6 Hot Topics Concerned in Pig Feed Nutrition Technology Research in 2020 of China

Under AGP-free and ASF condition, the pattern of pig breeding has been reshuffled, and the breeding volume has recuperate rapidly this year. For better reduce costs and improve efficiency in pig breeding, feed nutrition technology continues to innovate just to solve the problems in actual production. The online forum and offline industry conferences in 2020 bring together some top notches in the industry and discuss the latest research results. Let's take a look at the six hot topics of pig feed nutrition technology around 2020!

● Background information

The poor digestion and absorption caused by high protein diet is the main reason of diarrhea under AGP-free condition.

——Low protein diet can regulate diarrhea

The prices of feed ingredients such as soybean meal and corn continuously hit new highs.

——Low protein diet can reduce costs

The tense international situation has made the contradiction of China's protein raw materials mainly rely on imports to become prominent.

——Low protein diet guarantees food security

● Core technical points

It is necessary to optimize protein supply structure, protein source selection, and amino acid balance at low protein diet.

The diet should be low protein and high net energy. The selection standards of the energy source. The net energy value of raw materials should be accurately evaluated.

● Researching Aspect

Protein supply structure: the structure should consider combination of protein, small peptide and amino acid.

Reduction of protein level: the protein contents should reduce 3-4% while supplementing essential amino acids, will not affect production performance; specific functional amino acids (threonine, tryptophan, glutamic acid, etc.) are beneficial to intestinal health.

Protein source selection: diversify protein sources is better than single source (in diet, the protein source should combine soybean meal, fermented soybean meal, fermented moisturize feed, soybean protein concentrate, enzymatic soy protein, fish meal, etc.)

Energy nutrition: energy value needs to be accurately evaluated from the raw material; starch needs to consider the proportion of branched and straight chain; fiber needs to consider the proportion of soluble and insoluble fiber.

Nutriments relationships: it needs to consider the interaction effect between low protein and high fiber.

● Source of research

China Agricultural University, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Feed Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Subtropical Institute, Sichuan Agricultural University, etc.

●  Background information

Large-scale cultivation continuously improve, and equipment, management, biological prevention and control significantly improved, thus the effect of health protection may be reduced. Under the premise of variety, equipment and management, the key to influence production achievement is nutrition, and the focus of nutrition in two directions:

——Avoid the negative effects of unreasonable nutrition design

——Nutritional diet enhances the ability of pig to resist various stresses (transfer, feed change, temperature variation, bacterial infection, toxin pollution, etc.)

● Core technical points

Intestinal health nutrition technology: analyze the influencing factors from the four major barrier functions of intestine, and take corresponding solutions.

Body health nutrition technology: analyze the influencing factors from the body inflammation, physiological oxidation, and take appropriate measures to solve.

●  Researching Aspect

Intestinal health: Protect the intestinal physical barrier and immune barrier under stress, reduce intestinal inflammation through anti-oxidation and anti-inflammatory, and protect the normal structure of the intestine.

Ingredients: plant extracts like pine bark polyphenols, trehalose, bamboo leaf extract, paclitaxel, pterostilbene, enzymatic hydrolyzed artemisia annua, fennel essential oil, etc.; organic acids; bioactive peptides; microecological preparations.

Body health: Improve animal antioxidant capacity under stress and reduce body oxidative damage. Increase the body's antioxidant capacity and antioxidant enzyme activity by supply anti-oxidant and anti-stress substances.

Ingredients: plant extracts, VE, VC, organic selenium, taurine, bioactive peptides, etc.

● Source of research

Mainly researches from Nanjing Agricultural University, Sichuan Agricultural University, Huazhong Agricultural University, etc.

● Background information

After antibiotics growth promoter (AGP) are forbidden to use in animal feed, the intestinal health problems of suckling piglets have become critical, diarrhea increased and production performance has decreased, complaints in the feed end market have increased and market competitiveness has decreased.

——The core of AGP-free feed design is to solve intestinal health problems

● Core technical points

Intestinal health technology: focus on the integrity of the intestinal structure and the balance of intestinal flora, analyze the factors affecting the two aspects and take corresponding measures.

● Research direction

Intestinal cell structure: regulate the balance of intestinal flora through sterilization and bacteriostasis.

Ingredients: zinc preparations (coated zinc oxide, zinc lactate, organic chelated zinc, etc.); plant extracts (essential oils, tannins, etc.); short-chain fatty acids (butyric acids); medium-chain fatty acids.

Intestinal flora balance: by promoting the development of intestinal villi and close connection between intestinal epithelial cells, repair damaged intestinal structure.

Ingredients: acid preparations (benzoic acid, organic acid combinations, etc.); microecological preparations (lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, bacillus, clostridium butyricum, etc.); prebiotics (oligosaccharides, oligosaccharides, yeast cultures, etc.) ).

● Source of research

All major domestic animal nutrition scientific research institutions and additive companies are concerned about the intestinal health of suckling piglets.

● Application

Comprehensive AGP-free program: ensure the balance of the intestinal flora without disorders, protect the structure of intestinal cells from damage, and take a comprehensive intestinal health strategy that can adapts, protects and repair the intestine.

Take specific measures: clean diets (reduce intestinal damage like antigens, toxins, oxidation products, spoilage products, etc.); diet with low protein and high digestibility (reduce intestinal digestion burden with high protein digestibility); extra functional additives ( use product like acid preparations, probiotics, plant extracts to protect intestine health).

Feed formula design: comprehensively consider nutrients, nutritional levels, nutritional structure, nutritional sources, functional additives, feed processing technology, and feeding management technology to ensure the intestinal health of piglets after the AGP was forbidden to use in animal feed. The first stage is to increases costs while maintain the quality; the second stage is to optimizes costs.

● Application

Large-scale feed companies or breeding companies such as Cargill, Nutreco, Haid, CP Group, Anbang, and Bunge.

● Background information

The price of feed ingredients keeps hitting new highs; commercial pig breeding period is about 4 to 5 months, and the feed consumption and cost account for more than 80% of the whole process.

——Low protein diet can reduce costs

The tense international situation has made the contradiction of China's protein raw materials mainly rely on imports to become critical.

——Low protein diet guarantees food safty

● Core technical points

It is necessary to optimize protein supply structure, protein source selection, and amino acid balance at low protein diet.

Low protein with high net energy, focus on the net energy value range of raw material; also need to consider the source and structure of energy raw materials, such as starch, fiber, and fat.

● Research direction

Protein nutrition: Reduce protein levels while add essential amino acids in the diet(branched-chain amino acids) does not affect production performance; protein sources should consider fermentation byproducts (rice bran meal, mulberry leaves, rapeseed meal, etc.); and about the diet interaction effect of protein and fiber in diet should also be considered.

Energy nutrition: accurately evaluate the energy value of raw materials and use net energy system. Starch contents needs to consider the ratio of branched and linear chains, fiber contents need to consider the source and the level(also need to consider the proportion of soluble and insoluble contents), and consider the function of oligosaccharides (raffinose, pectin, etc.).

● Source of research

Mainly based on the researches from Beijing Animal Husbandry Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Subtropical Institute, Jilin Agricultural University, Sichuan Agricultural University, etc.

● Background information

After the ASF epidemic, the scale of breeding continues to expand, standard of meat quality has improved. In this condition, slaughter companies becomes more strict in handling the pork quality, and also the pork is priced by quality.

—Commercial pig slaughter performance and meat quality affect the price and breeding efficiency

● Core technical points

Protein and fat nutrition technology: increase muscle protein deposition, reduce fat deposition, and improve slaughter performance.

Muscle antioxidant nutrition technology: enhance antioxidant capacity and improve meat quality (hot research topic ).

● Research direction

Mechanism of muscle oxidative damage: study the physiological mechanism of oxidative stress under different conditions (hot, cold, and high ammonia environment) resulting in reduced meat quality.

Effective measures to enhance muscle antioxidant capacity: research on the effect of different active ingredients (bioactive peptides, linseed oil, taurine, mulberry leaf flavonoids, chlorogenic acid from Lonicera japonica, etc.) on muscle quality.

● Source of research

It is mainly based on the research of Beijing Institute of Animal Husbandry of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Sichuan Agricultural University.

● Background information

After non-diseases sows are quickly restocked, the total amount of breeding continues to increase, improving the reproductive performance of sows and enhancing the health of sows (especially, inevitable stress factors such as physiological stress, feed oxidative stress, and environmental heat stress, feeding restriction, group transfer, breeding and other management stress).

——Increasing the number of commercial pigs on the market provided by sows is the key to improving the performance of breeding.

● Core technical points

1. Boar

Improve boar semen quality and increase boar utilization efficiency.

Concrete measures: Fe, Se, Cd, arginine, methionine, polyunsaturated fatty acids and other regulation.

2. Reserve sow

Regulate the initiation of estrus and the development of follicles in gilts and improve the utilization efficiency of sows.

Specific measures: regulate and control by adjust low protein, high energy, dietary fiber, and feeding frequency.

3. Sows from late pregnancy to lactation

Nutritional technology to improve the reproductive performance of sows: provide sufficient milk synthetic raw materials to promote mammary gland development.

Nutritional technology to enhance the health of sows: relieve sow's progressive oxidative stress and protect normal function of reproductive organs.

● Research direction

Reproductive performance of sows: the effects of nutrients on reproductive performance of sows, such as amino acids (arginine, methionine, serine function and ratio with lysine), fatty acids (linoleic acid/linolenic acid ratio, Omega-3 fatty acid), fiber (consider the source and structure), vitamins (VD3, β-carotene).

Basis health condition of sow: the effect of functional ingredients on sow's health, such as plant extracts (resveratrol, quercetin, enzymatically hydrolyzed Artemisia apiacea, soybean isoflavones), bioactive peptides, organic selenium, yeast, oligosaccharides, etc.

● Research source

Mainly researches from Sichuan Agricultural University, Huazhong Agricultural University, South China Agricultural University, Northeast Agricultural University, etc.