Canadian hog producers are anxiously awaiting registration of a new
feed ingredient that has been fed to millions of American hogs over the
last 18 months.
The manufacturer of Paylean claims the product can net farmers between
$2 and $5 US by saving money on production costs and increasing the
amount of quality meat in high-value cuts.
“There’s between one and 1.5 percent more usable meat in the carcass,”
said Robert McManus, manager of new product planning for Elanco Animal
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Health.
He said studies in the United States show that farmers who feed Paylean
to their pigs produce animals that are five to seven kilograms heavier
than pigs that haven’t received it. Or they can feed a pig to a fixed
weight up to five days faster than an animal on a regular diet.
McManus said the same studies show that Paylean improves average daily
gain by up to 20 percent and feed efficiency by up to 15 percent.
But he stressed those are American numbers. No data is available here
because the product is still being reviewed for registration by Health
Canada two years after it was approved for use in the United States.
Canadian hog producers are awaiting the conclusion of the registration
process.
“There is a definite advantage for the American producers having access
to this feed ingredient,” said Jerome Warick, general manager of Sask
Pork.
“We would like to see it registered for use here in Canada for our
producers.”
Lee Whittington, manager of information services at Prairie Swine
Centre Inc., estimates that more than 40 percent of hog producers in
the U.S. feed Paylean to their pigs.
“There’s some real economics in it,” he said.
Although it is treated as a drug under federal legislation, Paylean is
not what most people would think of as a drug, said McManus. It is an
organic compound made through organic chemistry.
“There’s nothing really like it out there. This is a brand new class of
compounds.”
It is not a steroid, antibiotic or biotechnology product. Paylean is
what scientists call a beta-agonist. It changes a hog’s metabolism so
that it shifts nutrients from fat growth to muscle development.
The European Union considers Paylean a growth hormone and does not
allow imports of pork from hogs that have been fed the drug.
Paylean is added to pigs’ feed rations during the last four to six
weeks before marketing. The product label in the U.S. stipulates that
it can be fed only to finishing swine between 150 and 240 pounds of
body weight.
The exact dose and duration of use depends on the type of pigs grown
and the feeding programs employed by a particular farm. In the U.S. the
usage rate ranges between five and 20 grams of Paylean per tonne of
feed, said McManus.
Producers who are able to capture lean premiums for their hogs would
use higher doses to get more value back. Those who can’t fetch a
premium would use smaller amounts and rely on performance improvements
to reduce feed and overhead costs.
McManus thinks it will cost producers between seven and 15 cents per
hog per day depending on dose and duration rates.
