Page 16 of articles about environment in Swine news

The Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator the Hon Kim Carr, has announced funding of $100 million for world-class collaborative research and innovation under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will invest USD 100 million to expand the Biogas Program until 2018 by installing an additional 100,000 on-farm biogas generators in 30 to 35 provinces.

What is animal welfare to a pig, and what does science know about methods to measure animal welfare? Now, Danish research in animal welfare is gathered at a Danish Centre for Animal Welfare

The European Commission today adopted a negative final decision on the aid granted by the Belgian authorities to cover all the costs of removing, transporting, storing, processing and destroying fallen stock from agricultural holdings in the Walloon region.

Member States have the obligation to establish a system for advising farmers on land and farm management, the so-called Farm Advisory System (FAS). It is a major component of the 2003 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform and had to be introduced by 2007. The objective of the FAS is to help farmers to become more aware of on-farm processes relating to the environment, food safety and animal health and welfare.

Since the introduction of EU Animal By-product Regulation (ABPR) 1774/2002, the open burning and burial of fallen livestock on-farm has been prohibited. A new research project has examined the current methods of livestock disposal available to farmers within the UK, EU and globally. Upon consultation of farmers around the UK, a novel method of on-farm storage and bioreduction was desired to try to reduce the cost of disposal and increase compliance to EU legislation.

The changes included in the National Action Programme (NAP) under the Nitrates Directive, agreed between the Government and the EU Commission are positive for both Irish farming and the environment.

Jim Paice, Minister of State for Agriculture, today announced funding of £12.6 million, from Defra and the Devolved Administrations, to improve our understanding of how UK agriculture contributes to climate change.

Copper and zinc are routinely used as additives in feed for livestock and aquaculture farming. During their use as feed additives, it is inevitable that Cu and Zn will be released to the environment. Under Regulation (EC) 1831/3003 (EC, 2003), in order to protect human health, animal health and the environment, feed additives should undergo a safety assessment through a Community procedure before being placed on the market, used or processed within the Community. This project therefore assessed the environmental impact of Cu and Zn arising from use as additives in feed for livestock and aquaculture animals.

In a study of energy use on Iowa hog farms, Iowa State University (ISU) researchers found a huge drop in the use of nonrenewable energy for pig production over the last 35 years.

Farmers are getting involved in one of the largest studies of its kind to establish the best ways of halting water pollution from agriculture. They will develop an understanding of how pollutants move through river systems and will test up to 80 methods for reducing their impact. These include satellite technology (GPS) to ensure fertiliser is spread in the right places; better-designed farm yards to stop pollution draining into fields and rivers; and designing ditches and ponds to soak up substances.

The Government of Canada is investing in cutting-edge research to grow market opportunities and maintain a bright future for the Canadian organic industry. An investment of $6.5 million will bring together scientific expertise from academia, industry and government to develop more efficient and profitable processes for organic farmers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture published the first edition of a program handbook designed for those who own, manage, or certify organic operations. Prepared by the National Organic Program (NOP), the handbook provides guidance about the national organic standards and instructions that outline best program practices. It is intended to serve as a resource for the organic industry that will help participants comply with federal regulations.

According to the latest estimations from the Biogas Federation (FvB), during the last year the number of biogas plants increased considerably, so much so that there currently exists more than 5,000 fermenting warehouses with a potential that exceeds 2,000 megawatts (MW) installed on farms throughout the country.

Teagasc has proposed twenty-one amendments to the Draft European Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) regulation 2010 as part of the consultation process to review the nitrates regulations. The detailed 120-page scientific document has been submitted to the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government and to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Biological Hazards was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on Lime Treatment of Solid Pig and Poultry Manure. A European association submitted a novel process and asked the European Commission to approve it as a safe means of disposal under Article 5 (2) (g) of Regulation 1774/2002/EC, i.e. as far as Category 2 material are concerned. The European Commission asked EFSA to i) assess the ability of the process submitted to safely dispose of Category 2 animal by-products and ii) in case the process is considered to present a risk, to advice on the risks of the use of that process and on possibilities for addressing them. After an information exchange with the applicant it was clarified that the terms of reference of the mandate were focused only on pig and poultry solid manure treatment and that the solid pig manure consisted of dewatered manure.