Don’t Think Twice, Be Precise

What do feeding pigs and defusing bombs have in common? Precision matters. 

Since exploding a few years ago, feed prices have stabilized, but they still stand as the top expense for producers. Lessening the cost can greatly affect your bottom line, and, backed by SIP, scientists are doing just that with the project “Decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, feeding costs and labour requirements by using precision feeding techniques in commercial pig farms”. 

Through precision feeding, researchers aim to make pork production more sustainable from both an economic and environmental standpoint. 

“When humans consult a nutritionist, she takes their weight, determines their activity level and calculates calorie and nutrient intake,” says Dr. Aline Remus, research scientist with Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) at the Sherbrooke R&D Centre in Quebec. “Based on this information, she designs a diet that meets their specific needs.” 

In essence, precision feeding does the same for pigs, using mathematical models and technologies such as automated feeding in tailoring diets to individual needs. On commercial farms, where close monitoring of every pig is impractical, precision feeding provides an early warning system for disease when an animal stops eating or lowers its consumption. 

“I talked to a producer in the U.S. who said worker morale has really improved with this approach. In using computers and tablets to coordinate feeding, they are supporting animal care while doing work more suited to their skills and interests.” 

As part of a PhD project within the study, researchers recently replaced 40% of corn in precision feeding diets with low density nutrients from forages. The result was a 4% increase in feed efficiency and a 20% reduction in nitrogen excretion versus group feeding. When Timothy grass – an excellent source of fiber – was also included during the first two phases of growth, it lowered the lipid-to-fat ratio of the carcass by 22%.  

“We showed that we can include these forages in pellet form for pigs, and that delivery system is more effective when it comes to fiber utilization. Since 30% of land in Canada is pasture, there is huge potential to use forage in pig diets rather than costlier ingredients like corn or soybeans.” 

At the same time, processing forage into pellets requires substantial energy. In Quebec, where power is fairly inexpensive, it may not be an issue, but scientists will need to find other options for provinces with high energy costs. 

“One size does not fit all, and that’s what this project is about.” 

The next step for scientists is to model these diet modifications as part of pig life cycle assessments to determine the impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Preliminary results from sampling suggest that using forage alters manure composition significantly, but the reason for that is not yet clear. 

In another branch of the study, researchers tested individual precision feeding, group precision feeding and conventional feeding at the Prairie Swine Centre in Saskatchewan.  

“We found that if we have the initial weight of an animal and a good history of its genetics, and collect their feed intake data every two days, we can decrease lysine in the diet by 9% with no decrease in performance. There are still adjustments to be made in group phase feeding, but the first results are very promising.” 

Scientists also noted that certain types of precision feeding could increase the homogeneity (uniformness) of the herd. This would benefit producers that don’t use an “all in, all out” system by reducing the number of slow growing pigs in each group that is sent to the plant, thereby enhancing producer revenue. During the last year of the study, the team will hold training workshops to aid farmers in using group precision feeding. 

As well, team members at the University of Guelph (U of G) are making progress on a vision system, where cameras are employed to weigh animals and reduce the need for animal handling. 

In the near future, scientists at CDPQ will start trials with 40 individual feeders that have been installed to test their accuracy in providing the right feed to the right animal. The first trial involves calcium and phosphorus, as maximizing the retention of these two minerals will reduce costs and environmental impact.  

“Ultimately, we anticipate savings of 10-12% or $6-$8 per pig with individual precision feeding, along with a 16-17% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. For group precision feeding, producers should save about 6% in costs and lower those emissions by 8%. Sustainable pork production is all about the numbers, so these figures are encouraging to say the least.”