Swine Grist - Summer 2018

Swine Grist

A PERIODIC NEWSLETTER PRODUCED

BY GRAND VALLEY FORTIFIERS LTD. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2 SUMMER 2018

Dear Friends, With forecasters warning us of extreme heat stress ahead we need to prepare our operations to make our facilities as comfortable as possible. We would recommend that you search out experienced operators to provide expert design and equipment for optimum results. A well-designed air handling system will be a great addition to the circulation of air and ventilation in your hog operations. Dr. Martin Clunies has written an article to remind us how to best manage heat stress this summer in our herds and Primary Diet’s nutritionist, Emma Suckling, has a great article reminding of the importance of water. If you haven’t checked your water lines for cleanliness and flow now is great time to do so as the demand will increase during the summer season.

Wishing you good farming and a safe and enjoyable summer. Jim Ross, Founder & Chairman

Managing Summer Heat Stress

by: Dr. Martin Clunies PhD., Monogastric Nutritionist, Grand Valley Fortifiers Ltd.

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s summer fast approaches, the arrival of hot weather and growing crops also means possibility of heat stress impacting animal performance.

The pig, with its very limited supply of sweat glands, has to rely on increased respiration rates, convection and conduction as means to disipate heat. In its natural forest environment, a pig would spend a part of its day wallowing in the water holes or other catchments of water as a means of conductive (direct) heat loss. Furthermore, the heat load of the modern high-performance pig has increased along with its metabolic rate, improved lactation, bigger litters and faster growth rates. Today, based on the nature of modern housing, pigs are totally dependent on farmer management to provide cooling mechanisms for dealing with high ambient summer temperatures. Complicating the high temperature effect is the high level of humidity that we often face in South-Western Ontario, which modifies the pig’s ability to lose heat.

Symptoms of Heat Stress First let us review the symptoms, effects and consequences of heat stress.

During heat stress the body temperature begins to rise, and the first mechanism that the pig has for coping with this is to increase its respiration rate. At a comfortable ambient temperature, the respiration rate of the pig is 20–25 breaths per minute, as the temperature increases above its comfort zone respiration increases to 50-60 breaths per minute. When the respiration rate increases to 80–100 breaths per minute, the pig is now in that critical condition where, if subjected to this for a prolonged period, its survival begins to be affected. At respiration rates above 100 breaths per minute, if immediate action is not taken, then the pig will succumb to the heat stress. In addition to the increased respiration rate, a pig will also reduce its feed intake Alberta 1-866-610-5770 Saskatchewan 1-877-242-8882 Manitoba 1-866-626-3933

in an effort to reduce its heat load. We must remember that consuming feed increases body heat, as a result of consumption and digesting of the meal, along with the metabolic consequences of those absorbed nutrients.

In addition to the physical symptoms associated with heat stress, on a biological level the pig is attempting to cope with the stress internally. As we learn more about the biology of the digestive system, we understand that heat stress affects the integrity of the digestive tract, resulting in a more leaky gut, where toxins and pathogens are able to pass across the digestive tract.

On a biochemical level the pig also is trying to deal with a metabolic alkalosis as a result of the increased respiration rate and lower blood carbon dioxide.

At the core of heat stress is the biochemical function of the hormone insulin.

During heat stress insulin secretion is increased, favoring carbohydrate metabolism where glucose stored as glycogen is mobilized and used as for energy. As a result of increased insulin secretion, fat mobilization is decreased, as rising insulin typically leads to fat deposition. This energy crunch is further compounded by the reduced food intake. As a result of this shortage of energy, the pig mobilizes protein stored as muscle, in attempt to provide energy. The consequences of this is that the pig becomes fatter, as muscle tissue is depleted and fat reserves remain constant.

Management Tools for Coping with Heat Stress There are many management tools for coping with heat stress, understanding the resources and limitations of the pig’s ability to loose heat are key factors when deciding which should be used. As previously mentioned the pig is able dissipate heat by increased respiration rate, urination, convection and conduction.

One of the most overlooked strategies for helping pigs cope with heat stress is optimizing water supply and intake. Water consumed absorbs some of the body’s heat before it exhaled as water vapour or excreted as urine. All the metrics of water supply should be optimized to ensure animals have an abundant supply of drinking water, especially as more animals will be drinking more at the same time. Water nipple water flow rates have to be ideal, water quality has to be very good, if not water quality and cleanliness should be maximized with a chlorine Ian Ross, President & CEO | Jim Ross, Chairman Clarke Walker, VP & COO Dr. Martin Clunies, Monogastric Nutritionist David Ross/Patti Bobier, Publishers

dioxide based water sanitizer such as MS Schippers Di-O-Clean and improved by acidifying with an acid blend such as Agri-ACIDÂŽ or MS Goldmix PH. The pig also loses heat by convection, which is the transferring of body heat through the skin to the air surrounding the animal. Increasing ventilation rate, by removing that air around the animal to which heat has been transferred is an important tool in the management arsenal. Big long barns with tunnel ventilation, provide a perceived comfortable ambient temperature facilitating heat loss by convection. Cool cells can be added to these tunnel ventilation systems, through which water drips, further cooling the incoming air as heat is transferred to the water droplets as the air passes through. The one disadvantage to this is the increase in humidity in the incoming air. As a result, ventilation rate is critical.

The other tool to take advantage of is conduction, by nature the pig spends a lot of its time lying/resting and so is able to lose heat by transferring it to cooler surfaces it comes in contact with. If that surface is cooler than the pig, then there is a net heat loss from the pig. If however that surface is hotter than the pig then there is a net heat transfer to the pig, making the heat stress more critical. Over crowding during heat stress has huge consequences as hot pigs lying against other hot pigs makes the heat stress even greater. Conversely providing in-floor cooling increases the conduction loss as heat from the pig is transferred to the cooler floor. This is really beneficial to high metabolic rate lactating sows, where farrowing stalls with in-floor cooling allows the sow in a lying condition to transfer most of the metabolic heat to the floor such that for all intents and purpose the sow feels she is in her temperature comfort zone.

One final method of cooling pigs is misting. Misting serves two functions: it cools the air in the barn and wets the skin of the pigs. One of the benefits of misting is based on the principle that it takes a large amount of energy/ heat to transform water from a liquid to vapour or gaseous form. While some of the water misted falls on the surfaces in the barn, some of the mist will be converted to water vapour cooling the air in the barn. Sprayed on the skin of the pig, this mist partially replaces the sweat glands the pig lacks, resulting in the pig loosing a lot of heat as that water absorbs heat from the skin and is transformed to water vapour. Regardless, misting has to be accompanied by good ventilation capacity to remove the increased humidity resulting from the increased water vapour. Caution should be taken not to chill the pigs with drafts of air on wet skin.

Nutritional Strategies for Coping with Heat Stress.

As the impact of heat stress are mediated in biochemical changes within the animal, nutrition has the potential to modulate the affects of heat stress.

Fibre due to its fermentation in the hind gut, results in increasing the body temperature of the animal. Where as fibre in the winter help the animal cope with lower temperatures, fibre in hot summers increases the impact of heat stress. Similarly excess protein fed to pigs during heat stress must be catabolized and excreted in the urine, which requires energy. Therefore balancing the amino acids in the diet in keeping with the requirements for growth improves energy efficiency and reduces the energy burden on the pig.

With respect to the increased alkalosis as a result of increased respiration rate, the higher pH of the blood results in lower enzyme function and poorer efficiencies. The addition of bicarbonate of sodium can result in returning the blood and tissue fluids towards a more ideal pH, restoring most enzyme function to normal efficiencies. Replacing 2 kg of salt with 2 kg of bicarbonate of sodium to summer diets will help restore the blood pH, in situations where the heat stressed induced accelerated respiration rate continues for some time.

Of all the nutritional strategies supplementing with fat provides the greatest potential to increase in energy intake for the heat stressed pig. Fat digestion has a lower heat increment compared to carbohydrates and proteins, resulting in the less heat production following a meal. Furthermore,

fat when metabolized produces larger amounts of water which can be used as a metabolic heat sink for loosing body heat via urine. While the consequences of increasing fat intake in finishing pigs may be increased fat accumulation, in sows increasing fat intake has a very positive impact on energy balance, milk output, litter growth and subsequent reproductive performance.

Supplementing the diet with chromium modulates the receptor binding of insulin, through a chromium containing protein, chromodulin. In trials with heat stressed replacement gilts and growing finishing pigs, chromium supplementation increased feed intake 6% over a 4 week period. Similar studies have been completed in sheep (Hung, 2014), broiler chickens (Sahin et al, 2003) and cows (Saiady et al. 2004); showing that supplemental chromium affects the basic animal physiology/biochemistry. Furthermore, heat stressed pigs fed chromium supplemented diets had lower rectal temperatures (39.9°C vs 40.2°C) and reduced respiration rates (136 vs 173, Liu et al, 2015). Furthermore, chromium supplementation increased plasma levels of non-esterified fatty acids, indicating that fat mobilization was increased during the heat stress period. It is postulated that chromium modulates insulin action through the hormone cortisol (Borgs and Mallard, 1998), a stress hormone, which is typically increased during stress. Chromium decreased cortisol when supplemented in animal diets (Chang and Mowat, 1992; Samanta et al, 2008; Zha et al, 2009 and Hung et al, 2014).

Summary Heat stress management is critical in ensuring that animals continue to perform during periods of increased temperatures of summer. Pivotal for the pig farmer is recognizing the symptoms of heat stress, of which increased respiration rates next to monitoring rectal temperatures are a best practice.

The heat stress condition is as a result of altered biochemical processes and their effects on the physiology of the pig. Taking steps to cool the pig should be the first priority of farmers, this reduces body temperature and restores the pig to more normal physiological conditions. Nutritional strategies which reduce the metabolic heat production such as; reduced dietary fibre and better-balanced protein diets with more amino acid supplementation are great formulation strategies for helping pigs cope with heat stress.

Nutritional supplements such as bicarbonate of sodium and chromium alter the basic biochemistry effects of heat stress, restoring the pig to a more normal physiological state. For additional solutions or to discuss specific ideas for your hog operation, contact the Swine Nutrition Group at Grand Valley Fortifiers at 1-877-625-4400 or swinenutrition@grandvalley.com. n

Water Quality article

by: Emma Suckling Nursery Pig Nutritionist, Primary Diets

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ater is an essential nutrient that makes up 50% of the mature bodyweight of a pig and around 80% in newly born piglets! It is involved in most biological reactions, including body temperature regulation, digestion and nutrient uptake, detoxification and growth. As such, the provision of a suitable water source is essential for livestock production. In addition to this, feed intake is correlated with water intake (see figure 1). Limited water access, or an unsuitable water source, can lead to a reduction in water intake, which in turn limits feed intake and, as a result, growth rates. A water to feed intake ratio of 2 - 3:1 water to feed is the most commonly quoted for pig production and this will be higher for newly weaned piglets. It is clear that water quality and palatability can have an impact on feed intake and subsequently growth. However, water can often be an overlooked nutrient, or one which is taken for granted.

Swine Swine GGrist rist Feed Intake Correlation to Water Intake in Weaned Piglets (adapted from Bartels et al 1999)

Water Access Whilst feed does provide some water to the animal, most water is supplied as separate drinking water through a variety of different equipment including nipple drinkers, bowl drinkers and troughs. It is important to ensure that there is sufficient access to water for all piglets.

After all, if they don’t drink, they won’t eat! A minimum 1 drinker per 10 piglets is recommended in the nursery. These should occupy a variety of heights to ensure that all piglets have access to a suitable drinker throughout the whole nursery period. There will be a range of piglet sizes in the nursery, as well as an overall average change in size during the nursery period. Placing drinkers at a range of different, suitable heights helps to supply all piglets with sufficient water access. The flow rate through drinkers should be 0.7 litres per minute for weaned piglets.

Water Quality On most farms, drinking water is supplied from wells but water quality can vary greatly from well to well. The water supplied to livestock should be of a standard acceptable for human consumption.

Microbial/Pathogenic Contamination Microbial contamination of water does not only happen at the source and, in reality, most well water supplies should not contain notable microbial loads (assuming that appropriate slurry management systems and techniques are in place). Often, microbial loading occurs in the delivery system for the water, through either pipes or a header tank. This can often take the form of a slimy biofilm coating of the equipment, which harbours a microbial population.

Microbial loading in drinking water is often measured by a Total Viable Count (TVC) which indicates the total level of colony forming bacteria in the water, but cannot identify specific types of bacteria (not all bacteria is bad bacteria). A level of <2000 colony forming units (CFU)/ ml is acceptable. Common undesirable bacterial species which can be found in water are Salmonella, E. Coli, Cholerae and Leptospira.

Viruses, protozoa and intestinal worms can all also be found in water sources and load should be minimised. Identifying the source of these pathogens can help with the control process. For example, is an uncovered header tank susceptible to contamination with rodent or bird droppings which may be carrying pathogens? Sampling and testing water from several points in the water supply system can help to identify where contamination is occurring.

Where a problem has been identified, water system cleaning can be carried out with chlorine dioxide based water sanitation products. It is

always a good idea to thoroughly clean a water system before spending money on preventative products to maintain a higher standard of hygiene. Water systems should be cleaned in this way, followed by emptying the system of the cleaning product, whilst there are no pigs in the housing to which the water flows. This is because the cleaning process should lift the biofilm and cause the bacterial population to shed from the equipment, into the water and out of the system as it empties.

Not only are the cleaning products often not appropriate for animal consumption, carrying out this procedure whilst water is being supplied to animals will create a huge bacterial challenge to those animals. Finding an appropriate opportunity to clean the water system can therefore be difficult, particularly in continuous flow systems.

Following cleaning, acidification of water can be used to inhibit microbial growth and maintain an appropriate TVC for drinking water. Acid supply through the water can also provide some benefits to the animal, by contributing to maintain a lower pH in the stomach (<4 for piglets but ideally a target of 2â&#x20AC;&#x201C;3.5 in the stomach as in the mature animal) which aids digestion and is part of the animals defence mechanism against ingested bacterial pathogens. However, some acids (such as lactic acid) can exacerbate existing biofilm formation as they can be an energy source for undesirable bacteria in the water system; this is why it is important to clean the system before applying an in-water acid. Companies which supply in-water acids will have recommendations specific to the farm and their products, and should be able to provide clear information on their features, benefits and application.

When using any in water cleaning product, acid or additive it is important to check with the supplier of these products that they are compatible with any other product you are supplying in the water lines, including medication.

Some products are incompatible and can undergo a chemical reaction which reduces the effectiveness of the product, or create other problems.

The Influence Of Minerals A measurement of the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in water is a good first step to assess the chemical quality of water and a value of <1000ppm should present no further issues, though higher levels (particularly in excess of 3000ppm) could indicate the need for further investigation. Analysis of individual minerals (e.g. magnesium, chloride, potassium, calcium, sodium and manganese) provides a more comprehensive picture of water quality.

Some of these minerals (e.g. sodium and chloride) can cause an unpleasant taste in the water which may reduce water intake. High levels may also contribute to thirst or act to exacerbate conditions such as diarrhea due to their influence on electrolyte balance in the hindgut of the animal. This is particularly true where high levels of sodium or chloride are found in combination with sulfates, which can have laxative effects.

Other minerals may not have a directly negative impact predominantly upon the animal, but reduce the quality of water supply due to their influence in the system. For example, water high in calcium can result in limescale deposits within water delivery systems, which in turn offer a refuge for bacteria which can proliferate in this scum. Higher levels of scaling may eventually lead to a reduction in flow rate or pipe blockage, which will inhibit the water supply to the pigs. High iron levels can also support the growth of some undesirable bacteria in the water, exacerbating microbial loads. Mineral content of water can often also act as a buffer for any acidification products used in the water, therefore application rates will vary according to the original pH and buffering capacity of the water source. Water softeners or desalination techniques may be appropriate in extreme cases.

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Summary Providing pigs with the right access to high quality water is essential for successful and profitable pork production.

Water quality testing (including pH, Total Viable Count and Total Dissolved Solids analysis) will inform you about the quality of your water.

Water contamination may not always occur at source. Sampling water from several points in your water supply system will help to identify the source of contamination.

A range of products are available to help improve water quality.

Expert suppliers of these products and water quality expertise should be able to provide farm specific support. n

Total Water Care plan An innovative system to ensure the right dose every time.

Many have experienced how challenging it can be to keep drinking water pipes clean while administering additives and vaccinations, at the correct does and at the right time, in a hog barn. We all know getting this right is important for the health of young pigs but it requires discipline and time to make it happen.

In order to help ease this challenge, MS Schippers developed Total Water Care, a fully automated system that ensures clean drinking water and the proper dosage of additives every day.

One-time programming ensures: • 100% automatic provision of drinking water • 100% automatic flushing of the pipes • 100% automatic correct dosage of additives Before starting with the Total Water Care program, the quality of the water must first be assessed by an MS Schippers specialist. On this basis, a plan of action is made.

The water uptake, dosages and use of products can then be monitored by the management MS Schippers management program.

The importance of clean drinking water People often underestimate the importance of drinking water quality, even though water is the most important nutrient for animals. After all, a pig drinks more than twice as much water than the feed uptake.

Remember contaminated drinking water can lead to: • less water uptake and therefore lower feed intake, which translates to a general reduction in resistance to disease challenge and lower production • a reduced effectiveness of vaccinations, medication and other supplements

Water line cleaning is essential, to avoid biofilm formation: Biofilm often builds up in waterlines that run across the ceiling of nursery houses due to dips and sags in the pipe, along with the warm temperatures present there. One typical characteristic of biofilm is that numerous diseases can survive well in it. (e.g. E. coli, Salmonella, Clostridium, streptococci, staphylococci, Campylobacter, etc.). It is for these reasons that we recommend having your water tested before launching into a treatment plan. An inline camera inspection is a great way to visually check your water lines. Contact an MS Schippers representative or GVF Swine Specialist to book a waterline inspection in your barn.

Remember good intestinal health improves overall health

Good intestinal health and digestion is very important for pigs as 70% of immune system problems arise in the gastro-intestinal tract. Poor intestinal health and digestion restricts the pigs’ growth and increases the risk of diseases.

The following are important factors for good intestinal health: • Correct pH – necessary to inhibit the growth of bacteria in the stomach.

• A strong immune system – to prevent the bacteria penetrating and to eliminate them.

• Support for digestion – to maintain and repair intestinal villi, and for active uptake into the blood stream for further processing in the body For further information on Total Water Care and how you can implement it on your farm please contact your GVF Swine Specialist, or an MS Schippers representative. n

COMMODITY OUTLOOK

by: Steve McGuffin

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fter a winter rally to the oilseed market, due to Argentina’s drought, world oilseed/protein buyers turned to North America boosting our domestic market. Excellent growing conditions in Brazil resulted in another large soybean crop and as usual through this time period, they have been the main source for Chinese purchases. US soy sales have dragged behind USDA projections and with the ongoing trade uncertainty with China, combined with an excellent start to this year’s crop, soybean meal futures have pulled back just over $60/ton USD in the last 6 weeks. We are soon to go into the oilseed crush plant shutdown season and expect basis levels to be firm through this period. One Ontario processor is now sold up through July so securing short term coverage may be a good idea. DDGS supply is starting to improve as ethanol plants have completed their maintenance shutdowns and prices have turned lower with this increased supply, along with lower canola and soymeal values. une 29 USDA will release their 2018 acreage numbers along with their June 1 grain stocks report.

If you have any commodity questions, needs, or would like to be added to our commodity price indication email distribution, don’t hestitate to call Alexa Main or myself at 1-877-743-4412. We are happy to serve you. You can follow us on Twitter @DirectSourceC. n

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Thought for theDay Gen 1:11 • Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seedbearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.

Gen 2:15 • The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.