WaterWorks

Water foot-printing & water use reduction of Irish pig production

Project Summary

Water scarcity is increasing globally and pig production is highly dependent on freshwater resources
Consumers are looking for environmentally sustainable products. Optimizing water use on pig farms will help in making production systems sustainable and improve marketability of export industry
Additionally studying the role of factors (e.g. cleaning procedures, group size, stocking density, behavior, environmental enrichment) that can reduce water wastage will help optimise farm efficiencies

Objectives:

Quantify the green and blue water uses from cradle to farm-gate on Irish pig farms, and, explore the effect of differences in farm infrastructure and management.
Study the effect of feeding strategies to reduce the freshwater use of Irish pig farms, while accounting for food-feed competition.
Evaluate the effect of cleaning procedures on blue water usage and water wastage for weaner stage on a pig farm.
Evaluate the effect of group size and environmental enrichment on blue water usage and water wastage through drinkers for grower finisher pigs on a pig farm.

Expected Benefits:

Improved knowledge of water usage and wastage on Irish pig farms
Creation of a water footprint model for Irish pig production to help monitor water use
Improved water management practices will mean better financial and environmental performance
Deliver best practice recommendations for water consumption reduction at the farm and system levels

Publications & Resources:

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