NUTRITION: Bulking up with wheat straw improves sow and litter performance

Research from eight U.S. experimental stations indicates that sows fed a wheat straw diet farrowed and weaned more pigs per litter and had greater litter birth and weaning weights than sows on a control diet

by JANICE MURPHY

It is generally accepted that restricting feed intake during gestation is necessary to limit excessive weight gain and fat deposition, stimulate lactation feed intake and increase overall sow productivity.