30 Pork News & Views Pork News & Views Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Better Pork | December 2024 system. Controllers receive input from sensors (typically temperature thermocouples) and adjust fan speeds, inlet setting and heater controls to regulate the room environment. Get your controller ready for winter by: Checking the accuracy of room thermocouples with a good thermometer. Replace inaccurate thermocouples, and ensure the controller is receiving sensor signals. Verify and adjust your controller programming as necessary for colder weather ventilation. Depending on your controller, programming can include set points, fan motor curves, growth curves, temperature offsets or bandwidths. Ensure that your Stage 1 ventila- tion strategy provides at least 3 to 4 room air changes per hour. This ventilation rate should keep room relative humidity levels between 50% and 70% and reduce air contaminants to appropriate concentrations. Air Inlets: Poorly operating air inlets are the primary cause of drafts, chilling, poor dunging habits and poor animal performance. For lower winter ventilation rates, inlet air speeds of 800 to 1000 feet per minute are needed to ensure good air mixing and minimize chilling of pigs from cold air dropping too quickly. These inlet air speeds can be set by targeting a static pressure of 0.08 inches of water column using a manometer. Many barns are already equipped with room manometers such as the type shown in Figure 1. Whether your inlets are counter-balanced or cable actuated, inlet controls creep over time and must be re-calibrated. Do this by: Ensuring all inlets are clean. Ensure the intake from the attic is clear of insulation or other debris. Inspect side wall inlets and ensure they are clear of obstructions, especially if they are hooded. Ensure all inlets are serviceable. Replace any damaged or corroded inlets. Ensure the tubing on your manometer is intact. One tube should be routed to the attic, while the other tube should be routed into the room. Remove the tubes from the manometer, zero it and re-attach the tubes. If you do not have a manometer, consider installing one. Manometers are a vital instrument to set ventilation systems and trouble-shoot them. You can also consider purchasing a handheld manometer like the type shown in Figure 2. Ensure that it can measure inches of water column in the range of 0 to 0.2 inches of water column. If your inlets are cable actuated, close all inlets and take up any slack in the cable with the winch. With Stage 1 fans operating, adjust your inlets to produce a static pressure of about 0.08 inches of water column. To ensure good air mixing, all inlets in a room should be open the same amount. Turn on Stage 2 fans and verify the static pressure is within the range stated above. Adjust as required. If the static pressure cannot be achieved, check for sources of air leakage such as weather seals, door latches and fan covers. Have your ventilation contractor to site to help address problems. Taking the time to ensure a safe and efficient ventilation system can decrease operating costs and provide a good environment for your pigs. Good air quality can increase feed efficiency and growth, and reduce mortality and morbidity, making your operation more profitable. Steve Beadle, P. Eng. Engineer, Farm Buildings Engineer, Sheep & Swine Housing, OMAFA steve.beadle@ontario.ca Big Bug Day (and the Flu) Big Bug Day The annual Big Bug Day organized by Swine Health Ontario (SHO) is an opportunity to get updates and discuss existing or emerging swine health issues. This year it will be held on Wednesday, December 4th at The GrandWay Events Centre in Elora, from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm. The program will include: Current disease updates Health and deadstock management strategies Recent research highlights Registration is free, but pre-registration is required for lunch planning. You can find a link to registration info online at ontariopork.on.ca. Bugs and Biosecurity From Influenza A to PRRS, the threat of disease incursions onto the farm is a pressing concern. Anyone working in the pork sector understands the constant challenge pre- Figure 2: Handheld Digital Manometer
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