Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA
(N/A)
RENO,NV 89557
Performing Department
Administration
Non Technical Summary
Historically in the United States, corn and SBM diets have been used as the primary ingredients in commercial siets providing adequate nutrition at the lowest cost. With record or near record prices for corn and SBM, due to depleted inventories and increased demand, the swine industry is searching to find cost reducing alternative feed. Feed cost, historically, represents 65-75 percent of the variable cost of swine production, but as corn and SBM cost increase so does the variable costs for the producer. Pigs can utilize a wide range of feeds such as pasture grasses and other fibrous plant materials and thrive under these conditions. Digestively, pigs can be superior to rumenants; they do not bloat, founder on grain, or injest hardware. Swine production in Nevada is limited by the availability of grain based feed and access to slaughter facilities where producers can take market ready animals. The aim of this project is to compare free range grazing methods, using a variety of forage crops, to a traditional indoor finishing system to develop the most economical and least labor intensive method of hog production a small to medium sized producer can utilize to raise hogs in Nevada.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
50%
Goals / Objectives
The goal of this proposal is to investigate the economic feasibility and the effects of different feedstuff (pasture grazing) on finishing swine models; average daily gain, days to market, feed cost, carcass quality and taste in free range swine.Supporting objectives are:1. To develope an efficient grazing model using a variation of feedstock and strip grazing to finish swine.2. To develop a productive, cost effective finishing model, resulting in high quality, lean end products.3. To investigate the impact of grazing variation, forage variation, on growth and taste of free range swine.4. To investigate production cost variations on different finishing models for swine.5. To investigate price points for selling free range pork products through Wolf Pack Meats.
Project Methods
Phase 135 animals will be allocated into 4 treatment groups for approximately 110-120 days or until finished (240 lbs.) for slaughter. All treatments will be provided supplemental (corn/SBM) feed as needed. "Free Range" pasture grazing animals will be provided portable shelters as per the Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching. Animals will be placed into their respected treatments based strickly by weight. We will do this, as to make all treatment groups as close as possible by weight.The four treatments are as follows: Treatment 1: 5 animals will be placed indoors in a "confined" traditional finishing system where a manufactured corn/SBM based feed will vbe fed ad lib until animals reach desired market weightTreatment 2: 10 animals will be placed in a "free range" grazing pasture consisting of Alfalfa, Sorghum, Soybeans, and Pasture grass that will be planted and strip grazed throughout the experiment until slaughter.Treatment 3: 10 animals "free range" grazing Teft, Canola, Soybeans and Pasture grass.Treatment 4: 10 animals "free range" grazing Alfalfa, Triticale, Soybeans and Pasture grass.All treatment animals will be weighed monthly and fecal collection will also be performed for parasite loads. Phase 2In this phase of the experiment 2 sets of animals will be used. As in phase 1, 35 animals will be used on the same 4 treatments until finished. Once all groups have been finished and harvested, another set of 35 animals will replace the original group to graze the same 4 treatments in fall/winter. These animals will feed from standing forage remaining in the field.Phase 3In the final phase of the experiment, 35 animals will be used during the growing period to validate the finishing model that is the least costly and most applicable to swine production in Nevada. After the original animals are harvested, another set of animals will replace them under fall/winter conditions. These animals will feed from the standing forage remaining in the field.This model must prove that it is sustainable, cost effective, profitable for producers and the end products are acceptable to the consumer.All animals will be harvested by Wolf Pack Meats (WPM) and sold through WPM. In all three phases of the study the following data points will be collected for all treatments (175 animals total)1. Cost effectiveness of grazing swine V. conventional finishing models (infastructure, labor, feed, health exp. and misc. costs)2. Body weight/growth (ADG)3. Parasitic load variations4. Days to Market5. Carcass Quality score6. Taste test for all treatments7. Investigate price points for free range V. traditional feeding through WPM.