Swine & U

The University of Minnesota has a network of 10 Research and Outreach Centers across the state, with two of them hosting swine herds in research settings. The Southern Research and Outreach Center at Waseca houses an 800-sow commercial farm which allows for research in growth, development and nutrition, and reproduction. The West Central Research and Outreach Center at Morris has long focused on conventional and organic agriculture, water quality, corn and soybean in addition to fruit and vegetable production, and renewable energy.

WCROC is home to an organic dairy herd and countless swine behavior and housing studies. Dr. Yuzhi Li, member of the University of Minnesota Department of Animal Science’s swine faculty, focuses on swine behavior and welfare, and alternative swine production. One universal behavioral concern in swine farming has recently been addressed by Dr. Li’s research.

Tail biting in pig populations

Tail biting is a common problem in growing-finishing pigs. Outbreaks of tail biting can cause major welfare complications of pigs with damaged tails, as well as considerable economic losses to pork producers. The prevalence of tail biting varies from farm to farm, ranging from 0 to 16 percent for pigs with docked tails, and 3 to 35 percent for pigs with whole tails. Although the incidence can be low on certain farms, outbreaks of tail biting are almost not predictable. Once an outbreak occurs, tail biting behavior can escalate rapidly, and it is difficult to prevent from further tail biting in the pen or room.

Preventions prior to an outbreak are common practices to avoid losses and implications caused by tail biting. Currently, the common prevention method for tail biting is tail docking which is usually performed when pigs are 1 to 7 days of age. Since tail docking can cause pain in pigs, performing tail docking on a routine basis is under scrutiny due to animal welfare concerns.

To re-evaluate consequences of raising pigs without tail docking, WCROC conducted a study to compare pigs with and without tail docking. Two hundred forty pigs with average body weight of 55 pounds were used. Pigs were housed in a conventional barn for 16 weeks. There were four pens of docked pigs, and foure pens of undocked pigs, with each pen housing 30 pigs. Over the 16 weeks, 51.7 percent of undocked pigs and 7.5 percent of docked pigs experienced moderate to severe tail damage, indicating that without tail docking more pigs were victimized by tail biting.

Undocked pigs experienced the first outbreak of tail biting six weeks earlier than docked pigs, suggesting that tail biting may start early and last longer when tail docking is not performed. As a consequence of tail damage, 18 percent of undocked pigs and 5 percent of docked pigs were removed to hospital pens in this study. For pigs that were not

UniversityofMinnesota EXTENSION

removed, growth performance

SWINE & U was similar between docked pigs and undocked pigs.

By Dr. Yuzhi Li Results of this study suggest that raising pigs without tail docking in a confinement housing system increases incidence of tail biting and tail damage, resulting in higher morbidity and compromised welfare of pigs. It seems that tail docking is still an efficient method to prevent tail biting in growing and finishing pigs under current commercial production conditions in the United States.

Tail biting details

Tail biting is a behavioral problem that involves both biters and victimized pigs. The biters are triggered by things such as genetics, physiology, or insufficient housing, nutrition or environmental enrichment needs. The victimized pigs, or those that have their tails bit or even chewed off completely, are attractive to biters because of their sex, body size or their insensitivity to being chewed. In a recent PorkBridge webinar, Dr. Li offered tips to combat this problem.

Research has shown that while biting happens in herds with both docked and undocked tails, it is more prevalent in undocked herds. Not only is it painful for the victimized pigs and can lead to infection, the damage caused by biting and infection can lead to carcass trim loss, with more of the animal having to be trimmed away to remove the damaged area. If too severe, the pig may not even be able to be sold at all. Pigs who are victimized generally weigh less than non-victim pigs.

Tail biting is usually considered a negative consequence of confinement housing systems, mainly due to the barren environment of the fully slatted floor which cannot provide rooting materials for pigs to manipulate. However, in alternative production systems where pigs are provided bedding (usually straw or corn stalks in the Midwest), tail biting can also become a problem. In fact, tail biting concerns alternative producers more than it concerns conventional producers because alternative producers do not dock tails.

Tail biting is a contemporary issue that challenges both alternative and conventional swine producers. Regardless of the causes, ultimately tail biting is an abnormal behavior. To tackle the problem, researchers attempt to understand the development of the behavior.

In general, three different types of tail biting are proposed. The first type of tail biting is considered re-directed foraging behavior. It is suggested that when pigs are housed indoors and cannot perform foraging behavior, either due to lack of suitable materials or space, they re-direct the foraging behavior to rooting and chewing their pen mates. Usually, ears and tails become the major targets of rooting and chewing because they are readily available for manipulation. As pigs grow, chewing can become biting, especially when triggered by stress. Tail biting is usually worse than ear biting because victim pigs can protect their ears better than their tails. In this case, any pig can become a tail biter. Once a tail biter emerges, an outbreak of tail biting will occur.

The second type of tail biting is believed another form of aggression. When pigs are restricted for resources, such as too few feeders, drinkers, or limited floor space, they try to displace other pigs from the resources by biting their tails. In this case, usually the dominant pigs are tail biters and biting usually occurs near the feeder or drinker.

The third type of tail biting is assumed ‘obsessive’ tail biting. For some reason, some pigs are genetically wired for tail biting. These pigs, so called ‘obsessive tail biters’, persistently go around and bite the tail from one pig to another in the pen once triggered. These pigs are poorly understood. However, it is usually relatively easy to identify the obsessive tail biters at the early stage of an outbreak of tail biting because of their persistent tail biting behavior. Once the obsessive tail biter is identified and removed from the pen, the problem of tail biting can be solved.

In a study (“Tail biting in growing-finishing pigs,” sponsored by the National Pork Board) which took place in 2015 at the WCROC, researchers identified an obsessive tail biter. At 10 weeks old, the obsessive tail biter caused an outbreak of tail biting in a pen of 30 pigs, with 28 pigs in the pen having injured tails. The tail biter was identified on the day when an outbreak of tail biting was evident. After the tail biter was removed, all victim pigs with injured tails were healed within three days. After that, no pigs had to be removed from the pen due to tail biting over 14 weeks. This case demonstrated that it is possible to solve tail biting problems by identifying tail biters at an early stage of an outbreak.

It is not an easy task to identify the real tail biters, especially to identify the first two types of tail biters. In addition, as tail biting progresses, some pigs can become followers of the tail biter, and it is hard to differentiate the original tail biters from the

See SWINE & U, pg. 12

By DICK HAGEN

The Land Staff Writer Emeritus RENVILLE, Minn. — Southern Minnesota Sugar Beet Cooperative, with nearly 500 share holders and 380 growers in 2020, is one of the largest farmer-owned sugar beet processing companies in the United States. This huge facility covering over 160 acres was established in 1972. The 1974 sugar beet crop was the first to be processed. Currently this co-op employs 350 full-time employees plus 400 seasonal workers.

In 2020, 380 SMBSC grower units planted 120,600 acres; producing 3.6 million harvested tons. (A typical beet weighs two pounds, is 75 percent moisture, and produces 3 to 5 ounces of sugar.

SMBSC produces enough sugar for 12.5 million people based on current eating habits. Minnesota is the top sugar beet producing state in the nation — accounting for 35 percent of national sugar beet production.

But even with this huge production of sugar from northern grown beets plus cane in southern states, America is a net importer of sugar.

Keith McNamara, 50-year-old Renville County grower, has served 12 years on the SMBSC Board. He said about 77 percent of U.S. total sugar needs are grown by northern beet growers and southern sugar cane farmers.

“All exporting countries are allowed a quota as to how much sugar they can export into our country. This is subject to yearly revisions depending upon world production and continually changing demands for sugar. Thanks to our USDA Farm Bill, there is some stability in yearly revenues for producers. Without this protection, the gyrations of world sugar markets would likely drive many of us into bankruptcy,” said McNamara. McNamara said he’s content if final data on his 2020 crop shows 30 tons per acre. “Back when my Dad grew beets, 20 tons was a good average. With today’s costs and pricing, we can make 30 tons work. But we have genetic potential to reach 40 tons. With costs increasing year by year, we need to anticipate higher yields on a consistent basis down the road. And that’s why the USDA Sugar Program is an absolute must!”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, Brazil — at 42.1 million tons — continues to be the world leader in sugar production with 48 percent of their crop processed for sugar, 52 percent for ethanol. This season, India rebounded 17 percent up to 33.8 million metric tons because of higher yields and more acres. The United States is up 10 percent to 8.2 million tons due to higher yields of both sugar beets and sugar cane. Production in the European Union is forecast at 16.1 million tons, down for the third straight year because of ongoing drought issues and disease. China is up slightly to 10.5 million tons. Global production for 2020-21 is forecast at 182 million tons with Brazil accounting for threefourths of the surge.

On April 7 I visited with Todd Geselius, SMBSC vice president of agriculture. I asked what his prediction for a 2021 planting date might be. “It’s each grower’s decision,” Geselius replied, “but weather always dicTodd Geselius tates the season. We’re gifted with sharp, aggressive growers. With their great equipment, once they crank up, its usually just a few days until that new crop is in the ground.”

Geselius said some growers have moisture concerns, but it’s still early. “Sure, some concern, but it’s still early April. Spring rains are usually reliable,” he said. “Most growers have welltiled fields, so I’m optimistic about our 2021 season. Check with me in 30 days for a more factual answer.”

“Total acres this year are likely very similar to last season — around 120,000 to 122,000 acres,” he went on to say. “Always some interest in acres by a few growers as one might expect. But we’re always guided by the processing capacity of this great factory. Last year’s crop provided just the right amount of beets.”

Geselius admitted SMBSC still has lots of beets to get processed. “We’re still hauling beets from Buffalo Lake piling site; just opened the big Bird Island piling site. And all these deliveries include still-frozen beets.” He estimated the plant will complete processing in late May.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, much like every season; but for the most part it’s been going good. This year something new … dextran in beets already piled. It is caused by a bacteria in the soil and plugs part of the filtering process which means more frequent cleaning of the filters which somewhat slowed daily processing. Our guys found a product called Dextranase which solved the problem. There’s nothing the growers could have done; nor anything we could have done with beets already piled. Plus, last November we had eight days with temps above 60 degrees — almost reaching 80 degrees; and that’s what really created the problem.”

“It’s a somewhat complicated process and yes, we’re always susceptible to the vagaries of Mother Nature,” Geselius continued. “Beets coming in from our piling sites (including beets piled here at the factory) are still frozen like a brick. Once in the factory, the factory has to basically defrost them before they can extract the sugar. And this slows us to 400/500 tons an hour rather than our more normal 700 tons per hour through the factory.

So what’s ahead for this 45-year old organization which primes the economic pump for hundreds of support businesses throughout this area?

Geselius responded, “The genetics keep getting better; we get more tons, better sugar. The real constraint to growth is our factory size. We can only process so many beets each season. The factory did an expansion in 2000. We continue to try to get better at what we do. If equipment changes are needed, so be it. Maximum capacity is always the goal of a factory operation of this complexity and this many employees. We go as fast as we can until that last beet is processed.” v

RODALE, from pg. 8

They use solar energy to extract carbohydrate molecules, or sugar, from carbon dioxide.

Those carbon-based sugars are extruded from the plant’s roots, feeding bacteria and fungi in the nearby soil. In turn, these microorganisms symbiotically transform soil minerals into nutrients that feed plants and help them fight disease and pests. During this exchange, the sugars consumed by soil bacteria and fungi are converted into more stable materials which trap carbon in the soil.

Plants and healthy soil do this naturally, but the bacteria, fungi and other components which help stabilize that carbon are not supported by conventional agricultural practices that use pesticides, intensive

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tillage, and limited crop rotations.

Regenerative agriculture uses green manures, cover crops and compost to cut down on these practices and build the strength of the soil — not only to improve organic matter, but to ensure that the carbon dioxide taken from the atmosphere stays in the soil.

The Land: Politicians are now talking about carbon farming. The market has encouraged us to mine the soil carbon for a long time. How can we become carbon farmers? Smith: Any farmer who farms in a regenerative way is a carbon farmer by default. When you enhance the soil’s capacity for carbon sequestration you are locking away carbon.

The question now is how do we incentivize farmers to adopt regenerative strategies?

A soil carbon market would be an incentive to encourage farmers to think about how the way they’re farming is impacting our climate. It would reward them for taking advantage of every opportunity to trap carbon in the ground while growing food.

We ask farmers to do a lot — not only feed an unsustainably growing population, but also clean the air and water, and to tackle issues like climate change and human health. We must provide incentives for farmers to put regenerative practices into place on their farms. In reality, society has been robbing farms for centuries and the soils, and the spirits of the farmers, are nearing exhaustion.

Society has received cheap food — which is what we told farmers we wanted. In turn, we have gotten pollution, global warming and poor human health. The price will be paid one way or the other.

One path leads to the planet’s peril and the other path is regeneration and restored human and planetary health. Farmers and scientists such as Aldo Leopold, Albert Howard, Rudolf Steiner, William Albrecht, Rachel Carson, Sandra Steingraber, Theo Colburn, and many others have been shouting this from the rooftops for years — but few have listened. It seems the time has finally come and people are paying attention.

More information about consulting can be found at rodaleinstitute.org/consulting.

Editor’s note: The Land received this announcement on March 25:

Rodale Institute’s newest organic consultants are based in Wisconsin and Minnesota and will work in collaboration with the Rodale Institute Midwest Organic Center.

Léa Vereecke is based in Madison, Wis. After growing up on a grain farm in Northeastern France, Léa earned an M.S. in Agronomy and Agroecology. For four years, she was a Research Specialist with Dr. Erin Silva at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, overseeing diverse research projects—including cover crop-based reduced tillage systems, organic row crops, small grains, cover crops, industrial hemp, and more.

Nic Podoll is based in Nevis, Minn. Nic is a lifelong organic farmer, having grown up and farmed with his family on their certified organic farm in southeast North Dakota, raising small grains and vegetable seed. Prior to working at Rodale Institute, he worked in Extension for the University of Minnesota and North Dakota State University. He also served several years on the NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher Grant Review Committee. Nic is IOIA certified in crops and holds a Master’s in Agricultural & Extension Education from North Carolina State University.

For a limited time, Rodale Institute’s Organic Consulting Services may be offered free of charge to farmers. To learn more, contact Rodale Institute’s consultants at Consulting@RodaleInstitute.org or (610) 683-1416. v

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Identify tail biters early for best results

SWINE & U, from pg. 10

followers.

How to help

Dr. Li suggests three things producers can do to reduce or prevent tail biting in the herd.

Provide environmental enrichment. “Provide a small amount of substrate to pigs daily. It must be destroyable or easily manipulated, but the main thing is that it’s novel. If it’s not new, it won’t keep the pig’s interest,” Li says. The pigs can chew on that rather than each other.

Observe the herd daily and catch any biting early. This will allow you to remove the tail biters promptly, Li says. There is usually an “indicator pig” that is the first pig to show signs of being bitten and indicates that there is a biter or biters in the pen. At the first sign of an indicator pig, it is time to find the tail biters and remove them from the pen. Catching the behavior at the first sign prevents it from spreading.

Optimize the housing environment. Pigs are more likely to bite if there’s competition for resources in the pen. “Fighting for space at the feeder or drinker can lead to chewing on each other,” Li notes. “There should also be ample and comfortable laying areas, proper ventilation and lighting.”

Dr. Yuzhi Li is an Associate Professor of Swine Behavior and Alternative Production in the University of Minnesota Department of Animal Sciences. She can be reached at yuzhili@umn.edu. v

By TIM KING

The Land Correspondent NERSTRAND, Minn. — Farmers markets weren’t the same in 2020, but thanks to the efforts of Kathy Zeman, markets all over the United States were still up and running.

Zeman is the executive director of the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association and a diversified livestock producer in the Nerstrand, Minn. area. In March she was awarded the Gus Schumacher Award by the Albany, Calif.-based Farmers Market Coalition.

The Farmers Market Coalition is a national organization representing, and advocating for, thousands of farmers’ markets in more than 30 states — including Minnesota and Iowa. The Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association represent over three farmers’ markets from St. Paul to Baudette to Marshall. Their membership also includes over 4,000 farmers market vendors.

Zeman received the award for her leadership during Covid-19 to Minnesota farmers markets as well as for her assistance to farmers markets around the United States and to the Farmers Market Coalition itself.

In March of 2020, when the seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic became apparent, farmers markets across Minnesota and the country were in an uproar because they weren’t sure if they’d be able to open for their spring and summer markets.

“Information was hard to come by, guidance from officials at the local, state and national level was confusing and often contradictory,” said Farmers Market Coalition Executive Director Ben Feldman. “But in Minnesota, as soon as the reality of the situation became clear, Kathy was on the phone with the Minnesota Agricultural Commissioner. And as a Kathy Zeman result, farmers markets in Minnesota were appropri-

Photos submitted This vendor displays her selection of potatoes and peas at the at the Mill City Market in Minneapolis.

ately recognized as essential businesses from day one and were valued for their role in safely distributing food at a time when retail supply chains were struggling.”

“It was a nice surprise to get the award; but the trouble is I was just doing my job,” Zeman, who has been with the MFMA for nearly a decade, said. “This award is really an award to all of us in Minnesota who stepped up and did what we had to do to keep the farmers market open and serving their communities.”

Part of her job, Zeman says, is building bridges between MFMA and the farm and food related organizations — including both the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Farmers’ Union. To that end she’d worked with Thom Peterson, the Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture, when he worked with the Farmers’ Union and she continued to do so when he moved to the MDA.

“Thom had continued the tradition of all Commissioners of Agriculture of having an Agricultural Leaders breakfast,” Zeman said. “In the past, only Big Agriculture was invited. But with Thom, Little Agriculture was invited too. We had never been invited to the table so it was pretty nice to know that our Commissioner of Agriculture was really for all of us.”

Because of the bridges Zeman had built over the years, she was able to work with the Commissioner of Agriculture — who in turn worked with the Governor’s office — to have farmers markets declared essential services. That meant the markets could be open as long as they followed the safety protocols for Covid.

“Just think, in March the hens are all laying eggs, the sheep are all lambing, and the greenhouses are full of transplants,” Zeman said. “There’s no way that you can shut down that source of food that is going to go from your local communities farmers to your communities’ eaters.”

So all the farmers markets had to do was follow the safety protocols. The trouble is, nobody knew what those were and if they had an inkling of what they were, they didn’t know how to implement them.

“There were so many questions, issues and concerns,” Kim Guenther, the Marshal, Minn. Market Manager and MFMA Communications Director said. “How do we keep people safe? What is the latest scientific data on cleaning supplies and resources like shields vs. masks? How do we safely transfer prod-

See ZEMAN, pg. 18

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