DES MOINES, Iowa — Nutritional researchers at the World Pork Expo challenged farmers to rethink commonly accepted pig productivity assumptions.
“The levels (of vitamins) necessary to merely prevent gross deficiencies are not enough to optimize productivity,” said DSM researcher Jonathan Bergstrom.
The difference between providing sufficient nutrients to avoid problems and providing enough for maximum production can make a big impact on results, but many producers aren’t aware of it.
Many producers assume pigs have certain set nutritional requirements, but pigs in high-stress and low-stress environments may require different amounts of vitamins and other nutrition.
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Bergstrom said an environment with pathogens or mycotoxins places more stress on a pig, and it will probably need higher levels of vitamins to thrive.
Iowa State University researcher Ken Stalder suggested producers focus less on pigs per sow per year (PSY) — the most common industry measure — and more on pigs per sow per lifetime.
“Quit looking at PSY as their goal,” he said.
Pigs per sow per lifetime is more important, he said, because most sows only pay their own way if they survive into their third or fourth parities.
Less than that and the sow is a problem.
“Those sows are slowly tearing away at a producer’s equity,” said Stalder.
Pigs per sow per year can also be poorly applied and supply unrepresentative results due to the nature of farrowing timing.
DSM nutritional expert Joseph Hahn said increasing the proportion of sows that survive into later parities doesn’t just make those individual pigs better investments, but the entire sow herd improves from having less flux.
