Benefits of Precision feeding in pigs (Interview with Dr. Luciano Hauschild)

Dr. Edgar Oviedo: We are here at ISEP with Dr. Luciano Hauschild and he has come with several of his students to present the work that they are carrying out related to swine nutrition. I understand this work is mainly focused on amino acids and protein balance, is that right Luciano? Could you tell us a little more about your work?

Dr. Luciano Hauschild: First of all, I want to thank you for having me, and for the opportunity to talk a little bit about what we are doing in Brasil. I did part of my PhD in Canada where I began a collaboration working with precision nutrition and developing that system. We did many trials, but what we have seen during the validation of this system is that there could be a good opportunity to apply this system under farm conditions. Under such conditions pigs can face many challenges like disease, stress, etc. Taking this into account we began to think what we could do with this type of system to apply it under such conditions where variability amongst animals can increase significantly. Therefore, this is a scenario where precision feeding can work focusing on individual requirements, and we can provide a specific diet in regards to amino acids tailored to the individual. So, we can reduce the costs by maintaining the same levels of performance. What we are presenting here at the conference are the results of different studies that we have carried out, where we evaluated different conditions, different diseases, in terms of what could be the best amino acid profile for those animals. We have come with four students, and will be delivering five presentations later on today. That is mainly the job that we are doing here.

Dr. Oviedo: That is perfect. Luciano, could you tell us a little bit about the benefits that you have observed for swine producers when carrying out this amino acid balancing?

Dr. Hauschild: That is a great question. As I said before, based on our work with precision feeding under farm conditions and based specifically on amino acids, we have seen that variability in pigs increases 10 to 20% more under this type of conditions. When these animals have to cope with any kind of stress. Therefore, we can work with precision feeding systems for these animals based on different amino acid profiles, and we can significantly reduce costs as we are tailoring the diet towards the specific requirements of each individual. So, the main benefit that we have observed is a cost reduction in diets from 10 to 20%, when compared with a conventional system. Another benefit of working with precision feeding, is that we can identify when an individual is faced with a specific challenge. For example, the beginning of the growing phase is a challenging moment for pigs, as they are transferred into new conditions. Therefore, we can provide a specific diet for these animals during this phase. That is another benefit that we have seen in pigs.