SHOULD YOU USE PHYTASE?
Well, I’m educated enough to know that there are all sorts of things I only understand a tiny fraction of, and one of those is swine nutrition and the biological and biochemical interactions that occur within a pig’s gut when certain feeds, nutrients, additives get mixed together. I expect that is a plight shared by about 80 percent in the hall this morning.
But even though Dr. Olayiwola Adeola of Purdue University presented a lot of complicated research on the impact of phytase added to pig diets, going through multiple studies about amino acids, phosphorus solubility and pig growth rates, he was admirably clear and concise on a central conclusion: phytase added to pig diets allows farmers to use low-phytate feeds and poop out less soluble phosphorus. About this there is no doubt, he said.
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That’s good news (not really new, but a reaffirmation of what a lot of nutritionists and animal scientists already believed) for Manitoba farmers, because the tough regulations coming into force in 2013 will severely restrict manure spreading, so farmers either need to find more land upon which to spread, or cut down the size of their herds. OR – find a way of drastically reducing the amount of phosphorus coming out of the animals. As Adeola said a couple of times, controlling the phosphorus coming in to the animal is an important factor, and provides the best easy shot at reducing phosphorus coming out of the animal.
Combined with the results of mechanical solid-separating systems (see below) which reduce 30-60 percent of the phosphorus in liquid manure, farmers might have the ability to massively reduce their phosphorus problem. And combined with crop rotations that provide maximum phosphorus removal, the regulatory noose that is being imposed in 2013 could be slightly looser and not so onerous for farmers.
MANURE TREATMENT
Lorne Grieger of PAMI is discussing manure treatment technology. First focus on reducing phos from feed and maximizing crop use of phos before going into expensive manure treatment, he said.
But treatment systems help and are an important addition to feed and crop management. PAMI has been studying both a centrifuge system and a rotary press. New Manitoba phos regs hit in 2013, so many producers looking at comprehensive apporaches.
MANURE MANAGEMENT
Dean Gurney of Puratone is talking about research his company has been doing for years on manure management of its operations. It is becoming a high-tech science, with the focus on nutrient availability, crop rotation, soil testing. Manure is valuable fertilizer, but also a product that needs to be moved on a yearly basis. Balancing the two is the key.
Dr. Olayiwola Adeola of Purdue University commented: “Feed management, I think, is key.”
MINISTER NO-SHOW
I was keen to see Ron Kostyshyn, Manitoba’s new agriculture minister, speak to the Manitoba Swine Seminar today. Would he come as a Herald of a New Age of Reasonableness, or as a Bag Boy of Bad Intentions? Would he signal a willingness to work with the hog industry – one of the driving forces of the provincial economy – or would he continue what pig farmers perceive as a punitive, unreasonable and brutal approach to the industry?
Well, it looks like we aren’t going to find out. He isn’t able to make it today. Unfortunately, that seems to be a pattern with ag ministers for the past few years. Rosann Wowchuk often attended hog industry gatherings, if my memory serves me right, but her successor Stan Struthers was less able to make major industry gatherings like this.
After Bill 17 and the “Save Lake Winnipeg” act, it’s easy to see why ministers might find it awkward to face the music. And Kostyshyn is still very new at the job, so perhaps it would be unfair to throw him into this venue and have to answer for policies that are pretty hard – on scientific grounds – to justify. But there are a lot of people here today who wanted to hear directly from the minister today, and they’re going to be disappointed.
FROM DAY ONE:
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TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, EVEN IF THAT MAKES YOU FEEL GUILTY
James Hofer of the Starlite colony is giving a presentation on worker safety. He began by urging farmers and farm workers to occasionally pamper themselves, even if they aren’t in pain or injured. “Are we in tune with our body?” he said.
Farmers shouldn’t disregard safety just because they’ve seen older farmers survive constant exposure to chemicals and other poisons. “What’s food for one man is poison for another.”
OPEN HOUSING: IS IT DOABLE?
Kevin Kurbis of New Standard Ag in St. Andrews, Manitoba is describing the experience of the Eagle Creek Hutterite colony in moving into loose housing for pregnant sows. Kurbis said the system works fine, workers need to learn new skills and do different jobs than in a stall barn, but there is no need for extra labour. Most of the worries of producers about the system prove to be not bad in reality. Generally it’s an endorsement of the system and proof that smart producers can make it work.
This is exactly what I heard a couple of years ago when I did a lot of work on this issue. The researchers and staff at the National Centre for Livestock and the Environment have looked at this for years and know it can and does work. A number of Hutterite colonies have begun using open housing of gestating sows and they’re doing quite well, from most reports.
LAKE WINNIPEG AND ITS WOES
Dr. Michael Stainton of the Freshwater Institute of the Dept of Fisheries and Oceans is discussing Lake Winnipeg and its water problems. Right off he acknowledged the divisiveness and touchiness of the subject.
“I will be treading a very reasoned path through the minefield . . . Why is Lake Winnipeg suddenly so green?”
Phosphorus flowing into Lake Winnipeg for 15 years has been increasing, but so has water flow because of the long wet spell we’ve been living with. In fact, phos loading of Lake Winnipeg seems to be exactly correlated with water flow.
The pig number increase in the Red River valley happened in the same time, but there is no clear evidence that pigs are the cause of the phosphorus increase. Water flow seems to be the main reason. There is, however, a general increase in Phos concentration in the water since the 1970s.
The main Phos impact on the river happens in the spring flood period, and it’s mostly coming from water that sits on fields and soaks up nutrients rather than immediate snowmelt that happens during the flood. The loss of wetlands that hold back water and consume nutrients are the biggest cause of the increase, a localized study of the LaSalle showed. Stuff done on the fields, fertilizer and manure, exacerbate but don’t seem to cause the problem.
Would a drought help? Yes, Stainton said. Increased flow has boosted phos flow, reduced flow would reduce it.
What could be a disaster for Lake Winnipeg: Zebra mussels taking over.
Are pigs the cause of Lake Winnipeg’s problems?: nothing he said suggested he believes they are.
