A Research Scientist with the Prairie Swine Centre says management is key to increasing profitability, reducing environmental impact and improving animal welfare.
Scientists working on behalf of Swine Innovation Porc are working to create feeding strategies for weaned pigs that maximize profits, reduce reliance on antibiotics and improve robustness.
Dr. Dan Columbus, a Research Scientist Nutrition with the Prairie Swine Centre, says it's becoming more apparent that there is a key relationship between management and performance.
Dr. Dan Columbus-Prairie Swine Centre:
Under this particular one there are three broad research programs being undertaken, each involving a series of projects that are all geared towards improving animal performance and health while reducing feed costs.
The first program is examining the effectiveness of functional amino acids for improving pig health and robustness and developing protocols for effective use of those amino acids, the second will be developing novel strategies for detoxifying Vomitoxin or DON in diets for weaned pigs and the final one is examining the use of pulse ingredients and organic for improving gut health and nutrient utilization.
At the end of the day our objective is to provide information that can be used by the industry to improve financial, environmental and social sustainability of pork production.
Obviously we want to reduce cost, we want to reduce environmental footprint and social sustainability through improving welfare and through reducing antibiotic use.
A key outcome of the Swine Innovation Porc and Canadian Agricultural Partnership program is improved collaboration between researchers and industry partners to ensure the information produced is of use to the pork value chain.
As with all research a focus will be communication with the scientific community in order to improve knowledge and lead to future research questions as well as making sure we communicate and provide solutions to producers.
Dr. Columbus says the goal is to reduce costs, reduce environmental footprint and enhance social sustainability by improving welfare.
- Bruce Cochrane.
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