A strong year for Iowa pork producers

Mar 06, 2023

Kevin Rasmussen is a farmer from Humboldt County Iowa who served as the Iowa Pork Producers Association President in 2022 and now serves on the board of directors. He says that 2022 was a year of smooth sailing.

Rasmussen says that a big focus in 2022 was helping to find funding for the Iowa State University veterinary diagnostics lab.

Rasmussen says that the IPPA and Iowa pork are in a good place because of the hard work of the board members.

Past president Kevin Rasmussen spoke with the IARN at the IPPA Pork Congress in Des Moines in late January.

Source : Swine Web

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.