Goals of a quality nutrition program for a gestating sow includes body preparation for farrowing, maximizing reproductive performance, and meeting the daily nutrient requirements for the least cost possible. The goal in gestation is to have the sow farrow with a back fat measurement of no more than 24 mm and no less than 15, with 18 to 22 being ideal. Nutrient requirements and over/under feeding need to be looked at when preparing a gestation feeding program. Weight and back fat estimations should be used to determine an individual sows body score, and with that information the sow should be fed accordingly. By estimating these factors, a gestation weight gain and back fat gain can be determined for the gestation period (we want the maintenance, maternal, and uterine gain). To be effective however, feeders should be calibrated in a 5-step process and back fat should be checked weekly and adjusted accordingly. Numbers used in these processes will be farm-specific. Goals of a quality nutrition program for a lactating sow includes maximum feed intake, balancing nutrients and amino acids, and maintaining a reasonable feed cost for each pig weaned. Proper steps should be taken to increase total feed consumption during lactation before attempting to customize dietary lysine levels to a particular farm. High levels of fat should not be added to compensate for a low level feed intake as this may impair future reproduction. Lysine requirement is influenced by dietary energy intake. The primary factor for the different lysine recommendations is the production level of the sows. Therefore, as litter growth rate increases the grams of lysine required per day increases. In regards to other amino acids, they should be maintained at as high a level as possible without incurring excess costs. First parity sows require a more nutrient dense diet because they tend to consume a little bit less than older sows. Practical lactation feeding consists of morning feeding, late morning feeding, and evening feeding. These 3 are based on how much the sow has left in her feeder from the previous feeding.