Manitoba Pork urges all producers to participate in an online research study to document the significant progress made in recent decades to reduce the environmental impact of hog farming. The study aims to identify production efficiencies for producers and show environmental improvements in Manitoba and Canada. The results will be extremely beneficial in garnering public and local government support to expand the provincial hog sector without additional regulatory measures sustainably.
According to a Manitoba Pork release the first step in the study is a survey of Canadian pork producers, which takes about 40 minutes to complete online.
“Before you begin, you’ll need to have on hand 2018 production statistics, feed composition, land and manure data, and utility usage.”
The lead researcher (Dr. Mario Tenuta at the University of Manitoba) has not identified a specific end date. Grant Melnychuk, manager, planning and sustainable development said Dr. Tenuta hopes to have enough producer feedback for his team to begin analyzing the data in early 2021.
Completion will depend on when the researchers can begin the analysis. Once finished, peers will review the data and publish it.
“I’m not sure of their targeted timeline offhand, but I would suspect that won’t be until late 2021 or early 2022.”
Dr. Tenuta said the pig production survey is an integral part of preparing and improving its sustainability in Canada, but this requires sound data.
A basis to inform on the current means of pig production and the resources used. A survey is instrumental in obtaining in Manitoba, but across Canada, what pig producers are using, their animals’ throughput, and productivity. Then the team can determine efficiencies through the analysis of the collected data.
He said it is a national survey but started in Manitoba with that interest from Manitoba Pork and its producers to know better the recent gains in the efficiencies and what improvements they can make.
It’s telling the excellent story so far, then taking it another step forward to ensure covering all the bases.
“We’re producing more protein, more pig protein meat than for the resource use or input, now than in the past decades ago.”
How much better, no one is sure, hence part of analyzing the current day situation. But to deep dive into the past in terms of production, statistics and throughput in a typical pig operation.
It is essential to know the resources requirements to feed and grow those pigs and market them to market age and then the payoff. To talk about how the industry is improving and becoming more efficient, which is excellent.
The producers want to know the recommendations to go further and improve feed ration mixtures and improvements in determining stages of getting pigs to market. That may require some automation, maybe, rather than just knowing, based on a number of days. Perhaps he should be doing more in barn determinations of the growth and weight of the pigs.
Dr. Tenuta said in terms of manure storage, energy use in the barn, heating, cooling, ventilation, lights, directions, using more energy-efficient approaches, and cost savings.
“That’s a part I’m looking forward to is what we can recommend for the future.”
The survey will require producers to come to their computer with some stats—the production statistics for 2019 of their main barn.
“We need the production stats in terms of the number of animals, when they come in when they come out, their weights and peak performance. And we can then calculate the throughput over a year.”
Another significant component the feed and feed rations are doing the best they can. They may not know precisely what phosphorus level is or this or that, but the majority will have mixed rations coming in prepared.
The important part is to follow the directions closely and complete the survey as best as possible over time and not necessarily all in one sitting.
Others did environmental footprinting and production efficiency analysis, but with some general stats and information.
“We’re going to the producers and learning from them what it takes to grow pork in Canada and the different regions like Manitoba.”
Dr. Tenuta said this is very novel and the results will be useful and more accurate and he believes the improvements and efficiency will be much better than expected. •
— By Harry Siemens
