D4-Lancaster Farming Saturday, July 28,1990
Pork Prose
(Continued from Page D 3)
Does Micro-Aid
reduce sludge?
In nonexperimental observa
tions, many producers notice that
Micro-Aid begins to liquify sludge
after 1 month.
Crust buildup on the surface of
manure storage facilities can
reportedly be eliminated in time by
feeding Micro-Aid, or in severe
cases by adding the liquid forma
tion directly to the lagoon.
The field observations have
been partially confirmed in at least
two trials. In these studies, Micro-
Aid reduced absolute dry matter in
the manure by 22 percent and 13
percent, respectively.
How does it work?
The effect on hog performance
is least understood. A few theories
have been tossed around but little
evidence has been presented to
support any of them.
However, two theories have
been proposed to explain the
reduction in ammonia levels. One
is that the yucca extract simply
absorbs or retains the ammonia in
the manure slurry and prevents its
release into the air.
The other theory is that the
extract, because it’s so biological
ly active, promotes the growth of
bacteria which utilize the ammoni
a. If this is true, it’s a safe bet that
the high numbers of bacteria are
involved in the reduction of sludge
as well.
What does it cost?
The Micro-Aid premix usually
contains 1 ounce Sarsaponin per
pound and costs roughly
$l.lO/pound. For sows and
growing-finishing pigs, the recom
mended rate is 2 pounds per ton.
Four pounds per ton are recom
mended for nursery pigs. To get a
return on this investment, you
would need at least a 1 percent
improvement in feed efficiency
(disregarding any benefits from
improved gains or ammonia
reduction).
Summary
1. Sarsaponin is a natural plant
steroid that is used in swine feed. It
seems to be marketed most often
under the trade name Micro-Aid,
but it is sold in some areas as Bio-
Ade and De-odorase.
2. Sarsaponin improves weight
gains and feed efficiency in hogs
and appears to provide a better
response when pigs are under
stressful conditions. With the
improvement in performance
observed in most trials, the product
can be expected to pay for itself.
3. Recently, Sarsaponin has
been shown to reduce ammonia
levels in buildings when fed to
hogs. It also appears that feeding
Sarsaponin or adding it directly to
the manure storage facility will
hasten the breakdown of solids,
added 0,1, 2, and 4 ounces of
Micro-Aid. In both trials,- perfor
mance peaked at the 2-ounce rate
(2 pounds per ton for most premix
es). At this level, pigs on the
Micro-Aid diets grew 5 to 6.5 per
cent faster than the control group
with little or no change in feed
efficiency.
The next objective was to deter
mine whether pen density
influenced the response to Micro-
Aid. Foster allotted 8 pigs per pen
(9.6 square feet/head) or 10 pigs
per pen (7.7 square feet/head). At
the low density, pigs getting
Micro-Aid again grew about 6 per
cent faster with very, little change
in feed conversion. But when there
were 10 pigs per jjen, the MiCfo-
Aid group grew 7.5 percent faster
with a 3 percent improvement in
feed efficiency.
Foster also included Tylan in
two trials. The response to Tylan
was about the same as that of
Micro-Aid. When fed in combina
tion, Foster observed a very slight
improvement (2 percent) over
using Tylan alone.
At North Carolina State Univer
sity, research with Micro-Aid was
conducted by Evan Jones, In one
trial, he observed no positive effect
with Micro-Aid. But in the last 28
days of the second growing
finishing trial, pigs in the Micro-
Aid group showed a 11.3 percent
improvement in feed efficiency.
Jones explained that during the
first part of this second trial, pigs in
both groups performed equally.
Then during a spell of hot weather,
the pigs were moved to an over
crowded facility. It was during this
period of stress that pigs receiving
Micro-Aid showed the dramatic
improvement in feed efficiency.
Evans and Foster both saw a
good response to Micro-Aid when
conditions were less than desir
able. In more recent experiments
using yucca extract (De-odorase),
pigs receiving the extract grew 6
percent faster on 4 percent less
feed.
Does Sarsaponin reduce
ammonia levels?
Several experiments demons
trate that it does. In one study in a
pig nursery (clean and with pits
emptied), Micro-Aid was added to
the feed at the rate of 4 ounces/ton
-...
&**
, I
tor two weeks
During this time, the ammonia
levels rose from about 2.5 parts per
million (ppm) to 5 ppm. Then the
pits were emptied again and pigs
were fed for another two weeks
without the Micro-Aid. During
these last two weeks, ammonia
levels rose from 5 ppm to 10 ppm.
In an adjacent nursery, the pro
tocol was exactly opposite pigs
were put on feed without Micro-
Aid for the first two weeks and
with Micro-Aid for the last two
weeks. During the first 14 days,
ammonia levels in this nursery
room rose from 2.5 ppm to 22 ppm
roughly 4 times the level
observed in the adjacent room.
During the last 14 days, ammonia
levels dropped from 22 ppm to 6
ppm. Micro-Aid was effective at
preventing ammonia production,
and also at reducing ammonia
levels when they were already
high.
Other field observations have
been made in a total of at least 13
commercial facilities. Some of
these were single facilities in
which ammonia levels were moni
tored over time. Others farms had
“side-by-side” facilities in which
one building served as a control
while pigs in the other received
Micro-Aid. In the single facilities,
ammonia concentrations dropped
from an average of 38 ppm to 2S
ppm after feeding Micro-Aid. In
side-by-side facilities, ammonia
levels in the control facilities aver
aged 41 ppm compared to 22 ppm
in rooms where pigs received
Micro-Aid.
VAL WATERING SYSTEMS
POULTRY FLOOR WATERII
11
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Triple stainless steel valve seat made to precision
specifications No rubber seats to replace Drinker oper
ates on low V«-lb pressure Minimizes wet litter
problems ,
Each nipple can serve 15 broilers, 10 heavy breeders or
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Pntynn if QtttlHy Syitnm fir Purity, Swim and Grain HmJiflj
f JL
v Credit 8
Newsju
The Farm Credit Systam
< * w ■ ■
Hosterman Promoted
Michael Hosterman has been
promoted to the position of loan
specialist for York Farm Credit,
according to James K. Sigler, vice
president
Hosterman, a native of Centre
County, was employed by York
Farm Credit in 1990 as a field rep
resentative in the Gettysburg
branch office. A graduate of the
Pennsylvania State University, he
holds a B.S. degree in agriculture
business management. Befor
cjoining York Farm Credit he held
the position of credit examiner
with the Farm Credit Administra
tion in McLean, VA.
Local Co-Op Boards
Reorganize
At its annual reorganizations!
meeting Yoric Farm Credit, ACA
welcomed new members Dale
King of York Springs and Ken
neth Ketterer of Newville to their
Board of Directors. These indivi-
• Water is always accessible, and always clean The
system is completely enclosed Nipples are self
cleaning, and they do not collect dirt. Since the
nipple every time it is triggered, it does
- not get clogged by feed or feather dust.
• Drier litter is maintained because of the reliable
triple seal and low water pressure. There is less
spillage and no squirting with this low pressure
(Vi lb. or less) watering system.
• The pressure regulator (30WR332) can provide
and maintain a uniform Va lb pressure for the en
tire length of a 500 ft. Va inch plastic water pipe.
: DRINKER FEATURES
• Drinker mounts on water line saddle by means of a "J"
flange Easy assembly and easy replacement
• New Mini-Trough pnnker available for day old debeaked
birds Attaches to Nipple Floor Watering System, and re
mains through grow-out period There is no need to re
move-the mini-trough between flocks
Michael Hosterman
duals were elected to serve three
year terms on the board by the
cooperative members.
During the same meeting, the
board re-elected Ralph H. McGre
gor of Krallton, York County, as
chairman, and Robert L. Smyser
of York as vice chairman.
Route 30 West
at the
Centerville Exit.