An Alberta, Canada pork producer suggests technologies designed to cut the amount of water wasted by hogs in the grower barn not only offer environmental benefits, but substantial economic benefits.
As part of a project to examine water wastage and greenhouse gases reduction in hog operations, JV Farms in High River, Alberta installed water meters and compared usage by pigs drinking from ball bite type nipple drinkers to those using standard drinking systems for one calendar year. The switch to ball bite drinkers slashed water use by an average of 35 percent with the most dramatic reductions evident during the hottest days of the summer with no negative impact on behavior or performance.
Dennis McKerracher says actual cost benefits will vary from farm to farm but he expects the switch to pay for itself quickly on his operation. “Looking at my well pump, which works at five gallons a minute, looking at my kilowatt hours, just the pumping of the water into the barn will pay for the project on my farm in a couple of years,” said McKerracher. “When you say you’ve reduced your water use by 35 percent, what you have done is you’ve reduced the volume of your manure by 35 percent.”
Depending on how far a producer has to haul the manure, depending on the efficiency and size of the e equipment, there’s a lot of money left on the table. He also ends up with a more concentrated form of manure and travel distance is less. “Your land base could, depending on your soil analysis, be treated more effectively,” he said. “That’s where the greenhouse gas mitigation part of the program comes in. The energy savings is what puts the money back in your jeans. A reduction in energy is a reduction in greenhouse gas.”
McKerracher notes, while many of the environmental technologies are capital intensive, a project like this requires little financial investment, especially if the producer replaces the drinkers as they wear out, and the benefits are huge.