A survey being conducted on behalf of Swine Innovation Porc will provide a clearer indication of the pork sector's environmental footprint and help identify areas for improvement. As part of research being conducted on behalf of Swine Innovation Porc, the University of Manitoba is coordinating the "Canadian Pig Production Practices Survey for Improved Economic and Environmental Viability."
Dr. Mario Tenuta, the Industrial Research Chair for Nutrient Stewardship with the University of Manitoba says the goal of the survey, which will be circulated once COVID-19 disruptions have eased, is to quantify environmental improvements made by the pork sector over the years.
Clip-Dr. Mario Tenuta-University of Manitoba:
We really want to quantify the improved efficiencies in pig production and really pinpoint that story down in terms of, to produce a pound of pork meat, how more efficient and better are we in terms of utilizing the feed and water and energy today than we did years ago.
Another aspect is today, with analysis of looking at where could we make improvements, either in the production side and also in the resource use side, lifecycle analysis, footprint side, in terms of bringing down the resource use.
Where in the production is greenhouse gases produced the most? Where can we be focussing on reducing greenhouse gasses in the production of pork for example? Barn design. Are there barn designs that seem to be more energy efficient? We're going to have a mix actually of older and newer barns.
We're going to be able to figure out if there's quite a difference in the more modern barns or different approaches, for example for lighting or for heating and cooling. We want to be able to also use the survey analysis to guide improvements.
Source : Farmscape