Farm-Scape is sponsored by Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork Play Audio Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork.

Farm-Scape, Episode 1387

Alberta Agriculture Food and Rural Development estimates eliminating meat and bone meal from swine diets will cost producers a potential six dollar per hog cost advantage.

Despite the scientific evidence that shows rendered meat and bone meal products are safe ingredients in swine diets, producers in Alberta are being warned the days of their use are numbered.

Last month Alberta's agriculture department looked at the economic implications of eliminating the use of these products.

Pork Scientist Dr. Eduardo Beltranena says, even before the May BSE incident, there was a cost benefit to feeding pigs meat and bone meal and that advantage is even larger today.

"There was a benefit of 75 cents per hog using the meat and bone prices from May.

When we used the October prices after the crisis, we found that there was basically a margin, dollars kept in producers pockets, of about four dollars per hog. All this was based on a 600 sow farrow to finish operation.

When I did this analysis in October, I used soybean meal at 350 dollars per metric tonne and the current price of soybean meal is somewhere in the order of 410 dollars per metric tonne so probably now there is even more of a benefit by including meat, bone meal and tallow in the diets.

I think it would be close to six dollars margin per hog".

Dr. Beltranena says, while there is a clear cost advantage, producers who feed rendered meat and bone meal products risk losing their markets.

He points out one major packer has already notified its producers of plans to stop accepting pigs that have been fed these products and other plants are expected to follow.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.