The Prevalence and Effects of Mycotoxins in Pigs

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Production by student on August 3, 2018 | No Comments

Author: Dr. Max F. Hawkins

Reference: Banff Pork Seminar Proceedings 2018

Summary: There is over 400 known mycotoxins that have the ability to negatively impact swine performance. There are many aspects of production which they can influence. The mycotoxin of greatest concern is DON because of its impact on feed intake and its prevalence. However, the negative implications of mycotoxins can encompass more than one mycotoxin.

Not all mycotoxins have dramatic effects, some only harbor subtle effects. A method has been developed by Alltech to assess the level of mycotoxin present in feedstuff. The method accounts for all the mycotoxins present, places a value and sums the value to calculate the Risk Equivalent  Quantity (REQ).

Lowering feed costs is continually a concern at the forefront of production, resulting in a greater utilization of by-product ingredients. Processed grain by-products, such as DDGS, concentrate the mycotoxin present into a smaller mass. This results in DDGS generally containing three times the concentration of mycotoxins than the original grain. The product may result in a cheaper diet, but also increases the concentration of mycotoxin in the diet.

When considering the risk of mycotoxin, it has been defined as the amount of mycotoxin that can be consumed without seeing a dramatic effect. However, research has displayed that smaller quantities of mycotoxin can have subtle effects on swine implying that maximum utilization may not be an ideal method.

Mycotoxin effects can also be affected through management, environment and pig health status. Low risk mycotoxins can still harbor a negative impact towards the performance of the pig, ultimately resulting in less economic gain.

The Prevalence and Effects of Mycotoxins in Pigs

What Shapes the Piglets Microbiota at Weaning and How it Prepares the Piglet for Disease Challenge

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Authors: Benjamin P. Willing and Janelle M. Fouhse

Reference: Banff Pork Seminar Proceedings 2017

Summary: Antibiotics have been used for a significant amount of time to control the bacterial population of the gastrointestinal tract of pigs, in an effort to increase growth and reduce disease. The pressure to reduce antibiotic use has increased interested in the advantage of microbiota as a disease resistant mechanism.

Microbiota will colonize the piglet unless it has been born through caesarean section and raised in an isolator. When analyzing the benefits of microbial colonization, it is evident that not all microbes are equally beneficial. It has not been clearly defined the extent of the role that microbial consumption plays in immune function development, however it is said to play an important role. Rearing piglets in an environment that reduces exposure to adult microbiota displayed a reduced immune development and impaired ability to tolerate infection.

When disease challenge is not present, pigs that are deficient of immune system will grow more efficiently than those with a fully functional immune system. However, with the pressure to remove antibiotics from production it is extremely important to develop robust pigs. The development of robust pigs could likely come at the cost of feed efficiency.

Factors that shape microbiota at weaning are:

• Antibiotics
• Milk composition and the nursery diet
• The sow and the environment
• The sow diet
• Sow probiotics

More research is needed in order to identify the ideal characteristics and/or composition of the piglet microbiota at weaning to be defined.

What Shapes the Piglet Microbiota

Low Cost Feeding Strategies in Nursery Production – Feeding Simplified Diets with Feed Enzymes

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Production by student on July 26, 2018 | No Comments

Authors: B. Koo, and C.M. Nyachoti

Reference: Canadian Hog Journal Summer 2018

Summary: Highly palatable and digestible ingredients are utilized in nursery pig diets in order to minimize the post weaning challenges. This helps to reduce impaired gut morphology and high incidences of diarrhea. However, in exchange their is a greater cost associated with the diet. As a result, this study looked at potentially including low quality alternatives to conventional ingredients with the hope of not affecting the growth performance of the piglet.

When comparing the different diets it was identified that there was no apparent difference in average daily gain between newly weaned pigs over the course of a four week experiment period. However, there was a different during the first week post weaning as the conventional diet supported superior growth during this time. During the four week observation period it was noted that pigs that were fed the simple diet had better feed efficiency than those that were fed the conventional diet.

Feeding the simple diet did have significant effects on the overall cost of the diet.

Low Cost Feeding Strategies in Nursery Production – Feeding Simplified Diets with Feed Enzymes

The Future of Agriculture: Challenges, Threats, Barriers and Opportunities – Banff 2018

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Author: Steven D. Savage

Reference: Banff Pork Seminar Proceedings 2018

Summary:

Challenges:

• Global demand for food will be increasing significantly
• Declining expertise
• Social license challenges: the concept that focuses on how societal pressures, permissions and perceptions influence the ability of a give industry to do what they need to do to succeed

How is social license posing a challenge

1.  Direct involvement is decreased
2. Decreasing public investment
3. Little understanding of the influence of science based regulation on safety and sustainability of agricultural systems
4. Some regional regulations are highly influenced by politics
5. Widespread mistrust in the food system
6. Subset of food companies that use aggressive, negative and inaccurate descriptions of their competitors

Opportunities:

• Communications; ability to advocate for agriculture and “debunk” myths
• Confrontation
• Competition

Optimizing Concrete Slat and Gap Widths for Group-Housed Gestating Sows

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Authors: Laurie Connor, Nicolas Devillers and Qiang Zhang

Reference: Canadian Hog Journal Summer 2018

Summary: Pen flooring is one aspect that is critical for sow management with the transition to group housings. Currently. concrete slatted floors are commonly utilized in sow housing as they allow effective drainage of manure increase they hygiene of the barn. However. slatted floors can also affect they well being of the sows as they affect permeability and thermic properties of the floor. Musculoskeletal issues, such as lameness and hoof an claw injuries are a major reason for culling in group housed sows, these injuries can increase with an increased gap width. There are also negative aspects of too narrow of a gap width, including inability of the manure to pass through the slats. This research focused on the most effective slatted flooring for the comfort and wellbeing of the sow.

Initially, this studied focused on the slat and gap widths that allowed for the least change in the sow gait, for this they utilized nine different flooring configurations. The study then assessed lameness, hoof lesions, weight distribution and postural behavior twice through gestation and recorded videos three times throughout. The study also recorded the performance of the sow in terms of body condition and reproductive performance.

In addition to the implication that the flooring had on the pigs, this study also focused on the implications for pen cleanliness and animal cleanliness.

As a results, this study concluded that wider gap width displaced more alteration in gait parameters. The best flooring design determined by this study was that of a slat width of 105 mm and a gap width of 19mm.

Optimizing Concrete Slat and Gap Widths for Group-Housed Gestating Sows

High-Fibre Diets and Immune Stimulation Increase Threonine Requirements in Growing Pigs

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Authors: Dan Columbas, PhD, Research Scientist, Prairie Swine Centre, Inc., and Michael Wellington, MSC, PhD Student, Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan

Reference: Canadian Hog Journal Summer 2018

Summary: New legislation and increasing consumer pressure is influencing producers to decrease antibiotic use in agriculture. In order to continue maintaining animal performance it is necessary that alternatives to antibiotic use are developed. For this reason, nutritional alternatives to antibiotic use need to be concretely identified.  Pigs whose immune system has been challenged display a decreased feed intake which translates to poor growth rates, which can have a significant impact on the producers profitability.

When looking at the immune response of the pig, it is apparent that glutamine, arginine, threonine, and aromatic and sulfur amino acids are important precursors for synthesis of many components. Providing these amino acids is postulated to aid in time of stress and disease challenge by improving the pig response and growth performance.

As inclusion of co-products of the milling and biofuel industry increases, it is apparent that fibre content is increases as well as an inconsistent protein level compromises the overall robustness and health status of the pigs.

The study focused on threonine inclusion, to maximize protein deposition. They concluded that there is an increased threonine requirement during times of immune challenge. As well this study determined the interactive effects of both fibre and immune stimulation. This information can be utilized when formulating diets that do not incorporate antibiotics at least cost while maintaining animal performance.

High-Fibre DIets and Immune Stimulation Increase Threonine Requirements in Growing Pigs

Development of Novel Microparticles for Effective Delivery of an Antimicrobial Essential Oil to Pig Intestinal Tract

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Authors: Faith Adeyinka Omonijo and Chengbo Yang, Department of Animal Science, Univesity of Manitoba

Reference: Canadian Hog Journal Summer 2018

Summary: Piglets susceptibility to different stressors such as bacterial pathogens and oxidative stress inflammation can lead to reduced growth performance, high mortality and morbidity rates and compromised animal welfare. In nursery diets, it has been a common practice to utilize antibiotic growth promoters, however with increased concern for the utilization of antibiotics in agriculture there has been a push for research developing alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters. Thymol is a highly volatile essential oil that has been recognized for its usage a an alternative to antimicrobial growth promoters. It is necessary that a method be developed to protect the essential oil until it reaches the lower gut.

The objective of this study was to develop a microencapsulation technique that would be affordable and easy to deliver thymol to the target site. Through this study it was determined that low melting point fat particles with an inclusion of 2 percent polysaccharide solution presented a slow released rate of thymol and lauric acid. As a result of this study, they had recommended that the formula and method that was utilized during the course of study (low melting point fat and 2 percent polysaccharide) would pose as an effective an affordable was to potentially deliver essential oils to the intestinal tract of the pig.

Development of Novel Microparticles for Effective Delivery of an Antimicrobial

Precision Feeding for Gestating Sows- Results of a Commercial Trial

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Authors: Laetitia Cloutier, Agr, M.Sc., Patrick Gagnon, Ph.D., Genevieve Berthiaume, B.Sc., Leonie Morin-Dore, M.Sc.

Reference: Canadian Hog Journal Summer 2018

Summary: The first part of the project focused on determining the nutritional and economic impacts of precision feeding. In the initial portion of this study they determined that during late gestation and for gilts precision feeding would be beneficial as lysine requirements are important during these times and conventional feeding struggles to meet these needs. They also determined that precision feeding would be able to minimize the surpluses on multiparous sows reducing the cost of feeding by approximately $3/sow per year.

The second aspect of this trial was completed in a commercial setting, where they aimed to validate the effects of precision feeding on growth performance, productivity and cost of feeding sows. Economically, they determined that the gain from precision feeding is limited to the reduction of feeding costs of approximately $3/sow per year. There was no observed impact on the condition of the sows or the performance of their piglets.

It is still possible that precision feeding could improve performance of gilts. This is yet to be validated.

Precision Feeding for Gestating Sows- Results of a Commercial Trial

Suckling of a Teat for Two Days in First Parity Ensure Enough Milk is Produced in Second Parity

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Author: Chantal Farmer, Ph.D., Robert Friendship, D.V.M., M.Sc., Rocio Amezcua, D.V.M., Ph.D.

Reference: Canadian Hog Journal Summer 2018

Summary: It is known that a teat that is not suckled during the first lactation will be less productive during future lactation, however how long is it necessary to suckle a teat to avoid this negative effect? It has been displayed in recent studies that a short time of two days of suckling in parity one is an effective way to have the milk yield of the sow unaffected during the second parity. Comparing leaving the piglet for only two days and up to 21 days it was also determined that there is no benefit of leaving the piglet on for any more days than two.

This information can be utilized when developing management practices for first parity sows. It is possible to remove piglets from first parity sows without having a negative affect on milk yield during the next lactation by allowing the piglets to suckle for two days. By reducing the litter size in poor body condition sows it is possible to increase their future reproductive performance and increase longevity within the herd.

Suckling of a Teat for Two Days in First Parity Ensures Enough Milk is Produced in Second Parity

4-H Growing Minds and Hearts for the Future of Ag

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Author: Sheri Monk

Reference: Canadian Hog Journal Summer 2018

Summary: 4-H involvement leads many kids into a career in agricultural sciences. Erin Smith, the director for 4-H Canada explains how 4-H can aid in career exploration. Hilary Baker is just one example, she joined 4-H when she was 11, when she attended the University of Alberta she was part of the University of Alberta Collegiate 4-H. Now Baker works as an area rangeland management specialist with the Alberta government.

Another example of how 4-H aids in agricultural appreciation and career development is Alyssa Barbero. From the time that she was nine she was apart of 4-H Beef Club. When she was a little older she joined the Rocky Mountain 4-H Swine Cub. Currently Alyssa works as a conservation technician with the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

4-H Club Help Foster a Thirst For Learning, Science