Low tech could mean big savings for hog producers

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Managing the escalating cost of building hog barns to finish pigs is a real challenge for the pork industry. Construction of a swine barn in Saskatchewan costs $350 to $370 per pig-space compared to $300 to $320 in the United States. As a result, more weanling pigs are shipped to the U.S. for finishing, which has a negative effect on the profitability and long-term stability of the provincial industry.

Sask Pork and the Prairie Swine Centre are looking into low-cost swine housing, based on locally available low-cost building material, as a potential solution.

One promising approach they are investigating is building barns out of bales.

“We undertook a project looking at the possibilities of using contract finishing as a way to increase hog production in Saskatchewan. Through that project, we found that the cost of building a new barn is quite high, and we wanted to look at low-cost methods of producing a structure to house swine,” said Mark Ferguson, the Manager of Industry and Policy Analysis with Sask Pork.

“We were approached by a company called C and C Feeders that had a novel idea of using a hybrid structure consisting of flax bale walls and a regular barn roof.”

With funding from the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Saskatchewan (ACAAFS) program, Sask Pork is now testing the hybrid barn concept with a prototype building erected near Humboldt.

“The key is to find a structure that provides the same benefits as modern hog barns,” Ferguson said. “But you need to be able to maintain the feed efficiency and the feed conversions to be cost-effective. Instead of liquid manure, this barn uses a straw-based system.”

The critical factors that must be controlled in a finishing barn are temperature and humidity, according to Ferguson. With the bale structure, air flow is managed by opening and closing tarp covers at the entrances, and through the flax bale walls, instead by high-priced mechanical ventilation.

“The primary variable we are testing here is the temperature in the barn throughout the summer and winter, in terms of productivity, and how the hogs coming out of the facility measure up,” Ferguson stated. “The bales provide pretty good insulation. The question is the management of humidity, especially in the winter. Our theory is that moisture may be able to pass through the bales, which could be a very large advantage.”

The design of the flax bale structure suggests that its cost efficiency would be a substantial improvement over traditional hog barns. It has been estimated that , instead of $350 per pig-space, the cost of this new concept could come in as low as $150 per pig-space.

The Prairie Swine Centre is providing technical expertise and helping to measure the outcomes of the project. Funding allows for a two-year time frame, with the final report on the flax bale barn expected to be filed in 2009.

Ferguson says the hog sector has been growing steadily over the past few years. At last count, 2.6 million pigs were being raised each year in an estimated 430 Saskatchewan barns.

Sask Pork is aiming to find innovative approaches that will allow producers to finish more of their pigs here, rather than shipping them to out-of-province destinations. If the bale structure proves feasible, it could help reduce the capital costs of the barns, thereby reducing total production costs.

For more information, contact:
Mark Ferguson, Manager, Industry and Policy Analysis
Sask Pork
Phone: (306) 244-7752
E-mail: mferguson@saskpork.com
Website: www.saskpork.com