NF95-224 Pricing SEW Piglets

This NebFact addresses valuing and marketing SEW pigs in Nebraska

Farm Energy: Managing swine ventilation controller settings to save energy

Ventilation is by far the largest source of heating energy loss in swine facilities. To maintain air quality, it is essential to provide proper minimum ventilation without losing excessive energy from the building. Learn how modern controllers interlock equipment operation to avoid conflicts that waste energy.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/extension_ag_pubs/1022/thumbnail.jp

NF93-113 Proper Way to Ear Notch Pigs

This NebFact offers instruction in pig ear notching

Assessment of Ventilation Management Training Workshops

To achieve optimum swine performance, producer understanding of environmental control systems in mechanically or naturally ventilated facilities is extremely important. A ventilation workshop: “Managing Your Unseen Employee: The Ventilation System” was established. The primary objective of the training was to give swine producers and managers enough quality information so they could go back to their operations and properly assess their own ventilation systems and make appropriate adjustments as needed. The training workshops were established to be a multi-state and multi-disciplinary effort between South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota universities. Ag engineers and animal scientists from each state participated in developing the workshop materials and delivery of the program. Four basic needs emerged that would enhance program delivery. These needs included basic environmental factors and their effects on pigs, ventilation system design principles, trouble-shooting ventilation problems, and hands-on demonstrations of instrumentation and ventilation equipment. A 1.8 m by 2.4 m by 2.4 m mobile ventilation room was used for the hands-on training. The mobile ventilation room was equipped with two variable-speed, 30-centimeter fans and one 30-cm, single-speed fan; a four-stage controller; and three types of air inlets. From 2002 to 2007, over 1000 people producing over 20 million pigs participated in more than 60 workshops. The backgrounds of participants included managers, feed consultants, extension educators, and veterinarians. Key points gained by producers included proper ventilation settings, trouble-shooting techniques, temperature control, and the effects of static pressure on airflow

The Real World of Ventilation Troubleshooting: A Swine Case Study

Swine finishing facility ventilation has become relatively complex and is often mismanaged as a system. One of the few ways to truly understand these systems is to spend time systematically going through the many components of the building. To learn to help producers better, a team of university Extension specialists that included agricultural engineers and animal scientists spent an extended period carefully documenting conditions in a deep-pit swine finishing building with two 1,000-head rooms. Exhaust fans in the pit and walls operated at various stages throughout the year as a negative-pressure ventilation system. A computerized controller activated exhaust fans, a ventilation curtain actuator, and heaters. Gravity baffled ceiling inlets were evenly spaced in the building to provide good air distribution during cold and mild weather conditions. Following the review of current conditions and operating parameters, performance deficiencies were identified and recommendations were given regarding controller settings, inlet settings, and curtain management. The overall operating characteristics of the ventilation system and air quality in the animal space were documented ventilation and related management changes were discussed with the owner/operator

Bioprospecting metagenomics of decaying wood: mining for new glycoside hydrolases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To efficiently deconstruct recalcitrant plant biomass to fermentable sugars in industrial processes, biocatalysts of higher performance and lower cost are required. The genetic diversity found in the metagenomes of natural microbial biomass decay communities may harbor such enzymes. Our goal was to discover and characterize new glycoside hydrolases (GHases) from microbial biomass decay communities, especially those from unknown or never previously cultivated microorganisms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From the metagenome sequences of an anaerobic microbial community actively decaying poplar biomass, we identified approximately 4,000 GHase homologs. Based on homology to GHase families/activities of interest and the quality of the sequences, candidates were selected for full-length cloning and subsequent expression. As an alternative strategy, a metagenome expression library was constructed and screened for GHase activities. These combined efforts resulted in the cloning of four novel GHases that could be successfully expressed in <it>Escherichia coli</it>. Further characterization showed that two enzymes showed significant activity on <it>p</it>-nitrophenyl-α-<smcaps>L</smcaps>-arabinofuranoside, one enzyme had significant activity against <it>p</it>-nitrophenyl-β-<smcaps>D</smcaps>-glucopyranoside, and one enzyme showed significant activity against <it>p</it>-nitrophenyl-β-<smcaps>D</smcaps>-xylopyranoside. Enzymes were also tested in the presence of ionic liquids.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Metagenomics provides a good resource for mining novel biomass degrading enzymes and for screening of cellulolytic enzyme activities. The four GHases that were cloned may have potential application for deconstruction of biomass pretreated with ionic liquids, as they remain active in the presence of up to 20% ionic liquid (except for 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethyl phosphate). Alternatively, ionic liquids might be used to immobilize or stabilize these enzymes for minimal solvent processing of biomass.</p

Ground and Aerial Robots for Agricultural Production: Opportunities and Challenges

Crop and animal production techniques have changed significantly over the last century. In the early 1900s, animal power was replaced by tractor power that resulted in tremendous improvements in field productivity, which subsequently laid foundation for mechanized agriculture. While precision agriculture has enabled site-specific management of crop inputs for improved yields and quality, precision livestock farming has boosted efficiencies in animal and dairy industries. By 2020, highly automated systems are employed in crop and animal agriculture to increase input efficiency and agricultural output with reduced adverse impact on the environment. Ground and aerial robots combined with artificial intelligence (AI) techniques have potential to tackle the rising food, fiber, and fuel demands of the rapidly growing population that is slated to be around 10 billion by the year 2050. This Issue Paper presents opportunities provided by ground and aerial robots for improved crop and animal production, and the challenges that could potentially limit their progress and adoption. A summary of enabling factors that could drive the deployment and adoption of robots in agriculture is also presented along with some insights into the training needs of the workforce who will be involved in the next-generation agriculture