Swine Grist - Spring 2018

Swine Grist

A PERIODIC NEWSLETTER PRODUCED

BY GRAND VALLEY FORTIFIERS LTD. VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1 SPRING 2018

Dear Friends, It is with much pleasure that we write to you as we begin a new crop year with its challenges and opportunities that lie before us.

Those of us who are involved in the production of pork look forward to playing our part in producing high quality pork products which are in demand around the world.

Each year, Ontario Pork searches out a person who has made a significant contribution to the success of the pork industry in Ontario and this year they kindly selected me to the be recipient of the 2017 Ontario Pork Award of Recognition. I would like to formally thank Ontario Pork for this award and all they have done to recognize outstanding contribution to our industry. It has been my pleasure and honour to serve the pork industry here in Ontario for 58 years. I also want to thank you, our industry partners and producers, for entrusting Grand Valley Fortifiers with the opportunity to provide nutritional solutions and expertise for your hog operations. In addition to the great satisfaction that I have had in working with so many customers, our company and staff have provided me with much joy and satisfaction as together we’ve served the pork industry. I thank all who have provided us with the opportunity to serve them and we look forward to working with you in the future.

Wishing you good farming this spring. Sincerely, Jim Ross, Founder & Chairman

HOW MUCH ARE DDGS REALLY WORTH?

by: BRUCE SCHUMANN B.Sc. (Agric.), M.Sc., Monogastric Nutritionist, Grand Valley Fortifiers Ltd.

A

s nutritionists, we are often asked to place relative values on ingredients, so that producers can make educated decisions on ingredient selections that will save them the most money. Corn Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS) is one ingredient that routinely comes up in discussion. Our Direct Source Commodities group produces a weekly Shadow Prices report that we created back in 2009. In this report, the current market value for a given commodity is listed and then right adjacent to it is the “shadow price” for that ingredient. The shadow price is the economic replacement value of an ingredient if it was to displace corn, soybean meal (SBM) and tallow in a ration. We include energy in this calculation because most producers, (with the exception of diets for dry sows and late grow finish,) will be putting in these new ingredients with the expectation that their performance will remain the same.

Therefore, when we look at the replacement value of an ingredient, we look at the relative nutrient specification value of metabolizable energy, lysine, total sulphur amino acids, threonine and tryptophan in that ingredient compared to those nutrients in corn, SBM and tallow.

We use metabolizable energy instead of net energy, because most producers are looking at the value of this product to be used in all areas of their farrow to finish operation. A single ingredient will have

Alberta 1-866-610-5770 Saskatchewan 1-877-242-8882 Manitoba 1-866-626-3933

DDGS

a different net energy value when it is being used in the nursery, grower, finisher, dry sow or nurse sow stage of production.

We also know that corn DDGS are inherently deficient in lysine, because corn itself is deficient in lysine, so when we place an economic value on our DDGS we include additional lysine (and its cost) into the shadow price. This does artificially inflate the value of DDGS, but it is still representative of the savings that can be obtained in the diet when included.

Since we developed our shadow pricing indicator, other companies in the industry have followed suit with their own similar price comparisons. While most companies are in agreement with our ingredient values, with DDGS, there seems to be discrepancies between companies on where the value of DDGS actually lies.

Back in January of this year we went through the exercise

Ian Ross, President & CEO | Jim Ross, Chairman Clarke Walker, VP & COO Dr. Martin Clunies, Monogastric Nutritionist David Ross/Patti Bobier, Publishers

of compareing our model against one of our competitors and validate them against the National Research Council’s 2012 nutrient specifications for the same ingredients (corn, SBM, DDGS and tallow).

Table 1.0 is a comparison of the value of DDGS if we consider amino acids (with supplemental lysine) and energy. It is evident that there is huge discrepancy in the estimation of DDGS value between our competitor and NRC where values are much closer between GVF and NRC. There is a good reason for this. Our competitor only uses a low DDGS ingredient in their price evaluator (presumably less than 4% fat), whereas our customer base is using DDGS from sources that average 9.1% oil. Our comparison with NRC uses their DDGS specifications with >6 and <9% oil. Our analysed metabolizable energy from our DDGS sources was about 3% higher than the comparative NRC book values, so if that was standardized, the estimated value difference between NRC and GVF would be ~ $3.00/MT. Table 1. Value of DDGS – Considering Amino Acids and Energy

Value of DDGS – Considering

Source

Value ($/MT)

Replacement Value Difference ($/MT)

Amino Acids and Energy

Cost of DDGS $232.00 Competitor NRC

$246.00 $301.00

GVF

$14.00

$81.00

$69.00

$313.00

When we only consider amino acids (lysine, total sulfurs, threonine and tryptophan) in the value of the DDGS (Table 2), you can see that the differences in estimated product value is much tighter between our competitor, NRC and GVF. This further substantiates that the difference in values that we see, when we consider amino acids and metabolizable energy, is due to the assumed energy content of the DDGS from each source.

Table 2. Value of DDGS – Considering Only Amino Acids

Source

Value ($/MT)

Replacement Value Difference ($/MT)

Value of DDGS – Considering Only Amino Acids Cost of DDGS $232.00 Competitor NRC

GVF

$295.89

$293.19

$291.65

$63.89

$61.19

$59.65

So who is right? As a company, it’s imperative that we have a solid understanding of the true energy content and amino acid profiles of the different DDGS sources that our customers are using. We know that the energy value of DDGS is quite variable from plant to plant. It is also well demonstrated that crude protein has a very poor correlation with the lysine content especially, and to a lesser extent the other amino acids in DDGS. That is why each year we invest a significant amount of dollars to test both the metabolizable energy and individual amino acids of DDGS from the major sources that supply our customers. This gives us real confidence that the shadow price value we provide to our customers is actually representative of the ingredients they are purchasing in the Ontario marketplace and helps them make the best economical decisions for their farm.

For more information, or to be included on our Shadow Price weekly email distribution, please contact your Direct Source Commodity representative today at 1-877-743-4412 or by e-mail: info@directsource.com. n

ONTARIO DISEASE UPDATE

by: GREG WIDEMAN, DVM South West Vets

W

inter 2017–2018 has been an active season for disease transmission and new infections with a number of pathogens, including PRRS, Mycoplasma, influenza, and PED. PRRS virus infection continues to be the most important disease reducing profitability and harming pig welfare in Ontario. The most common strains of PRRS in Ontario remains the mild “1-1-1” or “1111-1” family, which appear to spread readily between farms. In our practice we’ve had over 30 sow farms affected by this virus since 2015. Generally, the sows are not impacted too severely with this strain, with less than 10 abortions per 1000 sows reported in most cases, and no increase in sow mortality. The worst clinical signs with this family of PRRS usually occur in the suckling pigs and weaned pigs, including increased low viability at birth, increased secondary infections (scours and S. suis) and increased mortality.

In contrast to the mild 1-1-1 PRRS family, we’ve had a small number of more severe and concerning infections with different strains of PRRS in recent months. These strains fall into the ‘1-8-4’ and ‘1-3-2’ families and have been marked by severe sow clinical signs including mortality, and severe suckling piglet mortality up to 100% for a number of weeks. We are actively working to contain these severe strains, and we are encouraging any producer who is seeing abnormal challenges in breeding and farrowing to reach out for veterinary input to rapidly identify new cases.

The Ontario Swine Health Advisory Board (OSHAB) is now tracking new cases of PRRS in sow herds. This is a voluntary project but we are encouraging all of our producers to participate, since it generates such valuable information for the Ontario swine industry. Speak to your vet if you would like more information about how to contribute to, or access the information from this project. Below I have added a table of winter 2017–2018 PRRS cases reported to this project:

Table 1: Sow site PRRS breaks reported to OSHAB Sow Site Breaks per Month 2017/18 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

Jan

Feb

r

Ma

r Ap

y Ma

e

Jun

y

Jul

g Au

t

Sep

Oc t

v c No De

Jan

Swine Swine GGrist rist ENHANCING NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF WHEAT AND BARLEY USING ENZYMES

by: DR. SAMUEL WAITITU PhD., Swine & Poultry Nutritionist FNL

S

wine producers share a common concern in terms of increasing the profitability of their farms –that is, “can the same amount of grain fed to pigs yield more profit?” To a nutritionist that question translates to, “is it possible to improve the feeding value of grains for pigs?” The aim of this article is to address how the anti-nutritional factors present in wheat and barley can be reduced thereby enhancing growth performance and feed efficiency in pigs.

The major anti-nutritional factors in wheat and barley are soluble non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) and phytate. Pigs are not naturally equipped with digestive enzymes to degrade the soluble NSP and phytate but there is clear research which suggests that carbohydrases (fibre degrading enzymes) and phytase added to the diet can degrade them, respectively, and consequently enhance the nutritional values of these grains. Compared to corn, wheat and barley have a higher content of NSP but have relatively similar phytic acid content (Table 1).

Table 1. Non-starch polysaccharides content and solubility in grains Ingredient Total NSP (%) Figure 1: Danish-style entrance with foot traffic pattern evident PED in Ontario has been relatively quiet over the winter, with only a handful of new cases, and now “unknown” origin cases.

Careful attention to detail with transport equipment (farm-owned or commercially operated) continues to be a high priority for PED prevention, especially with trucks and trailers that we know have visited higher-risk sites such as U.S. sites, assembly yards, and Canadian slaughter sites. Wash protocols can slip over time; continuing to review protocols on a regular basis is a good investment of time and effort!

The PED cases that have occurred are contained, and are in the process of being cleaned up. Overall, we have seven new sites contaminated with PED due to recent outbreaks and required pig flow, and these sites all have containment and elimination plans in place.

In addition to transport risk, we continue to work with producers to shore up biosecurity defenses at the barn door. We recommend minimum Danish entrance procedure, which really translates to: 1) firm clean-dirty line where boots do not cross 2) coverall change and hand wash and/or disinfect. Changing boots to prevent outside health status (i.e. bugs) from entering the barn on feet is critical. Below you will see a picture of a bench dividing the clean and dirty sides of an entrance, and based on the distribution of lime, you can tell that the foot traffic pattern is incorrect. There should only be lime on one side of the bench, and none on top of the bench! Review your on farms’ entrance protocols to rule out any gaps that might allow outside bugs to get in as we enter the final month or two of high-risk season. n

Solubility of NSP (%) Phytate (%)

Corn 9.0 11.8 0.92 Wheat 11.3

21.7 0.85

Barley 18.6

26.1 0.97

Data adapted from Knudsen (2014) The anti-nutritive effect of NSP is associated with their solubility in water. As shown in Table 1, the NSP in wheat and barley are more soluble than that of corn. The soluble NSP’s of greater concern in wheat and barley are arabinoxylan and β-glucan, respectively, and they exert anti-nutritive effects in two ways. Firstly, being partially soluble in the gut, they increase digesta viscosity, which reduces the rate of digestion and absorption of nutrients, elevates microbial activity in the intestine, reduces feed intake and increases moisture in the litter resulting in sticky feces (Bedford, 1995). Secondly, since NSP form the cell walls and are indigestible in monogastrics, they prevent the release of nutrients from the cell (Zhang, 2001; Meng et al., 2005).

The anti-nutritive effects of arabinoxylan and β-glucan can be reduced by supplementation of xylanase and β-glucanase enzymes, respectively, in the rations. Combining xylanase and β-glucanase enzymes with other fiber digesting enzymes (e.g. cellulase, mannanase, and pectinase) have been shown to enhance the breakdown of NSP (Figure 1).

www.grandvalley.com

% NSP remaining after treatment

8.8% 6.9%

6.3%

6.5%

X

X+B

C

Control

5.5%

XBC

Carbohydrase enzymes

productivity and as such, the levels should be maintained.

Our suppliers have indicated that vitamin supplies are still extremely tight, the industry is still on allocation, however the prices have stabilized. In January 2018 we were able to secure some cost reductions on a few vitamins and passed those directly on to you, our valued customers. It is our understanding from our suppliers, that there may be some price relief during the summer (possibly July). Our commitment to you, is to reflect the lower prices as they become available. We are very pleased that we’ve been able to secure the volume of ingredients needed to supply our valued customers during this difficult period. n

Figure 1. Degradation of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) following incubation of wheat with different carbohydrase preparations. Control = No enzyme; X = Xylanase; X+B = Xylanase + Beta glucanase; C = Cellulase; X+B+C = Xylanase + Beta glucanase + Cellulase. Data adapted from Meng et al. (2014) On the other hand, phytic acid binds phosphorus and other trace elements hence reducing their bioavailabity and necessitating supplementation from other sources, which increases feed cost. In addition, phytic acid acts as an inhibitor to digestive enzymes thereby reducing digestibility of starch, protein and fat. Woyengo et al. (2015) reported that adding 2% phytic acid in weaned pigs rations reduced final body weight by 14.6%, average daily feed intake by 17.6%, average daily gain by 37.3% and feed conversion ratio by 25%.

Studies have shown that the anti-nutritive effects of NSP and phytic acid can be mitigated by supplementing NSP degrading enzymes and phytase, respectively (Bedford and Shulze, 1998). This has been shown to improve energy and nutrient digestibility, growth performance and feed efficiency, and to reduce feed cost and environmental pollution due to lowering of nitrogen and phosphorus excretion in manure (Omogbenigun et al., 2004). It is therefore possible to make more profit using the same amount of grain with enzyme supplementation. For these reasons, all our BioForce® line of products are supplemented with phytase and we will be launching a new product called TriForce that is a blend of enzymes, which will be available with or without Assure®. n

VITAMIN PRICE UPDATE

by: CLARKE WALKER VP & Chief Operating Officer

A

s many in the livestock industry are aware, in late 2017 we were informed of a worldwide crisis in the vitamin industry. A massive shortage of vitamins came upon us as a result of plant fires in Germany and India, and the Chinese government shutting down factories due to environmental concerns. These events resulted in shortages of Vitamins A, D, E and many B vitamins, causing unprecedented increases in cost forcing suppliers to declare “Force Majeure” and break supply agreements or put companies on strict allocation for their supply of vitamins. Many in the feed industry were extremely worried about acquiring enough vitamins to supply their established customer base with their vitamin requirements. This situation resulted in GVF putting through a price increase in the middle of December 2017.

Due to this shortage, many feed and premix manufacturers have reduced the vitamin levels in their products citing lack of ingredient availability and/or that they felt their products would be priced out of the market if they had maintained vitamin levels. Our philosophy has been to keep vitamin levels the same as they were prior to the shortage. We believe the vitamin levels established prior to the shortage were created for optimal growth, performance and

COMMODITY OUTLOOK by: STEVE MCGUFFIN

S

oy Bean Meal (SBM) and canola meal cash prices took a big jump in early February as futures rose significantly over approximately 18 trading days due to the drought in Argentina. Further support in SBM futures came from the USDA Prospective Plantings report which projected fewer acres in 2018 than the trade expected as it came in below last year’s acreage. The possibility of Chinese trade action against US soybeans has not yet adversely affected the futures market. With winter conditions dragging on into spring this year it does increase the possibility of some intended spring wheat and corn acres going into soybeans this year.

DDGS values have also strengthened supported by the higher meal market as well as tightening supply as ethanol plants are rotating through routine maintenance shutdowns.

The next USDA crop production report is scheduled for May 10.

If you have any commodity questions, needs, or would like to be added to our commodity price indication email distribution, don’t hestitate to call Alexa Main or myself at 1-877-743-4412. We are happy to serve you. You can follow us on Twitter @DirectSourceC. n

Thought for theDay “ Life is not a race – but indeed a journey. Be Honest. Work Hard.

Be Choosy. Say ‘thank you’, and ‘great job’ to someone each day.

Go to church, take time for prayer. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh. Let your handshake mean more than pen and paper.

Love your life and what you’ve been given, it is not accidental ~ search for your purpose and do it as best you can. Dreaming does matter. It allows you to become that which you inspire to be. Laugh often. Appreciate the little things in life and enjoy them. Some of the best things really are free. Do not worry, less wrinkles are more becoming. Forgive, it frees the soul. Take time for yourself ~ Plan for longevity. Recognize the special people you’ve been blessed to know. Live for today, enjoy the moment.”

Permission granted by Bonnie Mohr Studio, www.bonniemohr.com, “Living Life” Copyrighted