The Rural Voice, 2002-06, Page 58Research Scrap Book
The nose knows for trained Alberta sniffers
In the halls of higher learning
probably few people thought students
would graduate from an Odour
School. But a group of Alberta
researchers became full-fledged nasal
rangers when they graduated from the
Odour School in Minnesota.
Their mission is to objectively
quantify odour levels emanating from
intensive livestock operations. Odour
is a complicated matter. Hog manure
contains more than 160 compounds
that may cause bad smells to varying
degrees. While researchers are
attempting to develop electronic
measures to objectively trace odour,
the human sniffer is still the best.
"Noses are the best indicator of
odour," said Sherry Perih, and
engineer -in -training and a trained
nasal ranger with Alberta Agriculture.
Alberta's odour control team
consists of scientists and engineers
from Alberta Agriculture, the Alberta
Research Council and University of
Alberta. Last summer a group of five
went to livestock sites to track odour
plumes from 950 metres away. They
formed an arc and walked toward the
odour, making assessments on a scale
of one to five of the smell's intensity.
They also considered wind speed and
direction.
The data was then entered into a
computer modeling program to predict
the intensity and how far odour might
spread.
With changes in society's attitudes
toward livestock odours the industry is
investigating everything from new
feed rations to biofilters to new
manure spreading techniques to help
control odour plumes around feedlots
or lagoons. Scientific assessments
such as trained human odour detectors
can test distances between livestock
operations and their neighbours.
With this information, those
planning intensive livestock
operations hope to develop a science -
based tool to locate new barns and
help determine buffer zones.
"Minimum distance separation is
based on experience," Perih said. "It
was the best we had."
The human sniffers are also the
best available research tool until
electronic equipment, now in
development, becomes available.
Humans, however, will play an
important role in the development
through tools such at the olfactometer.
This involves collecting air samples
near barns and feedlots which are
sniffed and assessed in a lab by a
trained panel.°
— Source: Western Producer
Garlic a health tonic for horses too?
Many humans have promoted the healthy effects of adding sufficient garlic to
the diet but for horses too? •
Pineview Farm near St. Ann's, one of the iop breeders of Canadien horses,
newly designated as Canada's National breed, says its horses are in high demand
because of their health and vigour which in turn is attributed to their eating fresh
garlic.
The farm has been feeding their horses fresh garlic for four years now and
Leslie Bothen, who developed the feeding regimen, says the garlic has improved
the horses' blood circulation, controlled parasites'present in the digestive tract,
given the horses substantial relief from insects and greatly reduced the need for
antibiotics.
The secret ingredient in garlic is allicin, Bothen says. After the garlic is
crushed or cut, two enzymes come together to form allicin. The longer the period
of time from crushing garlic, the less active allicin is available for nutrition. To
date garlic that was available for equine consumption has either been dehydrated
or freeze dried. Often the dehydration is done at high temperatures which kills
the sought-after enzymes.
Bothen worked with Flat Creek Farms Inc. of Stratford and began using
garlic, freshly chopped in soy oil as a way to deliver a "living" feed to the animal
for the greatest neutraceutical effect and economic value.°
— Source: Pineview Farm press release
54 THE RURAL VOICE
Aussies clone GM
dairy calves
Australian scientists have
created their first cloned and
genetically modified dairy calves,
putting that country on the path to
becoming a commercial producer
of genetically modified milk.
The team that produced the
four GM cloned calves, each with
an additional fifth gene for milk
protein production, was also
responsible for Australia's first
cloned calves and bull.
The main aim of the genetic
modification is to produce more
nutritious dairy products, and the
births put Australia's $2.7 billion
a year dairy export industry on an
equal footing with New Zealand,
Europe and the U.S. where similar
research is being done.
Holly the Holstein and her
sisters Molly, Lolly and Jolly were
born in January and February as a
result of collaborative research by
the Monash Institute for
Reproduction and Development,
the Victorian Institute of Animal
Science and the artificial
insemination firm Genetics
Australia.
The technique involved
extracting a bovine protein gene
from a cow's cell, inserting it into
a cloned embryo in the laboratory,
then implanting the embryo into a
surrogate mother cow. More GM
calves are expected to be
produced later this year.
Lewis said commercial
production of GM drinking milk
in Australia is still seven to 10
years away, although production
of modified milk containing
genetically -produced human
medicines and vaccines could be
as close as five years away.
GM milk could be produced
containing medicines to help
combat the bleeding disease
hemophilia, and cystic fibrosis, a
breathing disorder, as well as
components for use with blood
transfusions and other medicines,
a researcher with the group said.°
— Source: Reuters News Agency