Swine Grist
VOL 2 ISSUE 4 | WINTER 2015
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, Another year has rolled around and here we are celebrating Christmas once again. Soon we will open the New Year’s door to 2016. What will it bring? We hope and pray for less turmoil, conflict, pain and suffering and instead, more love, peace, joy and happiness. We believe you will find the topics featured in this issue of the Grand Valley Swine Grist interesting and informative as we look at the positive outlook for the future of our hog industry in Canada. Wishing you good farming this winter. Sincerely, Jim Ross, Founder & Chairman
AGRI-FOOD EXPORTS VERY PROMISING
by: PETER HALL Vice-President and Chief Economist Export Development Canada
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ood shortages in Southeast Asia grabbed the headlines back in early 2008. We’ve all but forgotten this, as financial and economic crisis engulfed the globe. Given the mediocre performance of the world economy since then, it’s tempting to think that those shortages were localized and insignificant. However, it’s quite possible that those shortages were the first signal to a planet-wide problem. Have we entered a new era of demand for food? Growth itself has seen a revolution. The exponential rise of technology in the past three decades has, among many other things, brought many markets into the mainstream that formerly were isolated. The best-known is China, with its 35-year march to the front lines of economic heft. But it’s not alone – multiple emerging markets have experienced sustained growth at rates three to five times the pace of the average developed economy. Although most are still well behind a Western standard of living, their fast ascension is transforming the balance of worldwide demand. Has that stalled? Many think so. Myriad of analysts see the meager growth of the past seven years and conclude that the crisis of 2008–09 was too hard on us, and that structurally, we are in some kind of lowgrowth new normal. In actual fact, prior to the 2008 crisis the world saw five to six years of plenty – excessive activity that could not be sustained – and for the past six years has been working off those excesses. They’re now gone, and the world is again gearing up for more normal growth. It’s a slow process, but it is well on its way. The US economy has been in recovery-mode since mid-2013, and still has a lot of growth to look forward to. Europe has been reviving for more than a year. With these
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twin engines firing up, other markets are also reviving. The world is waking up, and the spread of growth is reinvigorating demand. The rise of activity is stoking a dynamic that has been present for years: the rise of the emerging market middle class. Millions are ascending into this wealthier cohort every year. China’s case is the most dramatic: it’s adding to its middle class by 35 million, the equivalent of Canadian population – every year. China is not alone. India is adding an estimated 10–20 million people to the middle class every year, with a stated goal to reach 30 million a year. Indonesia is adding 7 million a year, Brazil 5 million, and the list goes on. What is clear is that as people cross this income threshold, they consume more, and they consume higher quality goods. And they start with food. In general, they eat more meat. According to expert analysis, it takes seven to ten times the amount of grain to generate the same caloric intake from meat than from consuming the grains themselves. That sounds like the population trend is putting exponential pressure on the world’s crops. Indeed it is, in a way that puts upward pressure on the entire agri-food continuum, from raw crops and meats to processed foods of all kinds, agricultural machinery, fertilizer and farm process technology. Projections on meat consumption are fascinating. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), per capita meat consumption will rise worldwide through 2050, but most aggressively in South and East Asia. Multiply that by actual population, and for sheer volumes of meat consumption, East Asia – principally China – is a standout. By 2030, demand vaults well past the developed world, and continues at a torrid pace through 2050 [see graph]. FAO projections are clear: East Asia will not be able to meet its own demand for meat; it will have to increase its imports. Detailed calculations are available for the pork industry, and are fascinating. Growth in demand is dramatic enough, but what is even more fascinating is the implied growth in the import requirement. Between now and 2020, FAO numbers show that annual growth in imported pig
Ian Ross, President & CEO | Jim Ross, Chairman Clarke Walker, VP & COO Dr. Martin Clunies, Monogastric Nutritionist David Ross/Patti Bobier, Publishers
meat volume is 20 per cent, and this is net of price fluctuations. There’s very little in the world that is generating growth at that pace. It gets more dramatic: annual growth of required pig meat to China tops out at 27 per cent. Beyond 2020, things get even more dramatic. What role can Canada play? In the Chinese market, Canadian agrifood products are held in very high regard. Stamp a maple leaf on product, and it commands a premium, as it’s a symbol of quality and reliability that domestic Chinese products simply don’t share. Canada’s seafood industry has blazed a very impressive trail into the market, but it doesn’t stop there. Well-known Canadian experts in meat processing are saying that if Canada had a cold-storage meat facility in Southern China, it would be oversubscribed on day 1. And unlike other industries, China seems willing to have Canada control all aspects of production, from cradle to grave. There is more to consider on this topic but suffice it to say that the implications of this demand for China alone are astounding – and there’s a whole other world of demand on other shores. It seems that now is a golden moment for Canada as a prolific food producer, and for the pork industry in particular. n
NUTRITION’S ROLE IN MODERN SOW PRODUCTIVITY
by: DR. MARTIN CLUNIES, PhD., Swine Nutrition Group, Grand Valley Fortifiers & NATALIE LITVAK, B.SC., M.SC. Swine Nutrition Group, Grand Valley Fortifiers
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n previous articles titled “Modern Sow Productivity”, published in the 2015 Swine Grists, we outlined the key role that nutrition plays in eliciting the genetic potential of modern sows. From ensuring the number of eggs ovulated, embryo implantation, maintenance of pregnancy, increasing the viability/survival of pigs born alive, and improving the weaning weight of individual pigs; nutrition, like management, is linked to those critical days in the lifetime productivity of sows. Subsequent articles discussed the effect of nutrition on the onset of reproduction as it relates to initiation of estrus (ovulation
and implantation) and in a follow up article we discussed the effect nutrition has in gestation up to the point of farrowing. In this article we will discuss the effect of nutrition at the time of farrowing and on the lactation response of sows. The onset of lactation coincides with a number of physiological changes in the sow. First, during the peri-partum period the sow goes through a natural process of conserving body water for milk production. This results in a state of constipation, observed in most monogastric female mammals at birthing time. This constipation is a natural adaption. In the wild, the sow builds a nest to farrow the litter, which serves to protect and keep the litter warm during the early days following farrowing. Constipation reduces the risk of the sow contaminating the nest with feces or urine, and also reduces the need for the sow to leave the nest (leaving her litter unprotected) to defecate or urinate. Secondly, the sow initiates colostrum production and farrowing. During pregnancy, the diet provides most of the calcium required for fetal skeletal growth while during lactation the mobilization of bone mineral provides a larger proportion of the calcium required for milk production. With impending milk production, the skeleton of the sow becomes more metabolically active and provides most of the increased calcium required for farrowing and early milk production. This is nature’s adaptation allowing sows to remain in the nest with the litter during the early nursing period with no access to feed. Despite the lack of nesting in commercial sows, the physiological/hormonal adaptation remains. A “lazy” bone mineral, with low bone mineral turn over, may result in poorer farrowing and colostrum/milk flow for newborn piglets. Both these physiological events present production risks to the domesticated, commercial sow. Constipation often results in an increase in the number of piglets that are stillborn, and a larger percentage of sows experiencing MMA (metritis, mastitis and agalactia-lack of milk flow). The lack of early milk flow results in poor colostrum intake by piglets, which reduces the number of surviving piglets due to poorer initial piglet health and milk intake. Similarly, failure to mobilize calcium from bone mineral may also result in poor milk let-down. Dietary electrolyte balance (potassium + sodium - chloride) has an effect on the pH of blood and resulting urine pH. As dietary electrolyte balance decreases (more chloride relative to potassium and sodium) the blood and urinary pH decreases. A decrease in blood pH results in an increase in blood calcium, which results in more calcium available for muscle contraction and milk production. Milk production is partly determined by genetics and nutrition; if the feed does not provide the appropriate levels of nutrients, the sow or gilt will mobilize body stores to meet her requirements. The amount of weight the sow loses is indicative of her nutrient balance during lactation. At the onset of lactation, colostrum is rich in fat, protein and lactose. These nutrients are primarily provided by tissue mobilization, as feed intake is low at the time of parturition. As lactation progresses the amount of fat in milk decreases. From litter weaning weights, we are able to calculate the amount of energy and kg of feed required daily by the sow. For example, a sow weaning 12 piglets with an average weight of 6.0 kg at 21 days of age, weans a total of 72 kgs of piglet. With an average birth weight of 1.45 kg, the litter weight gain is 54.6 kg in 21 days or 2.6 kg per day. A 225 kg lactating sow then requires 34.92 Mcal of digestible energy per day or 10.21 kg of lactation feed daily (composed of corn, soybean meal with 30 kg of oil having 3.42 Mcal Digestible Energy/kg feed) to maintain body weight and produce sufficient milk for the litter. During a 21 day lactation period, sows would typically consume 7.8 kg feed per day of a lactation diet. As a result, these sows would lose 0.963 kg of body weight daily, or 20.2 kg for the lactation period. Gilts with still lower feed intakes would
be expected to lose even more weight. Most often milk output is determined/limited by the sow’s protein/ lysine intake. For each kg of litter weight gain approximately 27 g of dietary lysine is required. For a litter weight gain of 2.60 kg per day, 70.2 g of dietary lysine is required daily. Therefore, for sows with a typical intake of 7.8 kg of lactation diet, a lysine concentration of 0.90 % is required. Gilts consuming an average of 6 kg of lactation feed weaning the same litter weight and number of pigs would require approximate 69 g of lysine per day or 1.15 % dietary lysine. Most lactation diets formulated correctly should be able to meet the protein lysine requirements of sows and gilts.
There are two components to sow weight loss – fat reserves or muscle. Fat reserves provide more energy for milk production versus muscle, per kg. Therefore, sows with larger litter numbers will require more fat reserves to buffer the energy deficit of the feed. Sows with insufficient fat reserves will utilize muscle as a source of energy. The result will be 5 to 8 times greater weight loss as using fat reserves. A word of caution, sows that are too fat often fail to eat enough feed and may be put in a larger energy deficit than sow with proper body condition. Sows are more likely to be in a greater energy deficit, than they are to be in a protein/amino acid deficit. With increased weight loss there is a delay in return to estrus following weaning. Maximizing feed intake minimizes the weight loss during lactation. Furthermore, feed intake during the second week of lactation is very critical to nutrient balance and the hormonal signals which initiate the reproductive process in preparation for post-wean ovulation. The key hormonal signal is the surge in insulin in response to increasing feed intake during week two of lactation. Critically, sows that are fed poor diets and lose more than 10% of the body weight are more likely to have poorer returns to estrus and poorer subsequent litter numbers. The process of farrowing and lactation takes a heavy toll on the body reserves of the sow. As sow productivity and the number of piglets born alive increases the lactational burden also increases tremendously. It is likely that the sow will be unable to meet her daily energy requirements through feed intake during lactation, and this deficit may increase as genetics improve. Nutrition however, has the opportunity to increase milk production and milk quality. Understanding the physiology of the sow is crucial to effectively manipulate nutrition to the benefit of the sow and her litter. Nutrition during lactation has a huge effect on the subsequent return to estrus following weaning and the number of piglets born alive in following parity. If you are interested in taking a closer look at your lactation diets and sow performance, please contact your GVF Swine Specialist or contact our GVF Monogastric Nutrition Team by calling 1-877-625-4400. n
Swine Grist NEW BIOFORCE® PIGLET 200 & BIOFORCE® PIGLET 180 BASEMIXES by: DR. MARTIN CLUNIES, PhD., Swine Nutrition Group, Grand Valley Fortifiers & NATALIE LITVAK, B.SC., M.SC. Swine Nutrition Group, Grand Valley Fortifiers
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ecently, the Swine Nutrition Group at Grand Valley Fortifiers, along with nursery feed Nutritionists at Primary Diets (United Kingdom), have worked to review the performance of GVF’s older BioForce® Piglet 360 and 240 basemixes and to improve the lineup of products with new offerings. Our objective was to ensure the newest technologies were being delivered and excellent growth rates and feed conversions could be achieved by producers who insist on making mash nursery feeds on-farm with their own grains. The new BioForce® Piglet 200 and BioForce ® Piglet 180 basemixes are a result of improved understanding of the piglet’s digestive physiology and nutrient requirements for growth. These basemixes provide significantly higher levels of digestible proteins and amino acids, while using lower levels of soybean meal in the diets manufactured on-farm. The basemixes are formulated to provide a more ideal protein/amino acid balance for maximum weight gain, resulting in more efficient use of feed, with less nitrogen being excreted and less ammonia in the nursery barn. Similarly, the additives selected for use in these products are as a result of improved technologies; 1) the enzymes are more effective at degrading the soybean meal and corn for utilization by the pig; 2) the acidifiers used not only do a better job acidifying the feed but also taste better to the piglet; and 3) the sweeteners used are proven to provide better feed intake compared to previous generations of sweeteners and flavours. As a result, feed conversions on these new basemixes used in on-farm manufactured mash feed have been improved to between 1.20:1 and 1.35:1. In a series of trials with 425 piglets initially weighing 9.7 kg, piglets gained 438 g/day when fed home-made diets using the BioForce® Piglet 200 basemix, after consuming a pelleted starter feed (BioSure® Ignite™ or Surge™) for the first 7–10 days post-weaning. Similarly, a series of trials with 3,240 piglets initially weighing 10.49 kg demonstrated gains of 508 g/day when fed on-farm manufactured mash feed using the new BioForce® Piglet 180 basemix, after consuming a pelleted starter (BioSure Ignite™ or Surge™) for the first 7–10 days post-weaning. An additional benefit is a lower manufactured feed cost as compared to feeding BioSure™ pelleted nursery feeds through to a body weight of 14 kg. Producers are encouraged to get piglets off to a great start by feeding a complete pelleted nursery feed, such as BioSure™ Ignite or Surge, for 7–10 days to maximize early feed intake, prior to feeding the on-farm manufactured feeds. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about these new premixes please speak with your FNL Swine Specialist or call us directly at 1-877-625-4400 and ask to speak to a member of our swine nutrition group. n
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ENTREPRENEURSHIP
WITH A MISSION
by: JIM ROSS
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ver the years quite a number of our customers have suggested that I should write a book sharing the 55 year history of Grand Valley Fortifiers. And so, after much thought and prayer, we decided to give it a try. This book has taken almost 5 years to bring to completion. In no way do I pretend to be a professional author, but we think that you will find our story quite interesting as we share glimpses from some of our experiences over our 55 year history. These years have been exciting, challenging and very fulfilling. Our overriding goal has always been and continues to be, “to provide our customers with nutritional products which will result in the best possible production at the lowest possible cost.” We have titled the book Entrepreneurship with a Mission, for besides providing products which result in exceptional performance, we wanted to be able to assist in and support the work of Christian missions through various mission agencies. Becoming a provider of support in various needy countries has added depth and meaning to our day-to-day activities and has greatly enriched our lives as we have developed many long lasting relationships with some very outstanding people. It is our hope and prayer that our story will be a source of encouragement and might even challenge you to seek out opportunities where your life can be used to encourage and bless others. Our book is available and will be delivered to you, our customers by one of our sales specialists. If for some reason you do not receive a book and would like to have a copy, please contact Nicolette by calling (519)621-4400 and she will make sure you get a copy. Enjoy! n
NEW HIRE: SHANE STEFISHEN Fortified Nutrition is pleased to announce the hiring of Shane Stefishen as a Sales Support Representative in Manitoba. Shane lives in Teulon, and will be working alongside the Fortified sales team to service and grow our FNL customer base in Manitoba. Prior to joining our FNL team Shane was employed as a millwright and has had other experience working for employers in the agriculture industry. We are pleased to have Shane join us during these exciting days as Fortified Nutrition anticipates continued expansion. Shane officially joined FNL on Tuesday December 1st, 2015. Join us in welcoming Shane to the team. NEW HIRE: GILLES CHAPPELLAZ We are very pleased to announce the joining of Gilles Chappellaz of St. Claude, Manitoba to the Fortified Nutrition Limited team. Gilles has been working in the agriculture and livestock industry for ten years. Gilles recently spent a week in Cambridge, Ontario at the Grand Valley Fortifiers head office for nutrition training and also spent time visiting dairy and beef farms with GVF Dairy Specialists. Gilles will be heading up the development of new dairy and beef business for FNL in Manitoba. This will require a continued team effort in the weeks and months ahead, but we look forward to becoming more involved in the dairy and beef industry in Manitoba. Gilles officially joined FNL on Tuesday October 13th, 2015. Join us in welcoming Gilles to the FNL team.
In order for us to help you prepare for the holidays, please be advised that our Christmas and New Year’s hours are as follows: Customer Service Hours Thursday, Dec 24 Friday, Dec 25 Monday, Dec 28 Thursday, Dec 31 Friday, Jan 1
Christmas Eve Christmas Day In lieu of Boxing Day New Year’s Eve New Year’s Day
CLOSED AT 2 PM CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED AT 4 PM CLOSED
We would like to wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season!
Thought for the Day
With the tragic, cruel events erupting in numerous countries around the world our hearts grieve as we witness the results of evil hearts. Hearts that have not experienced the love of God, hearts that do not know the real Christmas story; how God who loved the world, sent His only son Jesus, to die for the sins of mankind and that who so ever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. May we faithfully share this good news!
Bring on the benefits of BioSURE™
To each of you, from all of us at Grand Valley Fortifiers, we wish you a Blessed Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year.