling to the inlet housing.
- The air inlet leaks out from the sides during periods of low flow. When minimum ventilation occurs, air inlets are closed quite a bit. In some cases, the side air leakage can exceed the air emitted from the front of the inlet.
- The joint from the stud wall to the sill plate and ceiling/wall sheathing joints leaks. This can be account for as much as 50 per cent of the total airflow into a room considered "tight." Clearly leaky rooms can have an even greater impact.
- The door to the common service hallway has a poor seal around the jamb and no sweep seal on the floor opening.
- There is backflow via leaky shutters on fans. Summer fans should have insulated covers placed as soon as practical in the fall.
- All possible leakage areas should be evaluated with smoke pencils and sealed as much as possible. Regular inspection of the joint sealant is also important due to the wear and tear from pressure washing.
The benefits to the ventilation system will be well worth the effort. BP
Ron MacDonald P. Eng., is an agricultural engineer with Agviro Inc. in Guelph.
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