Kelly Zering North Carolina State University

Publish Date: July 8, 2006

North Carolina State University Swine Nutrition Research from 2003. Corn constitutes a major portion of swine (and poultry) feeds. As such, its impact on manure production by animals can be expected to be substantial. Indeed, sieving fresh feces obtained from grower pigs (Kasper et al., unpublished) demonstrated that approximately 40% of the fecal dry weight was corn hulls (pericarp). This suggests that removing pericarp (indigestible fiber) prior to feeding pigs may result in a substantial reduction in manure production.

Publish Date: September 24, 2007

Producers, researchers, vendors, regulators, and policy-makers are evaluating alternative manure management systems. Motivations include reduction of the level and risk of emissions of potential pollutants to the environment (nutrients, odor, particulates and precursors, gases, and pathogens) as well as the capture of potentially valuable constituents of manure (nutrients, energy, and water). Understanding the economic implications of alternative manure management systems is required in addition to understanding physical performance and on-farm practicality of the systems. This fact sheet reports methods, findings, and examples of economic evaluation of alternative manure management systems based on work completed under the agreements between the Attorney General of North Carolina and Smithfield Foods, Premium Standard Farms, and Front Line Farmers. Even though this study was conducted with these pork operations, the basic approach or process for evaluating alternative manure management systems throughout the US may be similar.

Publish Date: June 3, 2006

Most pork producers are familiar with insurance. Producers insure buildings against fire, equipment against accidents, and their lives against death or injury. Insurance buyers trade a small but certain loss by paying an insurance premium to guard against the possibility of a large but uncertain loss. In pork production, one of the greatest risks faced is that of unfavorable price change. Market hog prices have been so uncertain that many times prices expected to be profitable when decisions were made regarding facility investment, breeding or feeder pig purchases ended up unprofitable instead. Additional risk also may be incurred on the feeding side as feed price increases and may wipe away anticipated profits. Because of these risks, producers might want to insure against unfavorable hog or feed price moves while retaining their ability to profit from favorable price changes. Producers have this opportunity by using the commodity options market.