Seven ways to reduce energy costs
By Jay Harmon, Ph.D., P.E., Iowa State University and Mark Boggess, Ph.D., National Pork Board - The high price of energy will impact many activities on the farm. Not only are prices at the gasoline pump high, but as oil and energy costs rise, natural...

The Effect of Light Type on Gilt Performance
By Jennifer Hannesson, Pork Technology Transfer Specialist, Alberta Government. In Canada, swine barns are mostly intensive confinement facilities, which rely on artificial lighting. The majority of energy for lighting is consumed by breeding/farrowing...

Energy Use in Pig Farming
By the National Pig Association - Pig farmers use energy in both intensive and extensive rearing systems in order to achieve their production goals. The main uses of energy are for building services, animal feeding systems and waste removal. Energy also...

The effect of sow housing systems on longevity, performance and behavior
By Todd See - Researchers from the University of Minnesota reported results from studies that evaluated the effect of sow housing systems on longevity, performance and behavior at the recent Midwestern Meeting of the American Society of Animal Science...

Summer Swine Management
By M. Todd See, NCSU Swine Extension - Summer is here, and for pork producers in the Southeast that means hot, humid weather. It is ime to start making plans and evaluating swine facilities for helping pigs cope with summertime weather.

Hooped Shelters For Hogs
By Lance Gegner, NCAT Agriculture Specialist - This publication discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages of using hooped structures for finishing hogs or housing gestating sows.

Is My Controller Adjusted for Summer Ventilation?
By S.P. Lemay, L. Chénard and K. Engele, and published by the Prairie Swine Center - It is always exciting to see summer coming after winter and spring conditions. After cold months, nobody complains when the outside thermometer is claiming up each day...

To Keep the Swine Healthy, Keep the Surroundings Clean
By The Food Safety Consortium - Looking for ways to keep marketbound swine as free of Salmonella as possible, researchers have come back to what most suspected in the first place: follow principles of sanitation on the farm, keep the transport vehicles...

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Swine Production Systems
By Claude Laguë P.Eng., Ph.D., University of Saskatchewan and published by the Prairie Swine Center - There is a general agreement in the scientific community to the effect that the increased atmospheric concentrations of what is referred to as greenhouse...

Noise Management at Intensive Livestock Installations
By the Environment Agency - Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) is a regulatory system that employs an integrated approach to control the environmental impacts of certain industrial activities. In England and Wales IPPC operates under the...

Preparing for Spring and Winter
By Brian Andries and published by the Prairie Swine Center - The variation in temperature changes starting late fall and progressing into the winter months requires strategies dealing with ventilating pig barns in our cold climate regions. Ventilation...

Do pigs really suffer from 'drafts'?
By Nick Bird for FarmEx - So, what about "draughts"? After years of research, I feel I can tell you a little about them. Draughts are something your granny feels, but you don't. They are something that pigs that tail-bite feel, but pigs that are happy...

Measuring pig metabolism by water consumption and ventilation rate
By Nick Bird for FarmEx - The aim of pig production is to convert a low value product (pig feed) into a high value product (pig meat) as efficiently and cost effectively as possible. This is achieved by pig metabolism, but unlike other production processes...

Optimizing Heating Costs in Grower-Finisher
By S.P. Lemay and L. Chénard and published by the Prairie Swine Center - Livestock production under cold climate requires control systems that provide a healthy environment for animals and workers without wasting energy. Most of the control systems that...

Dust Mask Use in Swine Barns Reduce Health Effects
By James A. Dosman, Ambikaipakan Senthilselvan, Shelley P. Kirychuk, Stéphane Lemay, Ernest M. Barber, Philip Wilson, Yvon Cormier, Charles Rhodes, Tom S. Hurst, Denise Bono and published by the Prairie Swine Center - The objective of this study was to...