The amino acids requirements of growing-finishing pigs are met by utilizing a variety of protein rich ingredients, including soybean meal (SBM) and distillers dried grains with solubles, as well as synthetic amino acids. As nutritionists have become more comfortable with…
Evaluating nutritional strategies to mitigate the negative impact PRRS has on grow-finisher pig performance
Of the health challenges the swine industry face, Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) virus is arguably one of the most economically costly viruses to U.S. and world pork production. In addition to mortality losses and costs of interventions, this…
Refining a model to investigate the interactive effects of health status and nutrition on nutrient and energy utilization in pigs
Each year the National Pork Board identifies infectious disease prevention as a high-priority research area. The prevention and treatment of diseases common to swine operations represents a significant cost, both in terms of vaccinations, management intervention, and reduced performance. The…
Maximizing the utilization of lower energy, higher fiber feedstuffs through more focused and effective use of xylanase
This project speaks directly to the objective of the National Pork Board to “enhance nutrient extraction from low energy feedstuffs including but not limited to the effect of dietary factors on digestibility, gut function, and enzyme supplementation.” With the growing…
Correlation between physical characteristics of diets and absorption of energy by pigs
Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), wheat middlings, and soybean hulls are cost-effective co-products that may replace some corn in swine diets. However, these co-products contain more dietary fiber and less starch compared with corn. The amount of energy obtained…
Determining the optimal dietary lysine:energy ratios for health challenged grow-finish pigs
Re-defining growth efficiency accounting for the interaction between host genome and commensal gut bacteria.
Feed efficiency and immune response of market hogs can have a profound effect on the profitability of pork producers. Therefore, we examined the impact of the newly isolated hormone, GnRH-II, on feed efficiency and immune function of growing/finishing pigs. The…
Improving milk production efficiency and mitigating feed costs in lactating sows through dietary crude protein abatement and crystalline amino acid supplementation under thermo neutral and thermal stress environment model
Objectives:To determine if lactating sows can be fed diets containing less protein in order to reduce the quantity of nitrogen excreted into the environment. To determine if sows fed reduced CP diets improve their lactation performance when housed under hot…
Effect of glucosamine supplementation on litter size in a commercial setting
Litter size is a key determinant of the efficiency of pork production. In turn, placental function is a key determinant of whether an individual pig fetus survives during gestation and also influences piglet birth weights. Our previous results suggested that…