Behind the Lines - October 2015

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Getting sow feed right is a challenge for farrowing barn operators. Underfeeding sows can lead to premature culling. Overfeeding leads to reproductive problems and poor milking, not to mention higher costs because of wasted feed.

It gets more complicated because of changes in genetics. How much fat is on that big sow? Is it enough to carry her through the next lactation in good shape to rebreed? This month's cover story focuses on Learn Farm near Tillsonb  urg, which is using technology and management to get the most out of their more muscular genetic sows.

Pork producer Graham Learn collaborates with other local producers who are benchmarking production to see where progress can be made. And he has a good handle on where he stands compared to other uses of similar genetics. He likes to see all of the various aspects of the industry working together and collaborating in recent years. He thinks the industry is better for it.

Our nutrition columnist Janice Murphy points to research I found surprising. It shows that the micronutrient contribution from common feed ingredients is an unknown and supplementation generally ignored when diets are formulated. Her column starts on page 12.

One of the challenges of our time has been producing pork without using antibiotics in weaner feed. With a scheduled phase-out just three years away, researchers at the Prairie Swine Centre show us how this can be done without risking production loss by changing the fatty acid profile in the feed of sows and their growing offspring. Look for that research starting on page 15.

On that same theme, columnist Norman Dunn notes that "bacteriophages," dubbed "killer viruses," can help avoid the development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. His Eye on Europe column starts on page 26. BP

ROBERT IRWIN