Science and Technology for Canadians

Designer Pigs

Streaming Video - High resolution | Low resolution | RealPlayer Help

Summary:

The old saw that you are what you eat may be stretching it a bit, but in the world of pigs, what goes in most definitely has an impact on what comes out the other end. To help reduce the pollutants contained in pig manure, Candido Pomar at the Dairy and Swine Research and Development Centre in Lennoxville, Quebec, has married computer modelling with reams of data to come up with a designer diet for pigs. Just punch in the appropriate variables, and PorcExpert comes up with the ideal feed formulation.

The program can be adjusted to maximize growth rate or reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus excreted. A study by Dr. Pomar showed that 40 per cent of the excreted nitrogen could be cut back at a modest feed cost increase of two per cent. PorcExpert was developed in collaboration with the private sector, and will become available very soon.

Transcript:

Jill Deacon: If you're a pig farmer in this country, you're probably doing alright. The business of hog farming is booming. In 1996, there were twice as many pigs in Canada as there had been twenty years before that.Well, that's good news for farmers, but that's bad new for the environment, because the manure that all those pigs produce contains some pretty nasty chemicals. But a group of scientist has devised a way to change what comes out by adjusting what goes in.

Jay Ingram: If you spend any time in the country, you know that pig manure is potent stuff, but the real problem isn't the smell, it's the nitrogen and phosphorus in it. When these two chemicals get into groundwater, they become a source of pollution and a potential health problem.Finding something else to do with the manure is one way of solving the problem, but Candido Pomar, a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lennoxville, Quebec, has a different approach.

Dr. Candido Pomar: We had been thinking about trying to formulate a diet in order to reduce some nutrients that are used... that appear in excess... so, if in particular, nitrogen and phosphorus.

Jay Ingram: So the problem is not so much the amount of pig manure, but the nitrogen and phosphorus in it.Until recently, diet for pigs weren't made up with these chemicals in mind, and the pigs often ate more of these nutrients and other proteins and minerals than their bodies could absorb.But now, scientists are working to control excretion of these chemicals at the front end, through nutrition.Pomar and his colleagues have developed software called “Pork Expert.” They're trying to match the amount of each nutrient a pig needs, with how much actually goes into its feed.

Dr. Candido Pomar: What we are doing is we are developing a program that's... we say, is a mathematical model, in where... we're representing some physiological aspects of the pig in a mathematical form. So, we are modeling mathematically, how the pig is going to respond to different treatments, like for example, you can change protein concentration, you can... with the model, you can estimate how the pig is going to respond to these changes... is it growing faster, is he going to change body composition.

Jay Ingram: Using “Pork Expert,” scientists can plug in all kinds of information, like the breed of the pig, the temperature of the barn, the components in the diet, the frequency of feeding. Then, they can adjust each of these in the computer to create the feed mix they need. One setup might provide the fastest growth rate, another could minimize the excretion of nitrogen. It can all be controlled simply by adjusting the ingredients in the feed, and it can even be adjusted for different stages in the pig's growth.

Dr. Candido Pomar: If we look to the requirements of the pigs, we see very fast that we have to increase the concentration of nutrients for the very young pigs. But appetite in the pig grows faster than requirements. So at the end of the growing period the nutrients can be given in a lower concentration, just because the pig is able to eat much more.

Jay Ingram: Scientists are also trying different combinations of proteins, amino acids and enzymes, to help the pigs digest nitrogen and phosphorus better. They've come up with feed formulations that don't actually cost much more to produce, but do have a big impact on the chemicals the pig excretes.

Dr. Candido Pomar: If we evaluate the consequences of using this program in '95 for example in Quebec, and we observe that we could reduce by more than 40 percent the excretion of nitrogen just with a very small increase on the cost, we are talking about around two percent increase in feed cost, and that's using the same ingredients, the same feed formulation program, the same things that the industry is using today.

Jay Ingram: Not only do costs stay about the same, but the development of the pig itself is unaffected.

Dr. Candido Pomar: Well, in principle, if you are doing the things properly, you should not change anything in relation to growth rate or meat quality, or whatever.

Jay Ingram: The software, developed in partnership with two private companies, will be available this year. It's a unique way of helping farmers produce pigs, while at the same time, protecting the environment.

Jill Deacon: Earth Tones is produced with the help of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.