SAES-422 Multistate Research Activity Accomplishments Report

Sections

Basic Information
Additional Info

Status: Approved

Basic Information

Project No. and Title: NCERA89 : Swine Production Management to Enhance Animal Welfare
Period Covered: 10/01/2007 to 09/01/2008
Date of Report: 12/11/2008
Annual Meeting Dates: 11/05/2008 to 11/06/2008

Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Legacy attachment file:

[Minutes]

The NCERA-89 committee currently has 5 projects underway. These projects range from educational efforts for pork producers through distance delivery methods to the generation of new knowledge from research projects focused on the management of sows, nursery pigs, and growing-finishing pigs. Research projects investigate the biological performance and welfare of pigs. In addition, economic evaluations are conducted in many research projects. Educational Programs for Pork Producers - Members of the NCERA-89 developed two similar programs targeted at distinctly different clientele. The PorkBridge and SowBridge programs deliver cutting edge information to registered participants once monthly throughout the year. PorkBridge is focused on producers or their employees with growing-finishing swine operations while SowBridge focuses on breeding operations. Participants receive a CD in the mail that contains a PowerPoint presentation and supplementary reference materials. At the appointed time, participants dial a toll-free phone number and listen to nationally-renown experts discuss the material on the CD. A time for questions and answers are provided at the end of the presentation. All sessions are recorded and archived for future use of participants. By the end of the annual program, participants have amassed a collection of 12 presentations on a variety of topics with supporting reference materials that are available for use on their own computers. PorkBridge is developed and presented by faculty in NE, MN, SD, OH, and IA. The SowBridge program is presented by faculty in MN, IA, NE, SD, OH, IN, IL, KS, MI, MO, and NC. Sow Feeding Management - The proper feeding management of sows is a topic of continual interest to pork producers. Producers want to get the most value for every dollar they spend on sow feed and they want to improve the welfare of their sows as well as efficiency of their operation. These objectives are consistent with society's demand for inexpensive food produced in a welfare-friendly manner. Committee members have completed two projects related to feeding management of breeding sows. One project investigated the pattern of feed offered to sows in the weeks immediately before farrowing. Committee members from MI, IA, and KS contributed data to this project. Findings of this project suggested that decreasing or increasing feed intake in a stepwise manner from day 75 of gestation to farrowing had no effect on mammary health of sows or piglet performance to weaning. These results suggest that elaborate plans to manipulate feed intake of sows in late gestation likely do not improve sow performance. A follow-up study is being conducted at Kansas State University (a member of this committee) to further evaluate this concept. A second study conducted by committee members (MN and KS) as two independent experiments evaluated feeding frequency during gestation on sow performance and welfare. In general, offering sows feed twice daily or 6 times per day did not seem to improve the behavior of sows compared with feeding only once daily. Reducing Fossil Fuel Consumption in Swine Nurseries - Fossil fuel use in pork production increases production costs and emissions of greenhouse gases. This project is focused on reducing fossil fuel consumption without compromising pig welfare or performance. The project was designed by the committee and conducted at 4 cooperating universities (MN, MO, NE, SD). Our findings indicate that reducing the nighttime temperature in nursery rooms by 10 °F did not compromise pig welfare or performance while achieving a 17% reduction in heating fuel consumption and a 9.5% reduction in electrical use. This project was funded in part by a grant ($7500) from the National Pork Board. Housing Management for Growing-Finishing Pigs - A hallmark of this committee has been our work on floor space requirements of growing pigs. This work continues with two projects. One project evaluates the "k" value for space requirements of growing-finishing pigs. The k value is an exponent developed by a consortium of researchers to determine the floor space allowance for pigs. This project is designed to provide a physical evaluation of the approach. The committee has developed a protocol and two stations (KS and OH) have conducted the experiment to date. The committee submitted a grant proposal to the National Pork Board in 2007 to support this research. Unfortunately, the grant proposal was not funded. Additional stations are evaluating their ability to participate in this study in light of the current lack of extramural funding. A second project evaluated the effects of mixing pigs or maintaining pen integrity as pigs are moved from nurseries to growing-finishing accommodations. Our results suggest that space restrictions during the growing-finishing period depress pig performance regardless of whether pigs were mixed or not upon entry to the building. Utilizing By-Product Feeds: Implications for Pig Performance - Current economic conditions force producers to use by-product feeds when they are deemed economically feasible. This project is designed to study the impact of frequent inclusion of by-products in diets for growing-finishing pigs on pig performance. One study conducted at a member university (MN) found that frequent cycling of DDGS into and out of diets had little influence on pig performance. A subsequent study is just beginning to study the influence of several different by-products on pig performance when they appear suddenly in diets for growing-finishing pigs. Currently, stations from IN, IL, MI, KS, and MN have committed to contribute data for this experiment.

Impacts

Educational programs for pork producers - The most important impact of these programs are that producers can hear state-of-the-art information without leaving their pork operation. Most sessions are offered over the noon hour when workers are typically on lunch break. The PorkBridge program has attracted 99 subscriptions from 13 states and one Canadian province. The SowBridge program has enjoyed 130 subscriptions from 16 states, 3 Canadian provinces, and Ireland. We cannot say with certainty how many people benefit from these programs because multiple people can and typically do attend sessions at each subscription site.
Sow Feeding Management - Results of this research conducted by committee members indicates that the more complex feeding management programs evaluated in our research do not improve sow performance or welfare. The practical significance of these findings are that producers can divert labor required for these more complicated feeding regimens to other duties related to sow care which will pay dividends in improved animal care. An abstract of results has been accepted for presentation at the 2009 Midwest Section meeting of the American Society of Animal Science.
Reducing Fossil Fuel Consumption in Swine Nurseries - In this time of high energy prices, pork producers have received the results of this research with great zeal. Our results translate to a savings of $1.55/nursery pig in heating fuel and $0.05/nursery pig in electrical savings ($1.60/pig). Our abstract of results has been accepted for presentation at the 2009 Midwest Section meeting of the American Society of Animal Science. In addition, we wrote a "Smart Thinking" column for the national magazine, PORK, which broadly disseminated our results. Our results provided the groundwork for a 2009 grant proposal to the Minnesota Pork Board to continue this work at 4 universities (MN, SD, MO, and IA). Initial discussions are ongoing with a large production system in the Upper Midwest to study the reduced nighttime temperature regimen in barns that house over 1,000 pigs from weaning to market weight.
Housing Management for Growing-Finishing Pigs - Our project to evaluate the k value will shed new light on the utility of this approach to determining space requirements of pigs. If the concept proves valid, pork producers will have greater flexibility in stocking pens and barns to allow optimal space utilization without compromising welfare of pigs. Our work on mixing pigs as it relates to space allowances suggests to producers that efficiency of space utilization in the finishing barn is not influenced by whether pen integrity is maintained or pigs are mixed as they are moved out of nurseries. Once again, this finding provides greater flexibility in managing pig flow for pork producers and reduces labor requirements. This approach to managing pig flow is the current norm in commercial pork production.
Utilizing By-Product Feeds: Implications for Pig Performance - Current economic conditions force producers to use reasonably priced feedstuff as they become available in the marketplace. Often, producers do not gradually introduce these alternative feedstuffs into the diet so that pigs can slowly adapt to them. But rather, alternative feedstuffs are introduced abruptly when economic conditions favor a particular feed ingredient. Therefore, pork producers will benefit greatly from knowing the impacts on feed intake and growth performance when dietary components are rapidly switched. Our early results suggest that this is not very important when feeding some by-products. However, there is need to study a wider range of ingredients which will be included in the current study.

Publications

Publications of the NCERA-89 committee include the following: 1. Collections of PowerPoint presentations resulting from long-term educational programs provided via distance delivery mechanisms; 2. Refereed journal papers; 3. Scientific abstracts; 4. Articles in the popular press; and 5. University research reports. SowBridge. 2008-2009. Breeding Herd Education Series. Sponsored by Univ. of Minnesota, Iowa State Univ., Ohio State Univ., South Dakota State Univ., Univ. of Nebraska, Purdue Univ., Univ. of IL, Kansas State Univ., Michigan State Univ., Univ. of Missouri, and North Carolina State Univ. Rozeboom, D. W., R. D. Goodband, K. J. Stalder, and NCERA-89 Committee on Swine Management. 2008. Effects of decreasing or increasing sow feed intake prior to farrowing on lactation performance. Accepted for presentation at the 2009 Midwest Mtg. of Amer. Soc. Anim. Sci. Des Moines, IA. Thaler, R. C., L. J. Johnston, M. C. Brumm, M. S. Carlson-Shannon, and NCERA-89 Committee on Swine Management. 2008. Effect of reduced nocturnal temperature for early-weaned pigs on performance and energy consumption. Accepted for presentation at the 2009 Midwest Mtg. of Amer. Soc. Anim. Sci. Des Moines, IA. Thaler, R. C., 2008. Lowering Nursery Utility Costs. "Smart Thinking" feature in PORK Magazine. (In press). Carlson, M.S., C.L. Lorenzen, R. Disselhorst, and L. Wilson. 2008. A production barrow show that focuses on lean gain and pork quality at the Missouri State Fair. J. Anim. Sci. 86 (Suppl. 1):24. Carlson, M.S., S.D. Carter, J.M. DeRouchey, D.J. Meisinger, D.E. Reese, B.T. Richert, K.J. Stalder, H.H. Stein, E. van Heugten, and M.H. Whitney. 2008. Survey of swine nutrition and feed industry practices in the United States for development of a national swine nutrition guide. J. Anim. Sci. 86 (Suppl. 1):24. Hilbrands, A. M., L. J. Johnston, G. C. Shurson, and I. Kim. 2008. Influence of rapid introduction and removal of dietary corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) on pig performance and carcass characteristics. Accepted for presentation at the 2009 Midwest Mtg. of Amer. Soc. Anim. Sci. Des Moines, IA. Kim, B. G., M. D. Lindemann, H. J. Monegue, and G. L. Cromwell. 2008. Influence of crowding stress of pigs during the nursery period on growth and subsequent reproductive performance. J. Anim. Sci. 86 (E. Suppl. 3):39. (Abstr.) SowBridge. 2007-2008. Breeding Herd Education Series. Sponsored by Univ. of Minnesota, Iowa State Univ., Ohio State Univ., South Dakota State Univ., and Univ. of Nebraska. PorkBridge. 2007-2008. Grow-Finish Educational Series. Sponsored by Univ. of Nebraska, South Dakota State Univ., Iowa State Univ., The Ohio State Univ., Univ. of Minnesota, and U.S. Pork Center of Excellence. Peng, J. J., S. A. Somes, and D. W. Rozeboom. 2007. Effect of system of feeding and watering on performance of lactating sows. J. Anim. Sci. 85:853-860. Schneider, J. D., M. D. Tokach, S. S. Dritz, R. D. Goodband, and J. L. Nelssen. 2007. The effects of feeding schedule on body condition, aggressiveness, and reproductive failure in group housed sows. J. Anim. Sci. 85(Suppl. 2):97. (Abstr.) Lindemann, M. D. and B. G. Kim. 2007. Technical note: A model to estimate individual feed intake of swine in group feeding. J. Anim. Sci. 85:972-975. Kim, B. G. and M. D. Lindemann. 2007. A spreadsheet method for experimental animal allotment. J. Anim. Sci. 85 (Suppl. 2):112. (Abstr.) PorkBridge. 2006-2007. Grow-Finish Educational Series. Sponsored by Univ. of Nebraska, South Dakota State Univ., Iowa State Univ., The Ohio State Univ., Univ. of Minnesota, and U.S. Pork Center of Excellence. Brumm, M. C., L. J. Johnston, D. W. Rozeboom, and NCR-89 Committee on Swine Management. 2006. Effect of removal and remixing of heavyweight pigs on performance to slaughter weights. Prof. Anim. Scientist 22:189-193. Holt, J. P., L. J. Johnston, S. K. Baidoo, and G. C. Shurson. 2006. Effects of a high-fiber diet and frequent feeding on behavior, reproductive performance, and nutrient digestibility in gestating sows. J. Anim. Sci. 84:946-955. Goodband, R., M. Brumm, L. Johnston, and K. Stalder. 2006. Effect of mixing pigs or maintaining pen integrity on the response to grow-finish space allocation. J. Anim. Sci. 84(Suppl. 1):292. (Abstr.) Goodband, R.D., M.C. Brumm, L.J. Johnston, and K. Stalder. 2006. Effect of mixing pigs or maintaining pen integrity on the response to grow-finish space allocation. Kansas Swine Industry Day Report of Progress 966. Pg. 158 - 164.

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