PHOTO: HANS PRINSEN


HOUSING & EQUIPMENT ▶▶▶


Impact of climate change on swine housing systems


Global temperatures are likely to rise in the long term, which will have a lasting impact on how pigs are produced. There are various practical ways producers can prepare for climate change. What are they?


BY SAMANEH AZARPAJOUH, INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER, USA C


limate change is defined as long-term deviations in climate patterns and temperature. Due to in- creased global temperature, desert encroachment, deforestation and heat waves, climate change


will add to the burden of heat stress, particularly in tropical regions and during summer. Higher temperatures result in lower fertility rate, decreased feed intake and reduced growth rate in pigs. In addition, warmer weather enhances survival of insect pests such as flies and lice that can spread diseases. Higher disease incidence in a swine production unit will increase the costs of veterinary service and medicines. Furthermore, climate change can result in droughts, decreased water availability, enhanced production costs due to increased energy costs for cooling and ventilation and higher cost of feed due to decreased crop production. In the United States, heat stress has been estimated to cost between $ 300 and $ 900 million annually, depending on the year and method of estimation. Therefore, pig production systems need to adapt to climate change to reduce the negative impacts.


Consequences of climate change Heat stress effects Heat stress results from an accumulation of energy in the body caused by an imbalance between heat production and heat loss. Pigs are very vulnerable to high temperatures, especially when they cannot access a wallow or watering device. Heat stress can be acute or chronic. Acute heat stress means exposure to high ambient temperatures over a short period of time. Chronic heat stress describes exposure to a high ambient temperature over a long period of time (days to


36 ▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 38, No. 4, 2022


Availability and quality of feed resources Climate change can cause cumulative changes in the produc- tion of major crops and reduce the quality of raw materials for pig feed. An increase of 1°C in the global mean tempera- ture is predicted to reduce global yields of wheat by 6.0% and of maize by 7.4%. Under the most rapid warming scenario, a 16% decline in winter wheat yield, a 20% decline in winter barley yield and a 42% decline in spring barley yield are predicted by the end of the century. The occurrence of more frequent extreme climatic events is expected to lead to additional price increases for the most im- portant agricultural crops such as wheat, maize and soybeans, which are used to feed livestock.


Health and welfare Climate change can affect pig health and welfare, either directly by causing death or modifying the ability to cope with pathogenic agent exposure, or indirectly by increasing the frequency of exposure to existing or emerging diseases by creating favourable conditions for the development of vectors and their host reservoirs. In addition, if the temper- ature in the farrowing unit exceeds 22°C, the risk of stillbirth increases due to the prolonged duration of farrowing and the associated risk of hypoxia for piglets.


How do pigs regulate body temperature? Pigs are homeothermic animals; that is, they can keep deep body temperature relatively constant within narrow limits even with wide variation of the surrounding climatic environ- ment. Pigs have a limited number of functional sweat glands, and they are challenged by heat stress to maintain their body temperature. Pigs regulate their body temperature through


weeks) which allows partial or total acclimatisation to the en- vironment. Heat stress results in limited nutrient intake, which in turn reduces production performance and compromises health and welfare. In addition, prenatal heat stress alters the distribution of energy between lean and fat deposition, resulting in fatter carcasses at slaughter.


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