Optimizing temperature requirements of pigs to reduce energy use in swine production

Nolan Matuba, Alvin Alvarado, Bernardo Predicala – The overarching goal of this research project is to investigate the optimum environmental temperature requirements of sows and grower-finisher pigs to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gases while maintaining their long-term overall productivity and performance. The project consists of four phases; 1) group-housed gestating sows will be kept for 6 weeks either at 16.5°C (current recommended set-point) or 8°C (preferred temperature determined in a previous study);

2) determine the preferred environmental temperature of grower-finisher pigs, using the operant mechanism and experimental protocols developed in the previous sow study; 3) grow-finish pigs will be kept for 6 weeks at either the current recommended set-point temperature, or the preferred temperature determined in phase 2;

4) assessment of environmental (carbon) footprint, cost analysis and development of recommendations for practical application of the optimized temperature management in commercial barns.