F CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
Incorporating whole-cell yeast into a swine diet ADM Animal Nutrition™, a division of Archer Daniels Midland Company, is a leading provider of innovative products for the animal nutrition market including high-quality feed products, amino acids, supplements, premixes, custom ingredient blends and specialty feed ingredients to aid in optimising animal health and nutrition. The following is a Q&A with ADM swine nutritionist Dr Matthew Asmus, PhD, on the benefits of incorporating CitriStim®, a specialty ingredient proprietary to ADM Animal Nutrition™, in the diets of sows as well as its use with livestock, poultry and aquaculture.
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itriStim® is a proprietary, whole-cell yeast developed by ADM Animal Nutrition™ and currently used in more than 1,500 feed formulations for swine, ruminants, poultry, aquaculture, equine, rabbits, deer/ elk and game birds. ADM recommends an inclusion rate between two and four pounds per ton of CitriStim depending on an animal’s stage of production.
How is CitriStim® different from other yeast products on the market? CitriStim® differs from other yeast products in the fact that it is comprised of a unique, whole-cell inactivated yeast, Pichia guilliermondii. This specific strain of yeast has shown a high affinity for binding to bacteria along the intestinal tract, which greatly reduces the interaction between the bacteria and the gut wall. The reduced bacterial colonisation of the intestinal tract is thought to improve tight gap junctions in the intestinal lining and the overall gut health of the animal.
Why the focus on CitriStim® for sows?
Outside of disease, one of the largest challenges facing sow farms is low birthweight and nonviable piglets. A swine trial conducted at the University of Arkansas found that the inclusion of CitriStim® in the diets of sows not only increased the number of piglets born alive, it also reduced the percentage of piglets that weighed less than two pounds at birth, and increased the number of piglets weaned per litter (Figures 1, 2 and 3). Data from this study is based on an average sow feed intake of 800 pounds per litter, prices at the time of the study and a feeding of 96 | February 2018 - Milling and Grain
CitriStim® is a unique, whole-cell, inactivated yeast (Pichia guilliermondii) that is proprietary to ADM Animal Nutrition™ and can be used in diets for all phases and classes of animals.
CitriStim® at 0.2 percent in gestation and lactation diets (Table 1).
Have other producers seen similar benefits to those found in Arkansas trial?
Yes, multiple producers who have implemented CitriStim® have reported a reduction in low birthweight pigs and increased weaning weights. In addition, a number of producers have also reported that CitriStim® has helped resolve “underlying” issues in the sow herd including a reduction in the number of reoccurring outbreaks of E. coli scours in the farrowing crate. This is thought to be accomplished through CitriStim’s affinity to bind and excrete bacteria from the intestine and lower the overall bacterial challenge load to nursing pigs.
Aside from sows, are there benefits to using CitriStim® in the diets of other species?
With a growing global population and limited space and resources, it is important to develop products that improve feeding strategies and maximise efficiency. The utilisation of feed ingredients like CitriStim® is beneficial in a variety of species used for human consumption (swine, poultry, ruminants and aquaculture) because it works at the gut level where the vast majority of bacterial infections start. By utilising CitriStim® to improve gut health, we can help improve the overall efficiency of the animal. Known attributes of CitriStim® that apply across species include unique immune modulation and the ability to adhere to potentially pathogenic bacteria. Cost is always foremost in producers’ minds, and CitriStim® has a very favourable return on investment. So favorable that 25 percent of US poultry are fed diets containing CitriStim® throughout all life stages, including broilers