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Prairie Swine Centre is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan
Prairie Swine Centre is grateful for the assistance of the George Morris Centre in developing the economics portion of Pork Insight.
Financial support for the Enterprise Model Project and Pork Insight has been provided by:
Performance and total tract digestibility of growing pigs fed a hulless low-phytate phosphorus barley-based diet
Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles by admin on June 5, 2012 | No Comments
The abstract for a study on hulless low-phytate diets. Regular barley, a hulless low-phytate, or a hullness low-phytate with added phytase diets were randomly assigned to growing pigs. It was found that average daily gain and total tract digestibility was higher for the hulless low-phytate diet than regular barley, and added phytase further improved feed efficiency and nutrient utilization.
Meta-analysis of phosphorus utilization by growing pigs: effect of dietary phosphorus, calcium and phytase supply
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The abstract for a paper performing a meta-analysis of phosporus utilization with different forms of P, and the effect of calcium and phytase. The amount of P leading to digestible P was 21% when phytate P, 73% when non-phytate P (NPP), and 80% when NPP from minerals. Addition of microbial phytase was twice as efficient as plant phytase, and produced a curvilinear response. Calcium reduced P retention in low P diets, but increased retention in high P diets.
Feed quality evaluation by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) for the crop-pork value chain
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The abstract for a paper introducing the calibration for near infrared reflectance spectroscopy analysis of wheat and barley. It is highly accurate, and allows the digestible energy to be analysed by submitting samples.
Isoleucine requirement for sow maintenance
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The abstract for a study determining the isoleucine requirement for maintenance in non-pregnant sows fed a corn based diet, and using an amino acid oxidation method. The requirement was found to be 35mg/dxkg0.75. The maintenance for lysine is 48mg/dxkg0.75, so the ration isoleucine:lysine is 0.71:1. The ratio is the same as recommended by the NRC, even though the values for both have increased.
Isoleucine requirement of pregnant sows
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The abstract for a study comparing early and late gestation isoleucine requirements in sows fed a corn based diet. The isoleucine requirement increased from 3.6g/d to 9.7g/d, and lipid mobilization was seen in late gestation when the isoleucine requirement was provided or exceeded.
Dietary ω-6 to ω-3 fatty acid ratios affect body fat mobilization in high producing sows
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The abstract for a study testing the effect of altering the ω6:ω3 in sows with large litters on fat mobilization, and therefore nutrients available for piglets. The 1:1 sows had higher baseline plasma NEFA, and 10:1 sows had lower net increment area for glucose, and higher niAUC, NEFA, and glycerol when injected with epinephrine. This shows the 1:1 sows were mobilizing more fat to provide nutrients, which may have a negative impact on their later health.
Novel Swine Feeding Programs to Enhance Competitiveness and Pork Differentiation: Feedstuffs and Carbohydrates
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Increasing feed costs and increasing grain processing have resulted in processing co-products commonly being used in swine feed. Adding co-products changes the nutritional profile of feed, and alters the starch and fibre content. Adding co-products does not necessarily effect average daily gain, feed intake or efficiency; however, fats and fibre content can have an impact on carcass characteristics. Oils in co-products can change the fat profile, and fibre can stimulate organ development – leading to lower carcass weight from the same slaughter weight. Using fibre-degrading enzymes can increase the digestibility of some co-products, but appears to have varied results depending on the specific co-product. Starch can make up a large content of feed, and its digestibility impacts whether it will be converted to glucose or fermented. In vitro and in vivo testing showed a linear relationship between the digestibility and glucose appearance. Fibre that is more fermentable will degrade faster, produce more gas, and metabolites that benefit gut health. Adding co-products to feed can reduce costs, and they can have large variety in starch and fibre properties.
Towards Integrated Nutritional Management of Growing-Finishing Pigs
Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles by admin on June 4, 2012 | No Comments
Feed makes up the majority of producer costs, and as knowledge of nutritional content increases it is important to utilize it to increase productivity. The Canadian Swine Research and Development Cluster program is researching the effect of diet on post-weaning to market performance, the variable nutritional content of byproducts such as corn DDGS, and the development of software to utilize nutritional information. Post-weaning pig performance was evaluated with simple or complex diets, and the addition of antibiotics (chlortetracycline). Preliminary results show the performance for those fed with complex or additional antobiotics was increased for the first six weeks post-weaning, but did not impact long-term growth rates and performance. Feed costs can be lowered with the addition of byproducts such as corn DDGS, the problem is the nutritional value is often highly variable. A large scale sampling is ongoing to test nutrient value through nutritional analysis, colour, near-infrared sceptroscopy, in vivo and in vitro nutritional and availability assays. Fibre-degrading enzymes and microbial inoculants were shown to increase the nutritional availability for corn DDGS, and was the most effective in a liquid diet. Finally, software is being designed to integrate nutritional knowledge into one program, and allow predictions for nutritional requirements for populations including GnRF immunized intact boars. Accurate assessment of nutritional content and requirements will allow economic savings, and steady performance for producers.
Sustainable Precision Livestock Farming: A Vision for the Future of the Canadian Swine Industry
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Current feeding programs typically use a three-phase schedule, and feed for the nutritional requirements of the most demanding pig. The result is that most of the other pigs are being overfed and feed is wasted. Precision feeding would allow each pig to be fed their individual nutrient requirements instead. In order to use precision feeding, the precise nutritional value of feed would need to be evaluated, as well as the nutritional requirements for each pig. The pig requirements could be determined by mathematical models of requirements and growth rate, but the ultimate goal would be to calculate exact requirements from individual data and previous growth rates when a pig inserts its head into a feeder. Instead of three-phase feeding, blend feeding could be used to mix the exact diet for a pig. Currently, advancements in feeding technology and computer software are needed in order for precision feeding to become a reality. Once the developments have been made, precision feeding will be able to provide environmental, production, and economical benefits for the producer.
Dietary Omega-6 to Omega-3 Fatty Acid Ratios Affect Body Fat Mobilization During Lactation
Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles, Welfare by admin on May 23, 2012 | No Comments
Increases in production management have led to sows producing larger litters, although there has been even greater increases in piglet mortality. This may be because a sow can’t create enough energy for its entire litter. This experiment sets out to find if altering the fatty acid ratio in sows will have an impact on fat mobilization in the body potentially effecting body condition and longevity of the sow. The experiment consisted of five diets specialized for farrowing and gestation, all with the same amount of fat but different omega-6:omega-3 ratios. The diets consisted of one control diet (tallow) three plant oil based ratios (10:1, 5:1, and 1:1) as well as a fish based oil ratio of 5:1. Piglet growth rate was measured and milk samples were taken. Piglets raised on the 5:1 plant diet had the highest birth weight and weaning weight while the fish oil had the lowest in both. Piglet growth rate and sow body weight were unaffected by diet. Altering the ratio in sow diets did not affect milk composition or output, suggesting that sows will compensate for changes in feed intake through body fat mobilization. Reducing the omega-6:omega-3 FA ratio below 5:1 put sows into a state of increased body fat mobilization, which may have negative impacts on body condition and longevity.