Swine Grist
A PERIODIC NEWSLETTER PRODUCED BY FORTIFIED NUTRITION LTD. VOLUME 8, ISSUE 4 | WINTER 2021
Dear friends, Christmas greetings from all of us at Fortified Nutrition and the GVF group of companies! Typically, it is this time of year that we have the wonderful opportunity to visit with many of our Prairie based customers and friends at the Hog & Poultry Days in Winnipeg or Brandon – something we look forward each year. Disappointedly, this industry gathering was cancelled for a second year in a row due to COVID restrictions and we are having to rely upon this Issue of the Swine Grist to pass along our greetings and information updates. Notwithstanding sporadic pork harvest and processing capacity challenges in this country, 2021 has been a year of strong pork prices albeit alongside more expensive feed costs, but when one reads Dr. John Carr’s article, providing an update on China and considers the current pork market in Europe, again Canadian pork producers have a great deal to be thankful for this year. The reality of expensive feed costs brings the importance of ADG and FCR to the fore so I believe that you will appreciate the article co-authored by Dr. Samuel Waititu and Victoria Seip, sharing of the performance of BioForce® based grower/finisher feeding programs in the Prairies. As we near the end of 2021, all of us at Grand Valley Fortifiers are thankful. We are thankful for the opportunity to work so very closely with many of the Prairie provinces’ dedicated pork producers. I know that I speak for our entire team when I wish you and your family a very blessed Christmas and a new year in 2022 filled with good health, and success in your farming endeavors. Sincerely, Ian Ross, President & CEO
WHAT’S GOING ON IN CHINA?
by: DR. JOHN CARR BVSc PhD DPM DiplECPHM MRCVS
we have a farrowing rate of 86%, total born of 14.5 and weaning 11.5 pigs at 7.2 kg weaning weight at 28 days for Yorkshire/Landrace pigs.
A
s a pig veterinarian my views on the planet and politics are skewed through the lens of pigs. There has been many major changes In the swine industry over the last 20 years. While the title is about China, a better title is What’s Going On in South East Asia! While China is at 1.5 billion people there is at least another 700 million people in the adjacent countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines – which is nearly the size of Europe. In many parts of Asia the pig is the favourite meat with China eating 36+ kg of pork per head of capita - which at one pig per 3 people, is a demand of 500,000,000 finishing pigs per year! The major issues which are impacting the Asian pig industry include three key areas which I think interest Canada.
Genetics
The ‘hyperprolific’ sow. Asian pig farms are fascinated by the idea of pigs per sow per year. While I personally encourage more of a ‘cost of production’ focus, the rise of hyperprolific sows with 17+ total born is very appealing. However, many Asian farms really do not have the infrastructure or training to manage these large litters. The average output of 15 pigs is obviously well below even the 24-26 psy which is achieved, in reality, on many farms in the West. But the increasing adoption of Canadian and European genetics allows the Asian herd to catch up. If they double their pigs per sow per year – they only need half the sows – this becomes relevant as they recover from African Swine Fever. But do not underestimate, as the performance on well managed Chinese farms can be quite respectful. On the farms I look after (12,000 sows)
Great looking pigs 24 days old, Note the combined litter to enhance post-weaning feed intake and improve socialisation of the pigs
On the other hand, the Chinese genetics has taken a major toll with the advent of African Swine Fever which has wiped out many many farms. While there may be females on pig farms, I see many of these pigs being finishing pigs and not actual replacement gilts. These can act as a stop gap but will obviously need to be replaced and will slow down the recovery.
Building
The Asian industry is in flux with a lot of money being made in the last 3-4 years and tremendous amounts of money also being lost in the last 3-4 years. The recent collapse of the Chinese market has made many producers bankrupt or hesitate at least. But, the love of pork will keep the industry essential. But with massive flux comes innovation and new ideas. Some of the projects I have been working on include the use of batching for pathogen control and new building concepts.
Samuel Waititu, Ph.D. | Saymore Ndou, Ph.D. Monogastric Nutritionists
Ian Ross, President | David Ross, VP & CMO Martin Clunies, Ph.D. | Bruce Schumann | Adam Totafurno |
AB/SK: 1-866-610-5770 | MB: 1-866-626-3933 fortifiednutritionltd.com
Youngji Rho, Ph.D., Monogastric Nutritionists Michael Peckover, Layout Editor
Batching
If you wean a 250 sow batch unit once a week (5000 sows) you need 52 inputs of semen or 52 exports of trucks away from your farm each year. Each of these contacts with the farm increases the risk of introduction of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) or even African Swine Fever (ASF). But if you run the same farm once every 4 weeks – you have the same output – now a 1000 sow batch unit once every 4 weeks, but you only need 13 inputs of semen and 13 exports of trucks per year!
Europe in the 1970-1990’s. It can still be found today in Africa and in Sardinia where they are still trying to eliminate the virus from the 1970’s. The type found in China is very similar to a strain from Portugal in 1988 and I believe this is another attempt at a ‘vaccine’ strain. The disappointment is that the immunity offered between different ASF type is poor at best. But this latest news from China is extremely disappointing as it makes the goal of ASF control further into the future.
Building design
While not ‘new’ the Asian market is seriously looking into multistorey farming. Currently these are 5-8 floors with farrowing sows on the top floor moving to finishing pigs on the lower floors, possibly even with a slaughter plant on the lowest floors. These designs will greatly increase the biosecurity and thus enhance the pathogen control programme on the farm. The vertical rise takes the pigs off the ground removing them from any contact with wild pigs and casual human contact both major ASF risks. Having one door in and out will increase security of staff movement. Having a 3D farm rather than the current 2D farm model obviously means that less ‘land’ is used to farm the pigs. This land can then be released for crop production or wildlife. This might become more appealing as the world moves towards more sustainable farming ideas.
Biosecurity signs in Sardinia airport where you cannot take pig meat out!!!
The other pathogen of major concern is PED, as it is for the Canadian pig industry. This is another serious constraint and is forcing re thinking in biosecurity and pig flow on many farms.
Summary
Health
Multistorey pig farms in China. Pigs move by lifts.
Asia has a serious issue with pathogen control. This is not just African Swine Fever which continues to destroy the Asian pig sector and will not go away. But, even before ASF exploded on the scene, Asia has had serious health issues. Often associated with the high pig density and poor biosecurity concept.
African Swine Fever
The move of ASF across Russia and then down into South-East Asia has held our gaze for several years. The disease has progressively moved South, all the way to Papua New Guinea and threatens the Australian pig industry. Power houses of pork production from China to the Philippines have been seriously destroyed and this continues. Asia is desperately trying new ideas to save their pigs. I still rely on depopulation and cleaning, but a recent outbreak in Myanmar I have had to ‘farm’ the ASF outbreak by having to use the surviving 30% of sows and a partial depopulation because there aren’t any local or international breeding stock available. The situation in China has become more complex recently with the development of modified ASF type 2 strains which are clearly vaccine candidates and the introduction of a ASF type 1 strain. So in China we now have a highly virulent ASF type 2 virus. Which can kill 70% of all stock on the farm and all age groups. This modified ASF type 2 virus has multiple gene deletions which kills 10-20% of the stock. This is much better than 70% but still horrible. This form produces little fever – complicating the diagnosis. This modified virus still moved between pigs and the mortality was unacceptable. Thankfully, in my own experience, we were still able to eliminate the virus from the farm. But now we have a whole new virus a ASF type 1 virus. This virus type (there are 24 different ASF types) was responsible for a major outbreak in
Asia is a fantastic part of the planet and full of wonderful people and great pigs, including some really unusual local species of pigs – not just our domestic pig! The pig in Asia is under threat and as a major source of food, this threat is also impacting people and the way of life. Canada can assist Asia as an exporter of food, genetics and technological ideas. There are current serious impacts of economics, but as this demonstrates we are all part of the global pig industry and what impacts on farm impacts us all. n
ELECTRONIC SOW FEEDER & PRECISION FEEDING
by: YOUNGJI RHO, PH.D. Monogastric Nutritionist, Grand Valley Fortifiers
A
lthough the deadline to convert sow stall housing to open sow housing has been extended to 2029, the decision to eliminate sow stall housing is concrete. Therefore, types of open housing systems (mainly feeding systems) are of increasing interest and importance. One unique system that allows precision feeding of individual gestating sows housed in group is called an electronic sow feeder (ESF). The ESF system is a computer-controlled feeding system that detects each sow by its radio-frequency-identification (RFID) ear tags. The RFID tag can record how many times each sow has visited the feeder, how much feed was dispensed and their body weights. By monitoring these recordings, it helps identify sows that are not eating, so they could be checked for health or other issues. Not only that, a unique tool of the ESF system is the boar pen with openings for boar to sow contact. With the RFID tag, the number of contacts made signals a sow in heat. Most ESF barns follow a similar barn pattern or design, with a number of choices following the initial layout. One sow feeding station will service approximately 50 sows. In general, two groups are established; 1) gilts and first litter sows and 2) older, multiparous sows. As aggression related to establishing a social hierarchy is inevitable, grouping sows into these
Swine Grist groups allows for more fair competition and less fighting. In order to utilize the ESF to its fullest, it is important to train the gilts in the gilt development unit (GDU) before they enter group pens. Due to the stressful nature of training, farmers should train the gilts prior to entry and not after they are bred. It is suggested that gilts should be in the GDU for 2-3 weeks, however, longer training time can be beneficial. One of the values of ESF training is when farmers spend time with the gilts. By walking amongst them, fighting sows, injured sows and any sow needing treatments can be identified quickly. Not only that, sows trained to use the ESF are much easier to move from stall to group pens and out to the farrowing rooms. Calmer sows mean a calmer farrowing. The importance of precision feeding has been well documented as both nutrient and energy requirements change dramatically during gestation and between parities. However, it is very common to see farms feeding one diet to sows throughout the entire gestation, with some modification by increasing or decreasing the feed allowance based on sows’ body condition. Providing a single diet throughout gestation does not meet the dynamic changes in energy and nutrient requirements throughout gestation, which can result in health and reproduction issues. Gilts require more energy towards maternal growth compared to higher parity sows, as they have not reached their mature body weight while also providing energy and nutrients for the growth of conceptus. Conversely, in older parity sows, although the energy requirement is lower towards maternal growth, a significant amount of energy is needed for maintenance due to their increased body size while developing their litter (Figure 1). Therefore, gilts and older parity sows should not be fed the same. Figure 1. Predicted energy requirement during gestation of gilts and 4th parity sows according to NRC (2012). Figure adapted from Solà-Oriol, D, and J. Gasa. (2017).
9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Day of gestation
Figure 2. Predicted protein deposition in 6 distinct pools throughout gestation according to NRC (2012). Figure adapted from Goodband et al. (2013).
Goodband, R. D., Tokach, M. D., Goncalves, M. A. D., Woodworth, J. C., Dritz, S. S., & DeRouchey, J. M. (2013). Nutritional enhancement during pregnancy and its effects on reproduction in swine. Animal Frontiers, 3(4), 68-75. NRC. 2012. Nutrient requirements of swine. 11th revision ed. National Academy of Sciences Press, Washington D.C. Solà-Oriol, D., & Gasa, J. (2017). Feeding strategies in pig production: Sows and their piglets. Animal feed Science and technology, 233, 34-52.
4th parity Normal Energy requirement, Kcal EM/day
Energy requirement, Kcal EM/day
1st parity Normal 10000
feeding level, body condition should be scored post-weaning, mid (between d 50-60 of gestation) and late gestation (around d 90). Although the ESF can aid with healthier and more productive herd, to achieve full potential, accurate herd record keeping and monitoring is essential! n
10000
EVALUATION OF THE BIOFORCE® GROWER-TO-FINISH FEEDING PROGRAM: A CASE STUDY (PART 1)
9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0
Fetal, placenta, fluids & mammary Matternal gain Maintenance 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Day of gestation
But, regardless of parity, there is an exponential increase in amino acid requirements in the last trimester of gestation due to exponential fetal growth as shown in Figure 2. Therefore, it is clear that the changes in energy and nutrient requirements for sows throughout gestation and across parities are not adequately met by feeding a single diet for the entire gestation. Some of the available ESF systems in the market have the capability to blend two diets, which allows sows to be fed closer to their requirement throughout gestation. The ESF has two feed lines feeding the hopper above the feeders. This gives the producer two ration options for the sows. Typically, the 1st feed is a lower energy, protein, and higher fiber diet. The 2nd diet is a higher energy and protein diet. The blended diets are dispensed by the computer, which is connected to the ESF that can be manipulated by the producer. The diet blend can be tailored to specific sows’ nutrient and energy needs. It should be noted that grouphoused sows with greater activity levels require greater energy than stallhoused sows and it should be accounted for when diets are formulated and blends are inputted into the system. Meeting the energy and nutrient requirements of individual sows can increase longevity, as sows stay in the herd longer without reproductive complications. However, monitoring sows and their body condition is critical, in order to make changes to feed allowances and composition to correct for under or oversupplying. Adjustment should be made to aim for body condition score of 3 by mid to late gestation. To ensure proper
by: DR. SAMUEL WAITITU, PH.D. Monogastric Nutritinoist, Fortified Nutrition Ltd. and VICTORIA SEIP Livestock Business Intelligence Manager, GVF group of companies
W
e have had tremendous success in our nursery feeding program primarily due to the continuous rigorous assessment and evaluation of its effectiveness by hundreds of trials both at renown research stations and commercial farms. Our philosophy as a nutrition company has been that a well-developed gut structure and fortified immune system in the nursery assures better transition to grower rations, higher daily gains, and lower feed conversion without using expensive immune system stimulating additives or medications, for maximum profitability. For almost a decade since the launch of the BioForce® feeding program at Fortified Nutrition Limited (FNL), our philosophy has repeatedly been proven in numerous farm trials but it has been our desire to provide data from a detailed case study. About a year ago we found a trusted partner in Western Canada with the right combination of space, equipment, data collection platform and phase feeding design. Our partner powers their nursery with BioSure™ creep, BioForce® Piglet 180 and 50, hence rendering a perfect experimental platform devoid of any confounding variables, that is, from farrow to finish the pigs are 100% on FNL feeding program.
for tifiednutritionltd.com
Diets Design
The grower to finish stage has 7 feed phases. The first 5 phases receive wheat-barley-soybean meal-based diets with incremental amounts of canola meal from the second phase upwards. The last 2 phases receive barley-canola meal-based diets, barley being at more than 80% inclusion rate. All the rations are supplemented with the BioForce® Grower Finisher 5 kg Micro customized for a higher vitamin E and selenium content for antioxidant power and immune system reinforcement. The program takes advantage of our powerful phytase dosage to trim down the mono-dical phosphate, limestone and oil inclusions to less than 2 kg, less than 6 kg and 0 kg, respectively, per tonne of complete feed at the last 2 finishing stages. For the 9 month period being reported, the rations specs have remained the same except for three adjustments (in December 2020, February 2021 and March 2021) on the last finisher stages to regulate backfat.
Phase transition
As shown in Table 1, the pigs are weaned at an average body weight of 9 kg and they transition with ease from the nursery to finish. For this type of program, without supplementation of growth promoting additives, it is impressive to hit a target live weight of 129.9 kg in 164 days. Table 1: Transition of pigs from weaning to finish (average of 9 months) Description
Birth to Weaning
Nursery
Grower
Finisher
Average Age of Pigs Out (days)
27.4
67.0
135
164
Average Days in Phase
27.4
39.6
68
29
Average Live Weight Out (kg)
9.0
32.5
98.3
129.9
Growth Performance
On a monthly basis, numbers are submitted to FNL to be analyzed for growth and performance. With this being a continuous flow system, feed data is recorded continuously in Swine Books Pro software and then incorporated into the production data biannually for an accurate representation of feed conversion for the farm. A PigScale which allows voluntary pig weights is also currently in one of the grower rooms and daily gain is monitored on a continual basis. Overall, the results achieved are extremely consistent, with little variation between room or month. Pigs are weighed going into the grower as well as into the finisher so number of days and gain in each location along with cumulative data is calculated. Results can be seen in Table 2. These results represent averages taken from a population of 16,616 grower pigs.
Conclusion
In one of the proverbs, King Solomon said, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” That is the spirit with which we share these results. We have faithfully tested our feeding program, not for praise but to unveil it’s strengths and weaknesses so that we can make improvements that align with our goal of increasing productivity and profitability on-farm. Looking at Table 2, three key observations stand out. The 2.17% average mortality rate in the grower to finish stage and 3.01% wean to finish mortality (not shown in Table 2) is commendable in an operation that does not use in-feed antibiotics. It tells of a high level of sanitation and biosecurity standards at play in the farm. A 1 kg overall daily gain and 2.84 FCR may not break a record in a market dominated by corn-soybean meal based diets and fatter pork premiums. However, when shipping to a market where leaner pork has best premiums, slowing down the growth of pigs by switching them to a high fibre, low energy barley based rations is intentional, not accidental. From the later perspective, comparing apples to apples, considering no use of medication and other growth promoters, these results characterize a well balanced and efficient feeding program that has room for improvements. In our spring edition, we will be sharing results on the carcass quality, so stay tuned to the Swine Grist. For any questions or consultations on our BioForce® Grower to Finish feeding program, please consult our FNL nutrition team. n
Table 2: Growth performance of pigs (average of 9 months)
Thought for the Day Christmas Reflection: Mary’s Magnificat “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” (Luke 1:46–55) Mary, the soon the be mother of Jesus, shares this special song we now know as “The Magnificat”. In it she reveals a very remarkable thing about God: He is about to change the course of all human history; the most important three decades in all of time are about to begin. The birth, 33-year life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, will transform the relationship mankind can have with Creator God for all eternity. This Christmas I invite us all not to forget the significance of the season we love to celebrate. — Adapted from John Piper’s Daily Devotionals