Farmscape for March 7, 2008  (Episode 2774)

A central Manitoba Hutterite Colony warns the provincial government's ban on expanded hog production in three regions will limit the ability of farmers to take advantage of a natural source of low cost fertilizer.

Earlier this week, following the release of the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission's final report on the environmental sustainability of hog production in Manitoba, the province announced it will replace a temporary pause on hog barn expansion with permanent moratoriums in three areas, southeastern Manitoba, the Red River Valley including the Capital Region and the Interlake.

James Hofer, the hog barn manager with Starlight Colony at Starbuck about 40 kilometers southwest of Winnipeg, says manure produced by the Colony's livestock operations is used in the grain operation in place of costly commercial fertilizer.

Clip-James Hofer-Starlight Colony

We have a 600 sow farrow to finish operation as far as hogs is concerned.

We have turkeys, chickens and layers.

As far as animal units, we produce roughly six million gallons of liquid hog manure.

We have our own pumping system where we inject all our manure with an airway injection cultivator.

The crops that we grow are wheat, barley oats, canola, flax, soybeans and, in terms of value, that appears to be going up as we speak with the latest rise in phosphorus.

There's a real value to hog manure and it out performs commercial fertilizer.

It replaces those fertilizers and at the same time is even more friendly when it comes to the environment because it's a natural fertilizer.

Hofer believes combining livestock and grain production creates a nice fit.

He would like to see government and urban populations gain a better understanding of how livestock is produced and its connection to the food supply.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council