Canada's hog producers are going to have to serve up less water with their pork.

Once a commodity that was taken for granted, water is now just too valuable to waste, industry members are being told.

In fact, pork producers are being warned that it will be the next at-risk resource as climate change wreaks further havoc with an industry that has seen more downs than ups of late.

Although the country's pork sector, consisting of 13,000 hog producers who produced 31 million head in 2005, has tapped a healthy export market, it has been hobbled by a higher dollar and soaring prices for corn - a primary feed staple in many regions.

File photo by Wendy Dudley, Business Edge
Many producers employ new technologies and practices that reduce odours and minimize the impact of manure.

"The pork industry has been financially challenged since 1998," says Cedric MacLeod, environmental programs co-ordinator for the Canadian Pork Council (CPC).

Pork prices have crashed or dipped more than once in the last decade. Add a higher Canadian dollar for the sector's surging export market and higher corn prices - the North American pork market is based on corn being at $2 a bushel rather than the current $4 - and most producers are facing tough times.

However, a strong export sector still accounts for more than 50 per cent of Canadian hog production. Canadian exports were worth $2.8 billion in 2005 and now reach more than 100 countries, up from 50 in 1990. These exports, meanwhile, are responsible for economic activity amounting to $7.7 billion and 42,000 jobs.

While MacLeod says pork producers have already taken up a call to action on the environment, he does have some concerns when it comes to climate change and the future of this industry.

"I would suggest that nobody's adapting regarding climate change," he says.

MacLeod points to the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, which states the overall costs and risks of climate change could be equivalent to losing at least five per cent of global GDP each year. "So our lack of expenditures to reduce our emissions is going to come back to (haunt) us ... if its predictions are correct."

He is, however, not totally pessimistic. Pork producers are invariably reducing their greenhouse gases by trying to be better environmental stewards, says MacLeod.

The Canadian pork industry tends to be one of the more aggressive livestock industries when it comes to the environment," he adds. "Producers are keenly aware of management practices and technologies that reduce odours, improve manure nutrient management and minimize the impact of manure use in the environment."

He also does agree that a water warning issued earlier this year at the 2007 Banff Pork Seminar - an annual event that brings together national and international speakers and delegates from around the world - needs to be heeded.

David Sauchyn, an environmental researcher from the University of Regina, told attendees at the Banff event that water management and conservation will be the key for the industry to adapt to climate change.

The greatest risk climate change presents is a reduction in the amount, quality and distribution of water supplies, Sauchyn notes.

Ironically, says Sauchyn, there may even be more water in the winter. But it's expected in the form of rain, rather than snow, and that means the water won't be around when needed for the annual spring thaw or be there to refill lakes.

Climate change also means there will be a lot less rain in the summer, as it's expected to be drier on average then, he adds.

"The change (in climate) is already underway. There has been quite a bit of climate change, especially in the last three decades," says Sauchyn. "Action is required now. It's getting urgent because we've already detected quite a bit of climate change and have already changed the climate well into the future."

While Sauchyn has sounded the alarm - a warning that is not just limited to hog producers - he says he was pleased to find out that his audience is already listening.

"I'm a scientist. I don't manage water," says Sauchyn. "It's the people who manage the resources, the soil, the water and the forests, who have the capacity to adjust and I discovered they're already doing quite a bit."

One proven example of that is the work of hog producer Dennis McKerracher, who lives just southwest of High Level in Alberta.

"Most people take water for granted," says McKerracher, who has been in the hog business since 1996.

"They believe the water will be there. As far as I'm concerned, air and water are our most precious resources."

McKerracher compared the spill rates on two different types of drink systems pigs use to get water - a standard nipple system and a slightly more expensive ball-bite counterpart - over the course of one year while trying to control as many variables as possible.

"The idea was that ball-bite water drinkers would reduce water usage, because the pig must have the whole valve in its mouth and then bite down to release water," says McKerracher. "In contrast, a pig can easily release water from a standard water drinker by simply nudging the drinker, which wastes water and increases manure volume."

The result was that the pigs in the ball-bite groups used 35 per cent less water. This also resulted in less electricity needed to pump water from the well to the pigs.

In addition, McKerracher found other positive but unexpected consequences.

"We found by monitoring daily water use (as part of the study) that we were able to recognize anything that was going on quicker than with the eye. Barn management became easier. We would look at the water consumption and could notice if we had a water leak or if the water consumption didn't go up when it was supposed to go up - maybe they weren't feeling right, as healthy pigs drink a certain amount of water."

Then there was the benefit of less pig manure, as wasted water adds volume. "So what happens with the reduction in water is that you do not have to haul as much manure," says McKerracher.

Projects such as this one, or using new pressure washers that reduce the amount of water used for cleaning, are the kind of things the pork council is encouraging its producers to look at, says MacLeod.

Better yet, he says, these are not prohibitively expensive to implement.

McKerracher says it's actually relatively cheap to make the switch.

The standard drinker costs approximately $6.90, whereas the more efficient bite-ball costs $12.60. If a water meter is added, as he suggests, that's just another $226.

That's important, as producers just don't have the money to put costly technology in place, adds MacLeod.

"There's a lot of technology out there but it's not cheap," says MacLeod. "But when you're not profitable, it's hard to justify capital expenditures that don't generate a lot of return."

But no one is throwing in the towel when it comes to climate change, says MacLeod, even if some of the fixes are costly.

"We are continuing to move forward, always," he says.

"Our provincial pork associations invest heavily in environmental research, we're constantly on the lookout for new technique practices, new management practices, reducing the cost of production and reducing our environmental footprint."

McKerracher agrees, adding protecting the environment and hog production are actually complementary.

"A lot of people don't know what we do as livestock producers and farmers. One thing that is paramount in our mind is the environment. It's where we live, it's where we work.

"It just makes good common sense (to protect it.)" (Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)