Swine Grist
VOL 3 ISSUE 1 | SPRING 2016
A P E R I O D I C N E W S L E T T E R P R O D U C E D B Y G R A N D V A L L E Y F O R T I F I E R S LT D .
Jim Ross, Chairman Dear Friends, This spring of 2016 is upon us and so far the weather is co-operating with the seeding making good progress. As Farmers we are always looking ahead with the great hope of a bountiful harvest, sufficient not only to feed our own families but to provide the needed food for a hungry world. This is our calling and this is our purpose. May God help us to be faithful. Wishing you good farming this spring. Sincerely on behalf of all our Fortified Nutrition staff, Jim Ross Founder & Chairman
BALANCING FEEDING COST AND PERFORMANCE IN THE NURSERY
by: DR. MARTIN CLUNIES, PhD. Senior Swine Nutritionist, Grand Valley Fortifiers
L
arge nursery pig operations are a challenge to manage in modern commercial hog production systems. Nursery operators/ managers are continually asked to manage more pigs with less labour, operate within the limits of a fixed feed budget, all with the expectation of continual, annual improvements in operational performance. Excluding the cost of the weaned pig, feed represents 60 – 75% of the cost of producing a nursery/feeder pig ready for transfer to the finishing barn, and so has a huge impact on the economics of nursery pig production. For this reason, it is the primary tool used to address the economics of raising a nursery pig. In designing and formulating feeds for nursery pigs, the goals of individual farms must be carefully assessed. From a farm perspective the objectives of a nursery feed program may include the following: 1. Hit target exit weights within the feed budget per pig. 2. Get all pigs to start eating feed as soon as possible after weaning. 3. Ensure that the target measurements (e.g. end weight) are attained. 4. Deal with the variation in weight and age that is evident at weaning. 5. Have a smooth transition between feeds. 6. Minimize nursery mortality & cull rate. 7. Be easy to manage, requiring the least amount of labour intervention, reducing the need to medicate and sort pigs by size and thriftiness. 8. Ensure all pigs become full value pigs.
Alberta 1-866-610-5770 Saskatchewan 1-877-242-8882 Manitoba 1-866-626-3933
All this has to be balanced with the many challenges that a nursery faces. For the purpose of this article we will deal with the objectives of containing nursery feed costs and getting pigs off to a good start. We will deal only with the direct economics of the nursery and early finishing; discussing only those metrics which science has shown to have a direct impact on. The term “feed cost per pig” has become a popular measure of efficiency in producing a nursery pig, (replacing feed cost per kg gain) because at many modern day nurseries, operational bonuses are paid to operators for attaining weight gain, feed efficiency and mortality and cull rates. Feed cost per pig has evolved as a mechanism of controlling cost, and is usually controlled by the owner. The use of this metric has also evolved based on the belief that the most expensive gain occurs in the nursery period of the pig’s life. While this may be the case where performance is the desired goal at any cost, this may not be in all situations, especially where feed cost containment is the mantra. As piglets transition between the nursery and finishing barns, they are faced with multiple stressors, including 1) a change in nutrient density of the diet and 2) the adaptation to the finishing barn where they have been re-mixed/sized. As a result, the feed conversion in the first stage grower typically is much higher than the last stage nursery. Based on feed measures in numerous feed trials, feed conversion typically increases from 1.75 in the late stage nursery to 2.2 in the first stage grower. Therefore, unless the cost/tonne of the first grower feed is less than 80% of the last phase nursery feed, you would expect the first kg gain in the finishing barn to be more costly than the last kg gain in the nursery. From a strict efficiency point of view, feed cost per kg of gain is the most accurate measure for assessing nursery pig performance. Nonetheless, feed cost per pig is an excellent tool to control nursery
Ian Ross, President & CEO | Jim Ross, Chairman Clarke Walker, VP & COO Dr. Martin Clunies, Monogastric Nutritionist David Ross/Patti Bobier, Publishers