Second Year Results of the 4-H Swine Project

In 2001, a pilot project was conducted that sold pigs from the Lauren Christian Swine Research and Demonstration Farm to area 4-H youth. Youth from six counties bought pigs that were farrowed at the farm in January and February. The objectives of making pigs available were: To help increase county fair swine numbers in selected counties. To increase the number of young people with swine projects in southwest Iowa. To help youth by providing a reliable, healthy, and high performing source of fairly priced pigs. To enhance education and project knowledge

Decrease in Protein Level in Final Finishing Phase of High Lean Gain Swine

In an attempt to increase the fat-to-lean ratio on modern lean pigs destined for a niche market, a high lean genetic line of finishing pigs capable of gaining more than 2.0 lbs per day (in latter growth stages over 100 lbs of body weight) were fed two diets with differing protein levels. Pigs consuming a lower protein diet ate less feed (1.46 lbs/day) and gained less (0.65 lbs/day). Backfat, loin muscle area, percent lean and lean gain per day were not different. Gender performance differences were as expected. Lowering the diet’s protein content below the pig’s requirement was not effective in creating change in fat-tolean ratio in the final finishing phase. The balance of all amino acids must be considered when attempting to reduce soybean meal content.

The Effects of Gestation Housing on the Reproductive Performance of Gestating Sows: A Progress Report

There is increasing interest in evaluating group housing for gestating sows. The majority of gestating sows are housed in individual stalls or crates for the majority of the gestation period (100–110 days). Hoop structures are low-cost shelters that can be used for swine. By using feeding stalls and cornstalk bedding, hoops provide a feasible housing system for gestating swine. The objective of this long-term study is to evaluate effects of gestation housing on reproductive performance of sows. Group-housed gestating sows in static groups were compared to sows in individual gestation crates. Static refers to a group of sows that is managed as a group without mixing with other groups of sows. The group farrows, is bred, and gestated as an intact group. Replacement gilts are added to the group after farrowing

Feeding DDGS to Finishing Pigsin Deep-Bedded Hoop Barns

The ethanol industry in Iowa has rapidly expanded in the last several years. A major coproduct of ethanol production is dried distillers grains with solubles(DDGS). Higher prices for corn and ample supplies of DDGS has generated interest in feeding DDGS to finishing pigs. Challenges in feeding DDGS supplemented diets to finishing swine include problems of feed flowability in bulk bins and feeders, reduced feed intake, and softer, oilier fat in pork carcasses. Pelleted diets have improved flowability and may stimulate feed intake, but thus far no studies have examined feeding DDGS-supplemented dietsin pelletted form to pigs. The objective of this study was to evaluate pelletted DDGS-based diets fed to finishing pigs

Maximizing DDGS for Finishing Pigs in Bedded Hoop Barns

Higher prices for corn and increasing supplies of DDGS have generated questions about feeding DDGS to market swine. The objective of this study was to evaluate various programs to maximize DDGS feeding to finishing pigs in bedded hoop barns. The project was conducted during 2008 and 2009 at the ISU Western Research Farm, Castana, IA. The pens were in small hoop barns with two pens per barn. Each pen was assigned to one of three dietary treatments— continuous 20% DDGS (Cont), a step-up program from 0% to 30% DDGS (Step), and a high DDGS program that rapidly got pigs to 30% DDGS (High). All treatments were fed a 20% DDGS diet for the last phase of the trial. There were 4 dietary phases in the 98-day trial. Phase 1 and 4 were each 21d. Phase 2 and 3 were each 28d. The diets were pelletted and fed ad libitum. Within each phase, the diets were formulated to be equal in apparent digestible amino acids—lysine, threonine, and tryptophan. The pigs consumed the diets readily with no apparent problems making the transition among the diets. Feed intake (ADFI), growth (ADG), and feed per liveweight gain (F/G) did not differ among treatments (P \u3e 0.05). No major differences were noted in backfat thickness (BF) and loin muscle area (LMA) (P \u3e 0.05). Also, based on the means of fatty acid saturation, iodine values, and belly flop scores of selected pigs in trial (one, two or three), the differences in unsaturation percentages, iodine value and belly flop scores between treatments were minor. On average, a pig fed the continuous program consumed 119 lb of DDGS or 20% of the total feed over the 98-day feeding trial (from 54 to 274 lb). A pig fed the Step-up program consumed 106 lb of DDGS or 17% of the total feed. A pig fed the High program consumed 162 lb of DDGS or 26% of the total feed. This work suggests that diets and feeding programs can be designed to increase DDGS usage by market swine without negatively affecting pig performance. Also formulating diets on apparent digestible amino acid content may be advantageous when using DDGS on swine diets. The pelleted diets worked well with no problems in feed flow or fines separation

Maximizing DDGS for Finishing Pigs in Bedded Hoop Barns: Trial One

Iowa’s ethanol industry continues to expand rapidly. A major coproduct of ethanol production is dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS). Higher prices for corn and increasing supplies of DDGS have generated questions about feeding DDGS to market swine. The objective of this study was to evaluate various programs to maximize DDGS feeding to finishing pigs in bedded hoop barns. The work reported is the first of several trials planned

Le Forum, Vol. 45 #1 & #2

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/francoamericain_forum/1107/thumbnail.jp

Meta-analysis of multidecadal biodiversity trends in Europe

Local biodiversity trends over time are likely to be decoupled from global trends, as local processes may compensate or counteract global change. We analyze 161 long-term biological time series (15-91 years) collected across Europe, using a comprehensive dataset comprising similar to 6,200 marine, freshwater and terrestrial taxa. We test whether (i) local long-term biodiversity trends are consistent among biogeoregions, realms and taxonomic groups, and (ii) changes in biodiversity correlate with regional climate and local conditions. Our results reveal that local trends of abundance, richness and diversity differ among biogeoregions, realms and taxonomic groups, demonstrating that biodiversity changes at local scale are often complex and cannot be easily generalized. However, we find increases in richness and abundance with increasing temperature and naturalness as well as a clear spatial pattern in changes in community composition (i.e. temporal taxonomic turnover) in most biogeoregions of Northern and Eastern Europe. The global biodiversity decline might conceal complex local and group-specific trends. Here the authors report a quantitative synthesis of longterm biodiversity trends across Europe, showing how, despite overall increase in biodiversity metric and stability in abundance, trends differ between regions, ecosystem types, and taxa.peerReviewe