Farmscape for November 24, 2020
| Full Interview 12:53 | Listen |
Research conducted by the University of Saskatchewan shows pork producers can reduce their environmental footprints while lowering their feed costs by incorporating low cost high fibre ingredients into their rations. Researchers with the University of Saskatchewan are examining the carbon footprint left when feeding low cost high fibre feed ingredients to pigs, specifically wheat mill run and culled peas.
Dr. Denise Beaulieu, an Assistant Professor Monogastric Nutrition with the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, says, by considering greenhouse gas output when choosing feed ingredients, pork producers can reduce their environmental footprints while lowering their feed costs.
Clip-Dr. Denise Beaulieu-University of Saskatchewan:
So far, we’ve got preliminary data and after we put all of this into a computer model it does look like either using a by-product, for example in the wheat mill run, most of the carbon input for that feed production can be offset because they’re producing flour for humans.
So we’re kind of spreading out that carbon over different uses. Whether we’re using the wheat mill run or if we use the peas, where we can put into the model the agronomic benefits and the decreased requirements for nitrogen fertilizer, we can show an overall decrease in greenhouse gas output or the global warming potential of pork production by using either these by-products or by incorporating peas into the ration.
Dr. Beaulieu says this becomes a win win for the crop production side and for the pork producers who can show a lower environmental footprint than they might show if they were using grain that had been grown specifically to produce the pork.
And, she notes, producers are already using these ingredients to save costs.
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*Farmscape is a presentation of Wonderworks Canada Inc.
