Development of a Commercial Scale Air Treatment System
An air cleaning technology based on biotrickling filtration developed in previous phases of the project was scaled up and tested at the PSC swine grower-finisher facility. Results showed that the air treatment units were effective in reducing the levels of ammonia, dust, and odour from the air stream at...
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Ken Engele
Investigating Intervention Measures to Reduce On‐Farm Use of Antibiotics
Prairie Swine Centre has received funding for a research project with the overall goal of determining whether the pattern of antibiotics usage in farms is correlated with the prevalence of specific pig pathogens as well as antimicrobial resistance. In this study, we will conduct a...
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Ken Engele
Reducing Water Consumption in Swine Barns: Alternatives for Animal Drinking and Barn Cleaning
Evaluation of selected water conservation measures involving drinkers and different cleaning procedures revealed that 60% reduction in water wastage was achieved with a drinking trough (with side panel and constant water level) to nipple drinkers. The use of conventional nozzle for pressure washing led to...
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Ken Engele
Can Trailer Design Effectively Reduce Disease Transmission?
In response to an industry need for a livestock vehicle that addresses both increased animal welfare and biosecurity during transport, a prototype air-filtered trailer was designed and assembled. The project set out to select the best possible option for a swine transport trailer which reduces...
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Ken Engele
Engineering Controls Reduce Hydrogen Sulphide Exposure in Swine Barns
Three engineering control measures were developed and tested for effectiveness in protecting swine barn workers from exposure to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas during manure handling events. A remote manure pit plug pulling system allowed the worker to pull the manure pit plug from outside the room. A water sprinkling apparatus was...
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Ken Engele
Field Testing of an Air Filtration System for Transport
The spread of airborne transmissible disease such as PRRS continues to be a serious threat to the Canadian swine industry as this disease causes significant economic losses to infected herds. Th is project aimed to develop an additional line of defense against infection of airborne diseases by designing an...
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Ken Engele
Can Group-Housed Sows Raised at Lower Temperatures?
In this project, an operant mechanism that will allow sows housed in a group system to control their own environmental temperature was developed. Th e mechanism was configured with a manual control switch that the sows can access and operate, which in turn activated the supplementary room heating system,...
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Ken Engele
Nanaparticles for Controlling Disease – Causing Microorganisms in Pig Barns
Laboratory-scale tests were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of various types of commercially-available nanoparticles on the levels of microorganisms commonly encountered in swine barns. Results indicate Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles had the highest antimicrobial efficacy among all the nanoparticles tested. Further experiments carried out in the barn indicated that partial...
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Ken Engele
Geothermal Systems for Heating & Cooling in Swine Barns
This study assessed the applicability of a geothermal system in swine production facilities. In-barn evaluation of the impact of the geothermal system on energy use, thermal environment, greenhouse gas emissions, and animal performance was conducted by comparing a swine grow-finish room with geothermal system to a conventional production room with...
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Ken Engele
ATP Bioluminescence as Means for Assessing Trailer Cleanliness
Proper washing and disinfection of swine transport trailers is an important step in maintaining biosecurity. This study examined the feasibility of using adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence as a rapid and effective swine trailer cleanliness assessment tool. Samples were taken from newly-cleaned, dry trailers using an ATP swab by swabbing...
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Ken Engele