Nutrition
By-product Feed Ingredients for Use in Swine Diets
Publish Date: March 25, 2010
Feed costs comprise approximately 65-70% of the cost of pork production. While most U.S. producers think of strictly corn and soybean meal (SBM) when feeding pigs, they need to realize that pigs require amino acids, energy, vitamins and minerals, and not any particular feedstuff for normal growth. In most regions of the U.S., a corn–SBM combination is usually the least expensive ingredient combination that meets the pig’s nutrient requirements. However, in times of higher corn and SBM prices or in regions of the U.S. that are removed from the Corn Belt, producers need to look at alternative feedstuffs in order to keep diet costs down.
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Composition and Usage Rate of Feed Ingredients for Swine Diets
Publish Date: March 25, 2010
Proper diet formulation involves having accurate knowledge of the nutrient requirements of the pig and information about the energy and nutrient composition of available feed ingredients. In addition, it is important to realize that some feed ingredients possess inherent factors that will decrease pig growth and reproductive performance and/or impact carcass composition and quality if fed in excess.
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Breeding Boar Nutrient Recommendations and Feeding Management
Publish Date: March 25, 2010
Boars have a profound influence on the swine breeding program. Not only do they provide a source of genetic improvement, but they also affect farrowing rate and litter size. Although nutrition of the boar is often given the least amount of attention compared to pigs in other phases of production, it serves as an important factor in determining reproductive performance of the breeding herd and overall animal well-being. Nutrient status influences libido (sex drive), structural soundness and longevity, sperm production, and semen quality. Factors affecting nutrient requirements include age and stage of maturity, body condition, environmental conditions, and ejaculation frequency. Many farms feed boars the sow gestation diet(s), but this feeding program may neglect some of the unique nutrient requirements that must be accounted for to optimize breeding herd performance in working boars. Scientific research regarding the nutrition of boars is lacking. Therefore, feeding strategies used in the pork industry and those presented in this paper are based on a minimal amount of research.
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