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Feds invest in hog research

By: Staff Writer

Wednesday, May. 23, 2012 at 1:11 PM | Comments: 1

Two research projects announced today could help Manitoba hog producers keep clean air in the barns, and better use manure on fields.

More than $200,000 will be invested by the federal government in the projects, which were announced today by Brandon-Souris MP Merv Tweed.

"Our government is committed to the long-term viability of the hog industry in Manitoba and supports measures that will keep it profitable," Tweed said. "This investment will help improve animal health in the sector and grow long-term economic prosperity for our hog producers."

Most of the money — more than $150,000 — will go towards helping to improve the air quality of swine barns by testing the effectiveness of an electrostatic space charge system. That's expected to reduce and prevent the airborne transmission of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, a highly infectious virus that costs the Canadian industry an estimated $130 million per year.

A second investment of more than $57,000 will be used to conduct a comparative study of cropping systems to promote use of swine manure on Manitoba farms. The study is expected to help identify sustainable land management practices, which would also reduce waterway pollution and, in turn, help lessen the environmental impact of the province's farming practices.

"These are potentially valuable projects for hog producers in Manitoba. As more farmers move into liquid-solid separation of manure, it is important to increase our understanding of how we can better utilize the resulting products in an environmentally sound manner," said Karl Kynoch, Chair of the Manitoba Pork Council. "As well, we are always looking for ways of improving air quality in barns and to find better disease prevention techniques. We also need to meet the provincial government's regulatory process, and we believe these research projects can assist us in these goals."

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Posted by:JOHN FEFCHAK

May 24, 2012 at 11:48 AM

In less words, they are admitting fault and guilt with the present system. The only way to really improve the breathing air quality in the barns (factories) is to open all the doors and free the hogs into the outside fresh air.
There’s a good chance that this would also reduce some of the diseases,

As for the manure study. I would emphasize extreme caution,as there are health hazards in this product.

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