Prairie Swine Centre Releases Annual Research Report

August 22, 2012 — 

The Prairie Swine Centre Inc., located near Saskatoon, has just released the 2011 edition of the Annual Research Report which provides insight into a wide range of industry challenges and opportunities. The Centre conducts research to meet the needs of the commercial pork value chain with new information that -- reduces the cost of production, improves product quality, speaks to worker health and safety, lowers emissions and environmental impact, and addresses practical behaviour and welfare questions.

At 50 pages, this edition includes 14 scientific articles, plus updates on activity in our pig production unit and technology transfer activities for the calendar year 2011.

Some of the highlights from this year’s edition include:

• Using alternative water management practices that translate to a savings of $9.23/pig,
• Higher weaning and nursery exit weights are seen with pigs that consume creep feed, however not all pigs consume creep feed,
• Farms with higher prod use at marketing experienced the longest loading times,
• Application rates of 3,000 to 4,000 gallons/acre of manure produced optimal crop yield.

Prairie Swine Centre Inc. is a non-profit research corporation affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan, and is recognized globally for its contributions to practical, applied science in pork production in the disciplines of nutrition, engineering and applied animal behaviour. The report is available to download online at http://www.prairieswine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/AR-2011.pdf.