The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast

Feed prices continue to rise in the swine industry. With the constant fluctuations and unpredictability, we always need to evaluating the potential to use novel sources to provide pigs with nutrients. In this episode with Dr. Lee-Anne Huber, we talk about a black soldier fly larvae meal and its use in nursery diets, and its cost and availability. Dr. Lee-Anne Huber was raised on a mixed farm of be...

Nitrogen and ammonia emissions are a constant concern for animal sustainability as we increase the amount of pork produced around the world. However decreasing nitrogen emissions is often done by reducing the amount of crude protein fed, which can decrease performance. In this episode, Dalton Humphrey and I talk about his study providing benzoic acid to growing pigs to see how effective it is at d...

With fluctuations in pig diet ingredient costs, it is always prudent to have alternative feed ingredients priced and changes in gain and feed intake estimated in the event of a significant price increase of typical ingredients such as corn or soybean meal. In this episode, Caitlyn Sullivan and I discuss her trial of replacing increasing levels of corn with hybrid rye to see how it affects average...

Several studies have shown that feeding increased lysine soon after a health challenge can improve performance and help mitigate the negative effects associated with the infection, but how long after infection will those high lysine diets still be effective? In this episode, I talk with Kayla Miller about 2 studies she performed testing different nutritional strategies for poor health pigs, includ...

Several new research studies have demonstrated the mechanisms behind branched-chain amino acid transporters and nutrient utilization in pigs. Better understanding this concept can be crucial in some diets due to the high leucine content of dried distillers grains. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Woongbi Kwon about his study delving deeper into this topic, feeding elevated levels of leucine and tr...

When it comes to different pig preweaning parameters, which ones are the most important? That is a question that has had a variety of answers over the years, and hopefully after this study we can better understand exactly how large of an effect each parameter has. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Mark Knauer about his study with over 3,000 pigs that used linear modeling to measure how much of the...

Vitamins can sometimes be overlooked due to their cheap and easy inclusion in swine diets. With stabilization issues under certain conditions, we tend to put more in the diet than is required, but how much extra is everyone adding? In this episode with Dr. Jami Faccin, we talk about his survey of many large swine facilities in the United States and how he compared their vitamin inclusion levels to...

Transitioning the weanling pig onto solid feed presents several nutritional challenges, as the body has not been producing all of the required digestive enzymes until this point. In this episode, I talk with Brenda Christensen about her study testing different forms of creep feed and nursery diets with varying protein sources to see how it affects the mucosal enzyme activity and the intestinal mor...

With the looming threat of ASF and other issues potentially disrupting our normal feed supply chain, we must be prepared and have a proper plan to hold off our pigs until we can get more feed while avoiding the onset of gastric ulcers. In this episode, I talk with Kayla Miller about two studies she ran determining the efficacy of different feed supply management strategies and the effects of parti...

We continue to adjust amino acid requirements to meet best the needs of pigs for growth or protein synthesis. Multiple studies have shown that AA intakes above current requirements improve various body functions. That is the focus of Christian Ramirez’s work, and he and I talk about it in this episode to discuss how the performance of a gestating sow could improve with additional nutrients. Christ...

As we continue to genetically select for sows to produce more pigs, it is important that we ensure they are getting adequate milk from the sow, but there may be more ways to help this other than maximizing feed intake during lactation. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Chantal Farmer about her recent study on increasing lysine in the gestation period to further increase mammary development in gesta...

PRRSV and E. coli continue to remain a problem for farms everywhere, and nursery pigs, with their often underdeveloped immune systems, can take a major toll if infected. In this episode, I talk with Jenna Bromm about her work at Kansas State University studying the effects of alpha-linolenic acid supplementation in nursery pigs infected with PRRSV or E. coli to see if it can help alleviate the red...

Past studies have shown that increasing stocking density will decrease the performance of the pigs. However, when commercial systems are backed-up due to logistic issues or disruptions in the supply chain, barns may be stocked at a lower floor space allowance to avoid bottlenecks. In this episode, Chloe Hagen returns to talk with me about her study where she increased stocking density while also i...

Piglet mortality continues to be an issue for the swine industry and is one of the worst sources of economic losses in production facilities. Several studies have tried to identify new ways to decrease mortality to save producers money. In this episode, I talk with Kelsey Hammers about her study feeding zinc to sows at different timepoints during gestation to see how it affects piglet mortality. T...

Covid caused a lot of issues in the swine industry that we were unprepared for especially in regard to meat packing plants shutting down for periods of time leaving farmers with no one to sell their pigs at market weight. Hopefully something like this will never happen again, but if it does it is important we are prepared and have a plan in place. In this episode I talked with Chloe Hagen about he...

Nutrient recommendations constantly need to be reviewed and updated as genetics change over the years. Lysine, being one of the most critical nutrients pigs receive, definitely deserves some special attention. In this episode, Rafe Royall and I talk about his study identifying the optimal lysine level for grow-finish pigs to maximize growth and maximize income over feed cost for certain genetic li...

Accurately defining our nutrient loadings when formulating diets is essential for nutritionists. If we are not accounting for enough enough energy from hindgut fermentation, we may be over feeding energy during certain stages of production. In this episode with Dr. Ruurd Zijlstra, we discuss a study he conducted measuring the digestible and fermentable fractions of certain grains to hopefully more...

Zinc oxide is a wonderful tool for nursery pigs. However, there have been concerns about the environmental impact ZnO can have. Several research studies have been performed to identify potential alternatives to ZnO that are more environmentally friendly. In this episode I talk with Dr. Neil Jaworksi as we discuss a trial that he performed at Trouw Nutrition that may provide a viable alternative to...

Since 2019 some farms have been struggling with E.coli infections in nursery pigs that have been fairly resistant to antibiotic treatment. This has led some people, like our guest today, to look into alternative options for treatment and prevention. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Tsungcheng Tsai about his lab group studying the effects of lactylate and Bacillus subtilis on pig performance while...

During lactation the sow prioritizes her litter and will mobilize nutrients from her own body to adequately provide nutrients to her litter if she doesn't receive the proper amount of nutrients in her diet. That is why it is critical for nutritionists to formulate a diet to minimize weight loss in the sow while maximizing weight gain in the litter. In this episode, I talk with Dr. Julia Holen...

When it comes to identifying alternative feed ingredients there are many factors to consider beyond the base price. What is its nutritional value? How will it impact inclusion levels of other ingredients? Could it cause logistical complications? In this episode, I talk with Dr. Charmaine Espinosa about her study on the digestibility and nutritional value of high oil corn and the possibility to usi...

Carcass characteristics are the determining factor for the ultimate price you receive for your market pigs, so it only makes sense that they get necessary attention when genetically selecting your pigs. In this episode, I talk with Zack Peppmeier about his recent work at NCSU where he is working to develop a method for measuring backfat and loin depth with ultrasound technology. Could this be bene...

PRRSV and PEDV continue to be a major problem for swine producers as they pose a major risk to both the pigs’ welfare and the economical status of the farm. One potential risk of infection is through feed trucks that have recently delivered feed to another farm that is positive for PRRSV or PEDV. In This episode I talk with Dr. Grace Elijah about her study testing different decontamination methods...

Disease challenges are a very common problem farms have with nursery pigs due to the still developing immune system of the pigs at this age. There are many different methods to help increase herd health and maintain growth rates during infection. In this episode Dr. Dan Columbus and I discuss two of his recent studies where they fed increased levels of functional amino acids to nursery pigs to try...

A lot of recent research has highlighted the effects of having beneficial bacteria colonize the gut in young piglets. The difficult issue is finding a way to keep the population of beneficial bacteria high, while reducing the amount of harmful bacteria. In this episode Kayla Law shares her research with Clayton Chastain about different disinfection methods in sow gestation crates measuring the res...