Questions concerning Pseudorabies have been winding down. The hotline provides direct communication with State of Iowa Veterinarians. Tips for pork producers on reducing heating costs with higher fuel costs - Dan Meyer, ISU Ag Engineer LP gas and Natural gas costs have risen almost 50 percent above last year's prices. Consequently, pork producers are being tempted to reduce exhaust fan rates to save on fuel costs this winter. There are other considerations according to Dan Meyer, Iowa State University Agricultural Engineer field specialist, which need to be addressed before turning down the rpm on those fans.
Poor environments can cost more in animal performance than any fuel savings.
Chief among these are respiratory diseases such as pneumonia which directly affect lung damage which impacts feed conversion. Environmental stress that results from too high a relative humidity or too high an ammonia gas level can cause disease outbreaks, higher than average medication costs, higher than average mortality rates, and longer times to market. This typically happens with pigs that have some diseases already which is the majority of pigs. The ventilation system is comprised of many things to make it work efficiently. They include the proper fan sizes, controls, an insulated building, air inlets which distribute fresh air uniformly without drafts, and educated management personnel.