With the changing global climate, many people are becoming more aware of how they impact the environment on a day-to-day basis. And the same goes for horse owners, as more and more equestrians explore sustainable horse farm management practices.

While achieving sustainability in the equine industry may seem daunting, the good news is that there are many avenues for us to explore, and each one makes a difference!

If your horse is boarded at a facility, you may not have control over some common environmental pitfalls, such as manure management or preventing overgrazing of horse pastures. However, almost every horse owner has some say in their horses’ nutrition, and luckily, with a few easy changes, your horses’ diet can become more environmentally friendly.

Trace mineral supplementation in horse feeds

Since they only make up around 2% of a horse’s diet, minerals are often underestimated — but they are actually responsible for hundreds of thousands of functions within the horse’s body, from the development of joint cartilage to maintaining healthy hair and hoof quality.

In the equine digestive system, the bulk of the vitamins and minerals included in the diet are absorbed in the small intestine and taken into the bloodstream to be distributed throughout the body for use.

Macrominerals or major minerals, such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride and sulfur are required in larger amounts than the microminerals or trace minerals, which include copper, zinc, manganese, iron, selenium, cobalt and more. But while the requirements for trace minerals might be smaller, they are majorly important for horse health. 

While hay and pasture grass contain vitamins and minerals in varying levels, depending on the soil quality, processing, region, etc., horses often require additional supplementation for optimal health, which is why grains and other supplements are generally formulated with minerals.

Providing adequate amounts of minerals — but not too much — is best for the environment

Interestingly enough, horses are unable to store large amounts of excess minerals in their bodies, and research has shown that exceeding 100% of their mineral requirements results in higher mineral excretion (i.e., mineral-rich manure), which has important environmental implications.

In her presentation at the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference in June, Dr. Mieke Holder explained what happens when excess minerals are fed to horses. In a brief nutshell:

1. Horses produce about 50 pounds of manure per day.
2. That manure sits outside in pastures or is picked out of stalls but is then left to compost outside.
3. When fecal material gets wet from any type of precipitation, the minerals that have been excreted begin to solubilize.
4. Excess minerals can run off and join surface water or move through soil layers (which is known as “mineral leaching”) and end up joining the underground water supply.

The other piece of the mineral puzzle lies in fecal microbial organisms. Recent research from Dr. Holder’s lab has shown that the bacteria in the feces accumulate some of the minerals that are excreted. Providing minerals in a form that encourages accretion, or “feeding,” by fecal bacteria should continue to be explored, as that appears to decrease the amount of minerals leaching into soil and water.

To bring it all together, Dr. Holder’s research has shown that providing increased levels of trace minerals in horses’ diets also increases the levels of phosphorus that leach from those diets. Given that phosphorus is an element of great environmental concern, it is crucial that minerals are not only fed at the appropriate levels but in bioavailable forms as well.

Organic minerals for horses

Dr. Holder defines organic minerals as minerals that are bound to a ligand carrier, such as a protein or amino acid chelating agent. Several examples of organic trace minerals are those offered by Alltech as Bioplex® (copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt and iron) and Sel-Plex® (organic selenium). In contrast, inorganic minerals are complexed with a compound, such as a carbonate, chloride, sulfate or oxide.

While research over the years has shown varied results in terms of the differences between organic and inorganic minerals in horses’ diets, several compelling studies have shown that organic minerals are absorbed at higher levels and are more readily usable by the horse’s body than their inorganic counterparts. When organic minerals are absorbed at higher levels, that also means that fewer minerals are excreted, which can help protect the environment.

For example, glutathione peroxidase, a selenium-dependent antioxidant enzyme, showed increased activity after exercise in horses fed Sel-Plex® versus horses who received inorganic selenium (in the form of sodium selenite).

Other recent research has shown that supplementation with organic trace minerals can help improve joint cartilage indicators and antioxidant activity in growing horses.

Given that we want our horses to be around for many more years than the typical production animal, the fact that there is evidence indicating that organic trace mineral supplementation can help maintain horses’ health, development and performance is notable.

Minerals as an equine management tool

Thanks to Dr. Holder’s presentation, we know for sure that:

• Horses have mineral requirements that are often unmet by forage alone. Trace minerals, despite only being required in small amounts, have great value in preventing health problems.
• Feeding excess minerals to horses is not only financially wasteful but also has a negative impact on the environment.
• Prioritizing high-quality mineral nutrition for our animals may not be the most common or well-known route for minimizing our environmental impact, but it could make a huge difference.
• As a horse owner, you can read your horses’ feed and supplements labels to learn whether the trace minerals included are offered in an organic form, which can be identified by names that often include the words “proteinate,” “chelate,” “amino acid complex” or “methionine.”
• Seek to feed the best-quality nutrition, not only for your horses’ health and performance but to help mitigate any environmental hazards as well.

To learn more about the benefits of equine trace mineral nutrition, watch Dr. Holder’s entire presentation at the 2021 Alltech ONE Ideas Conference.

If you are interested in providing your horse with a superior nutrition program while still protecting the environment, Alltech’s Bioplex® trace minerals are a great place to start. Email equine@alltech.com with any questions.  

I want to learn more about nutrition for my horses.

If your pet food company produces balanced diets for puppies and kittens, you know that it is not always easy to differentiate yourselves from the competition.

With numerous options at the neighborhood pet food store and on the increasingly popular e-commerce sites, new pet parents are often bombarded with decisions. Should they go with raw diets for puppies? Dry or wet food for kittens? High-protein diets? Vitamin and mineral supplements?

Ultimately, you want pet consumers to choose your nutrition programs. Let’s look at three ways to make sure that your puppy and kitten diets stand out on the shelf.

1. Beware of the “high-protein” hype.

Yes, puppies and kittens have nutritional requirements that include high protein and calorie levels, but be wary of oversimplifying this message.

Protein sources are not created equal, and claiming that a food is “high protein” is not as important as the levels of essential amino acids that are present in the diets of young kittens and puppies.

Protein requirements for puppies and kittens are really requirements for higher levels of high-quality protein. Do your best to convey to consumers that your pet food brand contains excellent-quality protein from a traceable source that specifically meets the needs of a puppy or kitten.

Furthermore, taking a step backwards, a growing animal’s body also requires nutrients that support its cells’ ability to produce proteins.

Nutrients such as nucleotides, which are the molecules that make up an animal’s genetic material (DNA and RNA), are in high demand throughout the animal’s life, but never more so than during the growth phase, when the gastrointestinal and immune systems are developing quickly.

Nucleotides are found in high levels in the mother’s milk, but young companion animals still have an increased need for nucleotides, even after weaning. Research has shown that nucleotide supplementation in puppies increases their immune systems’ capacity to respond to dangerous diseases, such as parvovirus.

Arming your pet food with the organic molecules and amino acids that really matter for growth and development in puppies and kittens, such as those found in Alltech’s NUCLEO-SACC™, will deliver real results for your consumers and, ultimately, the pets they love.

2. Make it palatable.

This may seem fairly obvious, but reduced food consumption in growing kittens and puppies can lead to major growth and developmental problems.

It is important to communicate to pet owners that while the desired growth rate for both puppies and kittens is “slow and steady” so as to prevent the over-development of their musculoskeletal systems, young animals will grow the quickest in their first 6 months of life and need to be fed in line with those needs.

Building your puppy and kitten diets with highly palatable ingredients, such as glutamic acid, can help promote feed intake in a controlled manner. Additionally, using a body condition scoring system can help to guide nutrition for kittens and puppies. Teaching pet owners how to use body conditioning can help prevent under- or over-development.

For both dogs and cats, body condition is typically assessed on a scale of 1 to 9, with 1 being severely underweight and 9 being obese. An ideal body condition for cats and dogs is between 4 and 5, where their ribs can be easily felt but not seen and a waistline can clearly be identified.

In growing companion animals, body condition is likely to change more rapidly, and there could very well be some “awkward” growing phases. All is well. The important thing is to keep their body condition in mind so that you can adjust their diet as needed before anything gets too out of whack.

Overall, helping consumers understand that growing pets require a balanced diet that meets their increased nutritional demands without overloading their body systems is key. Designing pet food diets that are palatable and therefore encourage consumption means that consumers are less likely to overfeed an imbalanced ration to compensate for what is missing, and that could have a hugely positive downstream effect on their pets’ long-term health.  

3. Focus on functional nutrients.

Functional nutrients are those that may provide health benefits beyond the basic nutritional requirements. Regardless of what type of pet food your company produces, be sure to include functional nutrients that can assist with young companion animals’ proper growth and development.

One functional nutrient that often goes unmentioned is inositol. Inositol is a sugar that is found naturally in the body. Inositol supports proper nerve and muscle function, in addition to optimal cell membrane development. Because of its role in cell structure, it is important for growing animals to have quality sources of inositol in their diets.

Additionally, ensuring that your young companion animal pet food contains 100% organic trace minerals (including copper, zinc, manganese, iron and selenium) will provide a huge boost to your nutrition program. Trace minerals are especially critical during growth to ensure the proper development of all of the animal’s body tissues. Organic trace minerals have been shown to be absorbed and utilized at higher rates in the body than their inorganic counterparts, which means that development and performance can be improved just by feeding your brand’s diet!

Summary

Ultimately, you care about your pet food diets because you care about the puppies and kittens who will be eating them.

Adding sufficient levels of functional nutrients — such as essential amino acids, nucleotides, inositol and glutamic acid — in addition to high-quality essential trace minerals will make your pet food brand the best it can be while also ensuring incredible results for your customers’ new family members.

I want to learn more about pet nutrition.

Proactive cattlemen are good cattlemen. They have the foresight to combat the inevitable stresses and other challenges their cattle will face. They know that weaning, transportation and other prolonged periods of stress can have a negative impact on immune function and, ultimately, the performance of their animals. So they act to mitigate that stress and, in turn, any health problems their beef cattle are facing. They know that prevention is cheaper than treatment, and they want to see their cattle thrive. Preventative health management practices are key for healthy cattle.

Vaccinations and nutrition have a symbiotic relationship in terms of maintaining healthy immune functions in cattle. While quality nutritional programs are the bedrock of healthy immune function, both nutritional and vaccination programs are important for successful preventative health management on a cattle operation. Preventative health management focuses on promoting an animal’s natural immunity and minimizing the negative growth responses associated with stress and other health challenges.

The role of vaccination

Vaccinating your cattle stimulates their immune systems to produce antibodies that specifically work to combat disease-causing viruses or bacteria. After vaccination, a healthy immune response should translate to a memory of those specific pathogens for the immune system. This memory ensures a rapid response if the animal is exposed to pathogens it has been vaccinated against and allows the animal to avoid infection. Disease challenges vary between different geographies, so it is important to work with your local veterinarian to develop vaccine protocols, as they can identify and walk through the specific needs of your operation.

Although your needs may vary based on your herd and geography, there are a few vaccines that we typically consider crucial for beef cattle, such as a scours vaccine and vaccinating for the bovine respiratory syncytial virus.

Implementing a beef vaccination schedule

While vaccination is generally important, establishing a well-constructed beef cattle vaccination schedule is crucial for vaccine success. One part of that plan — that is, the timing — can make the difference between failure and success. Vaccinations should be timed so that peak levels of antibodies are present when the animal is at the highest risk of infection. Keep in mind that peak levels of antibodies take several weeks to manifest following vaccination, so you’ll want to plan ahead.

The stage of the production cycle will determine the type and timing of the vaccine.

• Pre-calving: A scours vaccination should happen during late gestation so that the highest levels of antibodies are present in the colostrum. A new calf’s immune system is weak, leaving it susceptible to disease and reliant on colostrum to provide it with much-needed antibodies and protection.
• Pre-breeding: For added protection for replacement heifers and cows, it might make sense to implement a pre-breeding vaccination protocol. This should be done around 45 days before you are hoping to breed. 
• Bulls: Keeping your bulls protected may mean implementing an annual vaccination program. Similar to your cows and replacement heifers, these vaccinations may be most effective for bulls around 45 days before breeding.
• Weaned calves: Vaccinations should be given a couple of weeks before weaning so that peak antibody protection is achieved during feedlot arrival. With weaning, transportation, a new environment and mingling with a new group, this time in a calf’s life is the perfect storm for sickness. Vaccination provides calves with some protection as they start this new stage of their lives.

These programs and protocols are only as effective as they are managed. Poor animal health status at vaccination, improper vaccine handling and inadequate nutritional status can all lead to vaccine failure. A failed vaccine costs more than just the amount of product you had in the syringe; it can lead to loss of gain or even death throughout an entire group of calves. Likewise, it is important to understand that vaccines do not guarantee 100% protection and may only provide protection for a period. Even so, can we increase the effectiveness of the vaccine through proper nutrition?

The role of nutrition

Meeting an animal's nutritional requirements is essential for the proper development, maintenance and function of its immune system. Among the other health benefits good nutrition provides, it can also bolster the effectiveness of vaccines and provide longer-lasting protection for cattle. To achieve a nutritional status that supports immune responses, a cattle nutrition program must include energy, protein, trace minerals and vitamins.

• Energy: Immune responses require an abundance of energy. When cattle are exposed to a disease, their immune systems work hard. In terms of the energy hierarchy, an immune response comes before maintenance and production energy. However, shifting energy to the immune response will decrease the nutrients available for growth or maintenance and can cause a reduction in body condition in dams and reduce growth in feedlot animals.
• Protein: Proteins are used to produce antibodies. Since the goal of vaccination is to increase the production of antibodies, a protein deficiency can result in substandard antibody production. As with energy, shifting protein from growth to immune function can negatively impact animal performance.
• Trace minerals and vitamins: The amount of trace minerals and vitamins needed in the diet varies based on the age, role and geography of the cattle, but both vitamins and minerals play an essential role in immune function. Deficiencies in one or more of these nutrients can lead to reduced antibody production.

Nutritional needs at different life stages

Just like with vaccines, the nutritional needs of your cattle will vary based on your specific herd and geography. Factors that can contribute to the nutrition discussion on your operation include the type of facilities your cattle have access to, the feedstuffs used and whether your cattle have experienced health issues in the past. The most important factor, though, is the current life stage of your cattle, as this will dictate the most basic nutritional needs that should be met.

• Newborn calves: As mentioned above, calves are born with a high susceptibility to disease, requiring them to rely on colostrum to acquire those all-important antibodies. Calves should have a healthy gut from the very start so that they can better absorb the nutrients in colostrum and, as they transition to creep feed, maximize their potential for big gains.
• Weaned calves: Maintaining a healthy gut in your calves through weaning is crucial to supporting their gastrointestinal integrity, aiding in vaccine success during the receiving period and keeping them healthy in high-stress situations.
• Cows: The needs of the cows in your herd can vary based on their age and their current stage in the production cycle. Depending on the forage quality, cows may need mineral supplementation for optimum health, immune function and reproductive success.

Herd vaccination programs require an investment of both time and money, and quality nutrition is essential to safeguarding your investment. Talk with your veterinarian about putting together a solid vaccination and nutrition program for your operation. Remember: Proactive cattlemen are good cattlemen, and prevention is cheaper than treatment.

I want to learn more about nutrition for my beef cattle.

As an involved horse owner, no doubt you have spent time carefully selecting a feed to match your horse’s needs.

We are sure that you have read the purpose statement on the feed tag identifying the grain that will best suit your horse’s stage of life. You have likely even studied the guaranteed analysis to determine the feed’s crude protein, crude fat and crude fiber levels.

However, while this is a great start, there is a bigger story to be told from each bag’s feed tag — one that is more interesting than you may realize.

Understanding what the guaranteed analysis tells you

The guaranteed analysis is an excellent place to start when reading the feed tag because this table is all about what a feed company can guarantee is in their horse feed. This is important for maintaining consistency.

If you think about all the different ingredients in a bag of horse feed, including forage and grain products, the reason why these guarantees are important becomes more obvious. Ingredient prices and fluctuations due to the weather, the season and other variables can easily change the composition of a bag of feed.

Since rapid diet changes are not ideal for equine gut health, feed companies guarantee that certain nutrient levels (typically in a range, with a minimum and a maximum level) will be included in each bag.

The guaranteed analysis also guarantees that the nutrient levels meet the requirements established by the National Research Council and the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). For horses, guaranteed analysis requirements include:

• Crude protein
• Crude fiber
• Crude fat
• Acid detergent fiber
• Neutral detergent fiber
• Calcium
• Phosphorus
• Copper
• Zinc
• Selenium
• Vitamin A

The guaranteed analysis on many horse feeds will also include lysine, which is the number-one limiting amino acid for horses. Sugar and dietary starch levels are also required to be guaranteed if a horse feed is marketed with any carbohydrate claims.

While each feed’s guaranteed analysis will differ, many share similar ranges of nutrients to meet a horse’s particular stage of life.

So, if many guaranteed analyses look similar, how does anyone manage to choose the best horse feed? As it turns out, there is quite a bit of information that cannot be found on the tag’s guaranteed analysis alone.

Read the complete ingredient list

The second piece to this puzzle involves reading the entire ingredient list on the feed tag. While this sounds boring — and sometimes daunting! — it can actually be quite eye-opening.

Here are a few things to look for:

• Organic vs. inorganic trace minerals
• Organic vs. inorganic selenium
• Any bonus ingredients, such as added probiotics for horses

Decoding minerals

Minerals are the backbone (literally!) of the horse’s body, making up every organ, tissue and cell. They play a role in every single body system, from skeletal and muscular development to nervous system function and hair and hoof health.

While only present in very small quantities in a bag of feed, they are crucially important for your horse’s overall performance.

Trace minerals make up a very tiny percentage of a horse’s daily intake, which is why their bioavailability is so important. Bioavailability has to do with the rate in which they are absorbed AND utilized in the body.

Organic trace minerals (e.g., zinc, copper, cobalt, manganese) are both absorbed at higher levels and are more readily utilized by the horse because they are presented in a form that mimics the form in which minerals are found in nature.

On the feed tag, organic minerals will be listed as the mineral name, followed by the word “proteinate,” “methionine” or “amino acid complex.”

You can easily spot inorganic minerals because they will be listed as the mineral name followed by the word “oxide” or “sulfate.” For instance, the ingredient “zinc oxide” is an inorganic version, which is both cheaper and less conducive for optimal horse health and performance.

Read the feed tag to check the feed’s trace mineral status. Ideally, choose a feed that contains 100% organic zinc, copper, cobalt and manganese.

The selenium connection 

Selenium is also considered a trace mineral, and in horses, it is especially noteworthy because too much — or too little — can be detrimental and even fatal.

Selenium is a highly important mineral in the antioxidant pathway, which is why it is crucial for recovery, endurance and metabolism.

Inorganic selenium is easy to spot on feed tags and will be listed as “sodium selenite.”

Organic selenium, on the other hand, will be listed as “selenium yeast.”

Be careful: Some feeds use a mix of both types of selenium. Choose feeds that contain only 100% selenium yeast for best results.

Ingredients to support gut health for horses

Your final task in reading the ingredient list on the horse feed tag is to check for any bonuses. Yes, organic minerals should be non-negotiable, but it is possible for your horse to get even more out of its feed! Think of this like the prize at the bottom of the Cracker Jack box.

One example is added probiotics for horses. However, be careful how you interpret these, because not all probiotic supplements, or good gut bacteria, are created equal. You can always call the feed company to clarify how they source and add probiotics into their feeds to ensure their viability and efficacy.

Look on the feed tag for ingredients such as “yeast culture,” “hydrolyzed yeast,” “dried brewer’s yeast” or any specific strain of probiotic bacteria. These ingredients can increase your horse’s ability to fully digest and utilize the feed — thanks to beneficial bacteria — while also potentially saving you from having to purchase additional equine supplements.

A final word

While there is a lot more information that you can glean from a horse feed tag, start by looking for these three pieces of information: trace minerals (zinc, copper, cobalt, manganese), selenium and any added ingredients that support gut health in horses.

The guaranteed analysis is a good start, but it does not tell you anything about the quality or forms in which these very important nutrients are included.

Start reading the feed tag ingredient list, and do not hesitate to call the feed company to ask more specific questions. Nutrition is the basis of every animal’s quality of life. Take it seriously and you will absolutely see a difference in your horse’s health and performance.

I want to learn more about nutrition for my horses.

Newborn piglet care is a challenge on every farm. In the early stages of their lives, these young animals are more susceptible to health issues that would never affect older, more developed pigs. These challenges can come from all angles, as disease-causing organisms (such as bacteria, protozoa and viruses) are present in every part of the farm environment. From the sow to farm personnel, equipment, bedding and feed materials, there is no escape from these threats.

Even with the appropriate biosecurity measures in place, as piglets grow, they encounter other health-impacting sources. Changes in the diet, for example, can cause digestive disorders, manifested as diarrhea and failure to thrive and grow.

Due to the exposure to and consumption of external, potentially disease-bearing entities, such as water, feed and bedding, maintaining proper immunity is essential. Optimizing gut structures and microbial populations is vital for young animals, as it establishes the basis for their ongoing health and development. Piglets have very specific needs to establish good gut health and functions and to limit disease development. Providing the best gut health in young piglets can be achieved through various feeding interventions. Here are three crucial stages of developing good gut health in piglets to help put you on the right path.

1. Optimize colostrum from the sow

While in the womb, pigs benefit from the fully developed immune system of the sow. However, once born, piglets do not take any of these immunities along with them, essentially starting from scratch. To help encourage good gut health, the producer's task is to ensure that the newborn piglets have a good supply of immunoglobulins (Igs). These act as the first line of defense for young piglets, helping them to build their immune system to fight off the challenges they face in their environment. The best source of Igs is the colostrum supplied by the piglet’s mother, making it a crucial first step in optimizing gut health in piglets.

After the initial colostrum intake, piglet immunity status tends to diminish, making them more vulnerable to disease, which commonly manifests as:

• Diarrhea
• Dehydration
• Poor milk consumption

In addition, the switch from a milk-based diet to a grain-based diet at weaning means that their gut structures and microbial populations need to adapt quickly. This difficult period is referred to as the “weaning gap” in terms of health and immunity and occurs somewhere between 14–21 days of age.

To ensure that piglets continue to get the support they need and have a strong base to help them through the diet transition, the expression of Igs in the sow’s colostrum must be optimized. This can be achieved by including prebiotics and mannan-rich fractions (MRF) in sow gestation diets. Feeding trials (Spring et al., 2006) have shown that doing so increases the levels of all Igs in the colostrum and in the blood of the subsequent piglets that receive it.

2. Promote good gut health directly

As well as using them to optimize the mother’s colostrum, pre- and probiotics can be administered orally to piglets, promoting the development of the correct bacterial balances within the gut, establishing the best basis for future disease prevention, and maximizing health and growth.

Long-established research studying MRF has shown that it binds to the projections on the surface of disease-causing microbes, preventing them from attaching to the gut wall, which they need to do to reproduce, leading to harmless removal in feces. In addition, this binding activity interacts with the immune system in the gut, promoting faster responses to any disease threat. Multiple trials have shown that this activity of promoting better gut health increases feed intake, digestion and growth and improves feed conversion.

3. Use high-quality creep feeds

When piglets reach the age to begin weaning, creep feeding is introduced to prepare their digestive systems for the change in diet. This is another opportunity for the producer to bolster the young animal’s gut health by formulating creep feed with the best-quality raw materials, processed to maximize digestion and supplemented with proven feed ingredients. These can include:

• Nucleotides to facilitate gut tissue development
• Enzymes for maximum digestion
• Chelated minerals to ensure the best uptake and establish tissue mineral reserves during times of stress

These types of diets will ease the difficult period during weaning and will not compromise the gut environment, keeping disease at bay. Nucleotides are the building blocks of DNA and are essential for young animal development. They have been shown to significantly increase the growth of gut tissues and are important for repairing and preventing damage to the gut wall. A more robust gut structure is necessary to withstand the change from milk to grain-based feeds at weaning, when the erosion of essential structures (villi) for nutrient absorption can occur.

Seed, Feed, Weed

Over the last 40 years, Alltech has conducted extensive research studying gut health and has designed several gut health management programs that focus on supporting animal performance from birth by promoting favorable bacteria communities, building natural defenses and maximizing growth. The Seed, Feed, Weed (SFW) concept is one such program that is designed to modify the gut microbial population to establish favorable and more diverse microbial populations after birth. This program utilizes the advice above to help establish and maintain a beneficial and diverse gut microbiome in piglets. The SWF program supports gut health in piglets by:

• Seeding the gut with favorable organisms: It is vital to “seed” the intestine with the correct bacteria as soon as possible after birth. The first organisms to colonize the gut will determine the composition of the flora by creating the micro-environment necessary to establish a complex microbial community and optimal architectural development. With the right intestinal microflora now in place, piglets show improved early growth, feed conversion, uniformity and livability.  
• Feeding the favorable organisms: In addition to “seeding” the gut with the correct pioneer species, it is crucial to enhance the capacity of favorable organisms to colonize and rapidly dominate the microbial community in the small intestine. Once a beneficial microbial community and intestinal ecology is established, the villi will flourish. This step is critical for piglet health and feed efficiency because the healthier a piglet’s villi, the more efficiently nutrients will be absorbed.
• Weeding out the unfavorable microorganisms: The gut can also contain harmful pathogenic microbes (e.g., enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli), which can damage the intestinal villi. It is, therefore, important to “weed them out” before they can attach to the gut lining and replicate enough to cause disease. By blocking the attachment mechanisms of unfavorable organisms with a type-1 fimbria blocker, their capacity to compete with the favorable organisms (e.g., Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus) in the gut is reduced. Minimizing the gut’s exposure to these harmful microbes will help to improve the animal’s natural defenses and shorten its recovery time from disease.

Figure 1. The Seed, Feed, Weed concept is designed to modify the microbial population in the gut to establish favorable and more diverse microbial communities after birth.

Providing solutions for each step of the Seed, Feed, Weed process, Alltech offers a range of products for both the sow and their young that help to optimize piglet nutrition and support gut health and development. These include:

• Actigen^®
• NuPro^®
• Allsyme SSF^®
• Bioplex^®
• Sel-Plex^®
• Viligen™

As they start life, baby pigs are extremely vulnerable. Any change in their environment potentially exposes them to a whole new group of pathogens, which can limit their performance. Furthermore, as they mature over the weaning period, they are typically moved into new environments and exposed to other equipment, animals and people. Ensuring that the best gut health is established as early as possible is key to limiting disease, increasing health and welfare and maximizing growth. This is essential for the young piglet and helps to ensure optimal lifetime performance and profitability for producers in a sustainable manner. The use of gut health management programs will also play a pivotal role in helping producers work toward antibiotic- and ZnO-free production.

I'd like to learn more about pig nutrition.

An international research team at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom has established a link between the outcome of COVID-19 cases and the regional selenium status of people in China. The data was based on the real-time numbers of confirmed cases, recovery rates and mortality rates in each province or city. When analyzing these populations, researchers observed an association between the population’s selenium status (based on hair samples) and the rates of recovery (Figure 1).

In the Hubei province, whose capital is Wuhan, it was found that Enshi City had recovery rates that were 36.4% higher than other cities within the region, where the overall recovery rate was 13.1%. Enshi City is known for its high selenium status. Outside of Hubei, in the Heilongjian province of north-eastern China, where the selenium status is notoriously low, a 2.4% increase in mortality rates was observed.

China is home to people with both the lowest and highest selenium statuses in the world. Geographical differences across the country result in varied soil compositions, which can alter selenium levels. It is these differences in soil selenium levels that influence how much of the trace mineral enters the food chain from livestock feed, meat, milk and eggs, and the end consumer. Therefore, human selenium intake is very much dependent on the environment in which the crops, plants and livestock are raised.

Figure 1: Correlation between COVID-19 recovery rate in 17 cities outside Hubei, China, on February 18, 2020, and city population selenium status (hair selenium concentration) analyzed using statistical methods (mean ± SD = 35.5 ± 11.1, R2 = 0.72, F test P < 0.0001) Copyright ^© Rayman et al., on behalf of the American Society for Nutrition, 2020.

Selenium and its role in immune defense

Selenium is an essential trace element for both humans and animals and is required in small amounts for normal health, growth, reproduction and immune defense. It also provides a source of antioxidants, which help to address diseases related to oxidative stress.

Previous studies have shown the antiviral effects of selenium and have linked the evolution and spread of viral infectious diseases, such as swine flu and bird flu, to areas where soil selenium levels are lower (Harthill, 2011). Other studies have observed more severe viral symptoms and infection rates when dietary selenium is low (Beck et al., 2001).

Viruses produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) as part of their biological makeup. These ROS are believed to be combated by glutathione peroxidase, an important antioxidant for cellular defense in which selenium plays a major role. As such, it is believed that several cellular and viral mechanisms involving selenium and selenium-containing proteins can influence the outcome of viral infections.

Selenium and functional food: What do these findings mean for human health?

It is important that we consume a well-balanced diet that incorporates adequate amounts of selenium to maintain our antioxidant capacity and immune defense. According to U.S. standards, the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for selenium in humans is 55 micrograms a day.

Dietary sources of selenium include nuts, grains and vegetables, with Brazil nuts being the richest source of selenium. However, their content is highly variable and can range from 0.03 to 512 micrograms, the latter level being potentially harmful. In vegetables, up to 40% of selenium can be lost through cooking.

Highly bioavailable and organic forms of selenium have kick-started a new era in the availability of selenium-enriched products. Enriched meat, milk and eggs that contain up to 35 micrograms of selenium (more than 50% of the RDA) have been successfully developed and tested using SEL-PLEX^®, Alltech’s proprietary selenium-enriched yeast (Surai et al., 2009). Livestock that are supplemented with selenium-enriched yeast show improved health, disease resistance, fertility and antioxidant capacity. Due to the high bioavailability of organic selenium-enriched yeast, the trace mineral is effectively transferred to subsequent animal products. The result is meat, milk and eggs with consistently higher selenium levels that are available to us for consumption.

As we can see from this population study, organic selenium-enriched yeast could provide a promising development in functional food for human immunity and general health.

References are available upon request.

Let's face it: raising profitable pigs is hard work. Optimizing your bottom line while staying competitive is a challenge on its own. But add fluctuating feed costs, new regulations and an unpredictable market to the mix, and the task can feel daunting. In addition, supply chain disruptions have further exacerbated the need for producers to minimize losses, with many hoping just to break even to keep their farms afloat.

Whether we are in challenging or prosperous times, lowering the cost of production is essential because every pig producer is looking for ways to maintain their farm’s profitability and ensure its future for years to come.

Three strategies for reducing your pig cost of production

Feed costs represent the biggest input for producers, often accounting for up to 70% of production costs. Pig producers must adapt their feed strategy to maximize feed efficiency. Here are three ways to reduce production costs without impacting your herd’s performance.

1. Reducing feed costs for pigs

The biggest challenges the livestock industry currently faces are the pressure to reduce feed costs and the continuous effort to gain a better understanding of available feed ingredients. The animal cannot fully utilize around 25% of the available nutrients in feed ingredients due to anti-nutritional factors in feed. Keeping that in mind, producers worldwide are making a concerted effort to lower the cost of production and maximize feed efficiency based on nutritional and economic factors (which often vary) while maintaining animal welfare and using sustainable approaches to meet demands.

Pig producers look to increase feed digestibility to manage the short-term risks associated with reduced market prices.

Increasing feed digestibility helps:

• Make more nutrients available for the pig to absorb.
• Improve performance, allowing producers to send animals to market faster.
• Lower feed costs.

Enzyme technologies, such as Allzyme^® Spectrum Swine, help pigs optimize the nutritional values in feed, allowing for improved dietary efficiency while supporting sustainable swine production. The unique combination of enzymes in Allzyme Spectrum Swine increases cost-efficiency by maximizing the diet’s potential at every growth stage. Developed through solid state fermentation (SSF), Allzyme Spectrum Swine produces a multi-enzyme solution that works in synergy with the complete pig diet, optimizing nutrients — including amino acids, calcium and phosphorus — while enhancing the use of raw materials (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Solid state fermentation (SSF) process

As a result, a complete dual action matrix is produced. This matrix gives nutritionists flexibility in formulating diets and, in turn, the release of more nutrients for the pig, which leads to cost savings for the producer. Figure 2 shows an example of a finishing diet that utilized Alltech’s enzyme technologies to improve digestibility and lower the cost per ton of feed. This example is representative of a typical diet in the eastern corn belt of the United States.

Figure 2: Feed cost savings with Alltech’s enzyme technologies

2. Improving pig efficiency, starting with the sow

In recent years, genetics has played a major role in improving sow efficiency by increasing the number of pigs produced per sow per year. As litter size increases, piglet birth weight decreases and litter variability increases. Low birth weight is a major predisposing factor for pre-weaning mortality (Figure 3), and lower weaning weights often result in slower growth and fatter carcasses.

Figure 3: Effects of piglet birth weight on pre-weaning mortality

(Feldpausch, et al., 2019)

Increasing birth weight can:

• Improve piglet variability.
• Help reduce the number of pigs that require special attention.
• Decrease pre-weaning mortality rates.
• Improve piglet weaning weight.

Everything you want the piglet to receive comes through the sow until weaning, so it is crucial that the sow’s nutrition program is fully implemented as planned and that she can transfer vital trace elements, such as those found in Bioplex^® and Sel-Plex^®  trace minerals, to the piglet.

Some technologies on the market today are being utilized differently now than they have been at any time to improve sow reproductive performance. Alltech’s Mineral Management program has been shown to:

• Increase the number of piglets born alive.
• Increase the birth weight of smaller pigs in the litter without affecting larger pigs (Kalaw et al., 2009).
• Reduce variation within the litter at weaning and slaughter (Ma et al., 2020).

Figure 4: Litter birth weights from sows fed inorganic or organic trace mineral sources

(Bertechini et al., 2012)

Reducing weaning variation allows pig producers to market pigs in a much tighter window and reduce variation heading into slaughter. Reducing variation at slaughter can also reduce sort losses at the processing facility and lead to increased revenue per pig (Cheng, Claudy, Que and Schinckel, 2019).

Bioplex minerals have also demonstrated that there is less degradation of vitamins as well as enzymes. A reduction in enzyme effectiveness or vitamin activity can lead to an increase in cost or a less favorable production response. Research has shown that several enzymes are heavily reduced in the presence of inorganic minerals and less damaged when exposed to their organic counterparts in the form of Bioplex (Santos, Connolly and Murphy, 2014).

3. Improving water consumption

Does the water your pigs drink impact their performance and productivity, thereby reducing production costs? A pig’s water consumption is just as important as their feed intake because pigs that do not drink enough water will not consume enough feed. Pigs tend to drink around 10% of their body weight per day or roughly two times the amount of feed they eat.

Keeping the pH in a lower range for a longer period reduces the conditions that allow harmful bacteria to grow and flourish. Adding acidifiers, such as Acid-Pak 4-Way^®, to drinking water is an effective approach to acidification, especially when intake is low or variable, because it:

• Reduces water pH and keeps it in a more favorable range (<5 pH).
• Sweetens the taste of water, helping make young pigs more inclined to drink water.
• Improves water intake, which, in turn, improves the pig's ability to digest feed.
• Leads to better enzymatic activity.

Acid-Pak 4-Way is typically used following weaning or during stressful times in the pig's life.

The cost of pig production

While numerous variables can affect production costs, understanding the factors that affect feed quality and implementing a quality-assurance program will help ensure that the best possible nutrition is delivered to your pigs and help pig producers save more money in the long run. Use our pig profit calculator at Alltech.com/every-cent-matters to see how much you can save with Alltech nutritional technologies.

References:

Bertechini, A. G., Fassani, E. J., Brito, J. Á. G. D., & Barrios, P. R. (2012). Effects of dietary mineral Bioplex in pregnant and lactating sow diets on piglet performance and physiological characteristics. Revista Brasileira De Zootecnia, 41(3), 624–629. doi: 10.1590/s1516-35982012000300022

Cheng, J., Claudy, J., Que, Y., & Schinckel, A. P. (2019). PSII-21 Evaluation of the impact of the magnitude of errors in the sorting of pigs and market price for market on the optimal market weight. Journal of Animal Science, 97(Supplement_2), 231–232. doi: 10.1093/jas/skz122.407

Feldpausch, J. A., Jourquin, J., Bergstrom, J. R., Bargen, J. L., Bokenkroger, C. D., Davis, D. L., … Ritter, M. J. (2019). Birth weight threshold for identifying piglets at risk for preweaning mortality. Translational Animal Science, 3(2), 633–640. doi: 10.1093/tas/txz076

Johnson, R. J., & Campbell, R. G. (1991). Rhone-Poulenc Animal Nutrition and Bunge Meat Industries, Australia. In: Manipulating Pig Production III. Proceedings of the Third Biennial Conference of the Australasian Pig Science Association (pp. 138–138).

Kalaw, P.R., Yatco, J.T., Yatco, G.B., et al., The incidence of small piglets at birth and at weaning can be reduced by Bioplex Sow Pak (poster).  Alltech’s 25th Symposium.  

Ma, L., He, J., Lu, X., Qiu, J., Hou, C., Liu, B., … Yu, D. (2020). Effects of low-dose organic trace minerals on performance, mineral status, and fecal mineral excretion of sows. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, 33(1), 132–138. doi: 10.5713/ajas.18.0861

Santos, T., Connolly, C., & Murphy, R. (2014). Trace Element Inhibition of Phytase Activity. Biological Trace Element Research, 163(1-2), 255–265. doi: 10.1007/s12011-014-0161-y

I want to learn more about nutrition for my pig herd.

Getting the right start on-farm is key to optimal fish performance throughout their lifecycle. Each species of fish or shrimp requires a nutritionally balanced aquaculture feed that is tailored for each specific stage in their development. Providing nutritional solutions for the particular needs of larvae — their most critical life stage — benefits the fish during their entire lifecycle. An ideal start begins with optimal nutrition that supports the healthy development of all organs. Not meeting these nutritional requirements can potentially lead to deficiencies and deformities, such as poor growth and increased mortality, and, ultimately, result in decreased producer profitability.

Advantages of using a high-quality, nutritionally balanced aquafeed:

• Minimal nutritional deficiencies
• Optimal development and foundation for future growth
• High digestibility for optimal performance and water quality

Creating an optimal fish ecosystem

In fish farming environments, some variables can affect production, including temperature, oxygen, ammonia levels and water quality. Modern recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) give greater control over these factors. The same can be said for aquafeed production; the quality of raw materials, nutritional formulations, transportation, performance, climate and feed mill operation can all impact the performance and productivity on-farm. Fish will perform best when an optimal environment is maintained; aquafeed and aquaculture supplements play a critical role in this.

Creating an optimal environment relies heavily on water quality. It is crucial for maximum growth, health and survival throughout the production cycle. Ingredient quality and nutrient availability aids digestion and nutrient absorption and utilization, resulting in healthier fish, but also lower feces production and less pollution in the systems and the environment. Getting the foundations right as early as possible helps fish reach their maximum potential.

Maintaining water quality

Maintaining water quality is largely connected with the quality of aquafeed. Any uneaten or undigested feed that is excreted into their environment is not only wasted but also causes unnecessary pollution and additional, unnecessary stress. For this reason, the feed must be highly palatable and suitable for the correct species and their developmental stage. Not meeting these needs from the start can have adverse effects on fish health.

Recent research completed at the Alltech Coppens Aqua Centre displayed the improvements in growth and performance when feeding two of Alltech Coppens’ starter feeds to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) during the hatchery phase. The results of this benchmark trial are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Results of a starter feed benchmark trial performed in the Alltech Coppens Aqua Centre.

Supporting internal defense systems

A fish’s skin, gut and gills are the primary points of interaction with the external environmental factors that can impact on their health. Both internally and externally, these organs must be protected. Included in all Alltech Coppens feed is a premix known as Aquate®. Aquate has been specially formulated to meet the specific requirements of each aquatic species and life stage. It encourages healthier and more robust populations and boosts natural defense systems, aiding gut function. The best farm results are seen when feeds containing the Aquate package are fed throughout the entire life of the fish, as this feeding strategy creates continuity in the supply of their nutritional requirements.

Advantages of sustainable aquaculture

We live in a rapidly changing environment, with pressure on nature, wild fish stocks and food security. This should not be underestimated; we have an obligation to produce sustainable, well-balanced animal protein responsibly. This is a commitment that we take very seriously in Alltech.

A key element in producing sustainable fish and seafood is the reduction of fishmeal and fish oil in feed production. When reducing these key ingredients, close attention must be paid to the nutritional balance of the feed to ensure it meets the essential nutrient and energy requirements of farmed species. The cost of aquafeed in aquaculture is the single highest operational cost for a producer in the industry. Any small change can have a significant impact on profit yield. It is necessary to look at the nutritional profile and quality of raw materials to find a balanced feed for each farm.

Innovative research in the Alltech Coppens Aqua Centre has led to lowering our carbon footprint, lowering phosphorus and nitrogen emissions and a low inclusion of fishmeal and fish oil in feed formulations with no impact on the growth and performance on-farm.

I want to learn more about aquaculture nutrition.

Are you looking to improve the efficiency of your cattle? Studies have shown that organic trace minerals outperform inorganic minerals when it comes to cows and their calves. Dr. Anne Koontz, Alltech research scientist, discusses the benefits that organic trace mineral supplements can provide to the calf immune system and average daily gains, as well as how they affect cow fertility and reproductive efficiency in cattle.

The following is an edited transcript of Kara Keeton’s interview with Dr. Anne Koontz. Click below to hear the full audio.

Kara:              I'm joined today by Alltech research scientist Dr. Anne Koontz to discuss organic trace minerals in beef cattle. Thank you for joining me today.

Anne:             Thank you for having me.

Kara:              Anne, trace minerals: are they that secret weapon in our feed that everyone knows exist but we don’t fully understand what they do?

Anne:             I think we've always known the importance of trace minerals, but what we're really seeing, with new research that's coming out, is we're diving into things that we didn’t know they were doing for us, and we're seeing some benefits and really putting data to those benefits and understanding them a bit better.

Kara:              So, when you're talking about the benefits, what are the minerals specifically that we're talking about? And tell me about some of the benefits that they're providing to our animals.

Anne:             Right. When we're talking trace minerals, we're really talking about things like zinc, copper, cobalt, selenium — those minerals that are in very small amounts in our feeds. They get a little bit overlooked. We all toss them in, but really understanding the levels and the forms that are important is something new.

                        What we see with trace minerals is we've always known that you have to have them there at a certain level, and especially in beef cattle. We've gone, "Well, there are trace minerals in the grass, so I'm not going to worry about it too much," but there are a lot of surveys that are showing that trace minerals in the grass are actually at levels that aren't sufficient to really promote the benefits we know that trace minerals (provide that) are important for us — so immunity, health, metabolism and reproduction, which is really what I focused on recently.

                        When it comes to reproduction, we know that low amounts of trace minerals in the diets of our cattle can cause problems in both the bulls as well as the cows. When we're talking about cows, we're seeing issues like lower fertility. Pregnancy maintenance rates aren't as good; we get good conception rates, but it's that maintenance of pregnancy that we're finding, if we focus on the minerals, we actually get better pregnancy maintenance.

Kara:              So, you're saying that, when you're looking at different animals in the sense of calves versus mama cows versus your bulls, you really have to take that into consideration when you're looking at applying trace minerals to the feed.

Anne:             Absolutely. All of your animals are going to need trace minerals, but the levels and the amounts that they need are going to vary depending on their life stage — and especially when you're talking about your cows. They're going to need different levels of minerals when they're pregnant than when they're lactating and than when they're dry and waiting for that next calf to come to the ground. Their mineral needs fluctuate, and we need to take that into account, but always be aware that they do need minerals pretty much all the time.

Kara:              How do Alltech's organic trace minerals, Bioplex and Sel-Plex, hold up in the gut in regard to stability, and how are they used in the different animals like you're talking about — different stages of life or production?

Anne:             This is another one of those areas that's sort of cutting-edge, and we're really starting to see some new things coming out here, and the stability area is really interesting. What we're finding is that, both in premix situations as well as in the gut of the animals, organic minerals hold their form and shape far better than inorganic minerals. Inorganic minerals are bound to, generally, some sort of an ion, and once they hit the gut, they break apart from that ion, and then they have the ability to bind other things. They can bind up important parts of your diet or other minerals so they're no longer available to the animal, and so the nutrition ultimately becomes less in that diet.

                        With the organic minerals, they don’t break apart and rebind and that sort of thing, and so, they're more stable and they're more available. When we really look at the availability as far as the bioavailability, what we find is that organic minerals can be as much as 130–200% more available than a sulfate form, and even more than that, from an oxide form of a mineral. So, we're able to use organic minerals at lower levels in the diet but get the same benefits, or use them at the same level and get higher benefits when we might be addressing a subclinical deficiency where we didn’t realize we had a deficiency because we didn’t see any outward effects of it, but the animal has the ability to respond to that slightly more available or slightly higher level of mineral in the diet.

Kara:              So how is this used on the farm, and how are farmers embracing this transition, possibly, from using inorganic — which I know has been used for years — to the organic minerals and more natural solutions in their production?

Anne:             The feedback from farmers has been incredibly positive, and it mirrors what we've seen in research. We've had research on this from the early '90s in bits and pieces, where we did larger-scale research looking at other issues but we just happened to collect a little bit of reproductive data on the side.

                        Starting about a year and a half ago, I started pulling out those bits and pieces of reproductive data and putting them all together in a response to a question we had from our sales team. What we found is that we could do this consistently through all these bits and pieces of trials over the last 30 years. Then, when we took those bits and pieces and said, “This is what we've been able to do with reproduction as far as increasing calving rates, increasing pregnancy maintenance and, ultimately, affecting calf production from the cows that were fed those organic trace minerals with higher weaning rates and higher feed liveweight gains,” that was quite exciting to our sales team and to our customers.

                        When we took it out into the field to the customers, the customers were reporting back exactly the same things we saw in university research trials. They're reporting back higher pregnancy rates, higher conception rates to AI (artificial insemination). They're reporting back that their heifers are reaching puberty earlier, so they're ultimately calving earlier in their life span. So, we're shortening the non-productive time of these animals on the farm, and that's very exciting for us, and it's very exciting for the consumers, because anytime the animal is not productive — if they're slow to cycle back during the breeding season and slow to get pregnant again, or if your heifers aren't reaching maturity until later in their life — you're feeding an animal that's not ultimately bringing you back any money on the farm. So, if we can shorten that time period that we're feeding unproductive animals, we're saving farmers money. We're ultimately getting closer to that beef production gold standard of one calf per cow per year.

Kara:              So, saving money, healthier cattle — these are all things farmers are looking for when they're looking at feed, when they're looking at production. What are some other things that you believe, as you continue your research, (you) are going to find in using trace minerals? And not just using — we've always used trace minerals, but using the organic trace minerals, and as you learn more about them — are there other things on the horizon that you're excited about or you think you're going to see?

Anne:             There are some things I'm particularly excited (about) and am hoping to start looking at a bit more deeply. One of the things that keeps coming back to us is that, within the beef industry, as I said before, we don’t have an issue with conception rates. Our cattle are incredibly fertile. We get 95% or greater conception rates. What we do see as an issue is early pregnancy loss. There's some data out of Fort Keogh with Dr. Gary in Montana that says 25% of those cattle that conceive lose pregnancy before 28 days. So, it's that very first bit, where we didn’t maybe quite realize they were pregnant, so we thought maybe they didn’t conceive — but what he's saying is, it's not the conception; it's that early pregnancy loss in the first 28 days.

                        So, what some of the research we have at Alltech has shown is that we're getting better pregnancy rates from AI in beef cattle, and we're getting fewer services per conception in dairy cattle, which is the same way of looking at something, but looking at it from a different angle. So, what I firmly believe is that those two numbers are showing us that we're getting better maintenance of pregnancy during that first 28 days, so I'd really like to get a chance to dive deeper into that and really specifically look at that in some of our research.

                        The other thing that's particularly interesting to me going forward is taking this to some of our purebred and AI systems and looking at embryo, flushing an embryo quality on that side of the beef industry. We've got some very preliminary data there from the field, where people have used this, that shows we're getting better embryo quality, more transferable embryos and things like that out of these embryo-flushing situations, so I'd like to dive a bit deeper into that and see what we can do on that side as well.

Kara:              That's exciting. I know that your area of specialty is with beef cattle. Do you work with dairy cattle as well?

Anne:             I do. I actually work with pretty much any species.

Kara:              Okay. Well, that's what I was going to ask. What you're learning from beef cattle, and utilizing organic trace minerals in beef cattle — are you also doing research or are there researchers at Alltech looking at this in other livestock?

Anne:             There absolutely are. A lot of the research that I was able to find when I started looking into this, and seeing what we already had in our databases, came from the dairy industry, and so, we've seen this consistently in the dairy industry. We can see this consistently in the beef industry. There are some indications that we see something very similar in the swine industry. Poultry is a little bit funny because eggs are a bit different than a pregnancy, but on the pig industry, what we're really seeing is that we're getting heavier birth weights, we're getting more pigs per litter, and those pigs are thriving more after birth when the sows are fed Bioplex minerals.

Kara:              Trace minerals (are) maybe not a secret weapon, per se, since we've always used them, but maybe it's the organic and natural direction that is something that's going to make a difference to producers down the road.

Anne:             I think that's accurate.

Kara:              Okay. Well, thank you so much for joining me today, Anne.

Anne:             Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure.

Kara:              This was Dr. Anne Koontz, Alltech research scientist.

Have a question or comment?

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious and deadly disease that affects domestic and wild pigs regardless of age and sex. ASF cannot be spread to humans and other non-swine animals and livestock and is not a threat to human health. However, humans can carry the virus on their clothing, shoes and equipment and can spread the disease unknowingly.

Historically endemic to African countries, ASF has been spreading rapidly throughout Asia and parts of Europe through 2018 and 2019. What are the symptoms of ASF, what can we do to prevent the disease, and are there any treatment options?

Signs and symptoms of ASF

• High fever (40.5–42oC)
• Sudden loss of appetite
• Hemorrhages on skin and internal organs, particularly lymph nodes
• Diarrhea, vomiting (sometimes with bloody discharge)
• Abortion
• Depression
• Coughing
• Difficulty breathing
• Sudden death
• High death loss

While these symptoms are similar to classical swine fever (CSF), ASF is caused by a unique virus that is distinct from CSF. Unusually high mortality rates among pigs of all ages can be a strong indicator of ASF. However, the only way to know for sure which virus pigs might be infected with is through laboratory testing. If you notice any of the symptoms mentioned above in your herd, contact a vet as soon as you can to ensure that the correct quarantine and treatment are completed. This could help limit the damage on your farm.

Tips to prevent ASF from entering your farm

It is possible to keep ASF out of the farm, even in countries where ASF is endemic. Here are nine prevention measures you can take to avoid ASF.

​

1. Implementation of strict importation measures for animal products:

Ensure that neither infected live pigs nor pork products are introduced into areas free of ASF. ASF-positive countries can have their animal exportations restricted or prohibited as a result of the detection of infected meat. Check infected regions before importing products that could potentially be contaminated.

2. Proper disposal of all food waste from aircrafts or ships coming from infected countries.

Furthermore, no human food waste should be fed to pigs.

3. Efficient sterilization and disposal of garbage: Avoid swill feeding (i.e., garbage feeding).

Feeding of catering waste is a high-risk practice; if the food waste is contaminated with ASF, it can infect a healthy herd. Do not expose food waste that wild swine species could access. Carcasses, discarded parts from slaughtered pigs and food waste should be disposed of appropriately. 

4. Rapid slaughtering of all pigs, infected or not (stamping out):

Recovered or surviving animals are virus carriers for life. Therefore, to avoid spreading the disease to other pigs and to prevent relapse, it is safer to slaughter both infected and potentially infected pigs. Stamping out tends to be a short-term method to eradicate the disease. Nevertheless, it is generally the most cost-effective method that allows farms to be free from ASF in the shortest time.

5. Strict on-farm biosecurity:

Keep viruses and bacteria out by complying with biosecurity rules, including proper disinfection of clothing and boots, as well as not bringing pork products that have not been properly heat-treated onto a farm. Farms should maintain dedicated footwear and clothing that stay on the farm.

6. Controlled animal and human movements:

Pigs should be sourced from trusted and certified suppliers. Vehicles, equipment and people are also fomites of ASF. Ensure that anyone who enters the farm has not been in contact with any other pigs over the past 48 hours. Farm visitors who have been in countries that are ASF-positive need at least five days of downtime before entering the farm. Vehicles and equipment should be properly cleaned and disinfected before entering the premises. As secretions and excretions from sick or dead animals are a source of ASF, carcass-hauling trucks are high-risk and should not enter the farm.

7. Disease surveillance and monitoring:

This is especially important when transporting live pigs and pork products. In addition, pig farms should maintain a strict health monitoring program. All sick or dead pigs should be inspected and examined for ASF. To detect ASF early, pigs slaughtered for own-home consumption should be inspected by an official veterinarian. Regarding staff training, holding regular prevention lectures and strengthening quality assessments as well as the daily records of feed ingredients is advised.

8. Efficient and early detection of the virus through laboratory tests:

Notify a vet immediately upon spotting signs of ASF, and get the pigs tested.

9. Strict quarantine protocol:

Strict quarantine measures should be applied in both ASF-free zones and infected zones to prevent the entry of the disease and/or to keep ASF from spreading further.

Treatments for ASF

• Currently, there are no treatments or vaccinations available for this animal disease.
• Preventative and cautionary measures can be taken to protect animal health.
• Contact between sick and healthy animals can transmit ASF. Therefore, infected animals must be isolated and culled immediately upon confirmation of ASF.

Did you know?

• North America and the Oceania region remain the only areas that have never had reported cases of ASF.
• ASF poses no risk to human health. Humans cannot get infected by ASF.
• ASF infects domestic and wild pigs, as well as a variety of soft-bodied ticks.
• Wild boars and warthogs can be carriers of ASF. Make sure they don’t come in contact with domestic pigs.
• Frozen meat from infected pigs can harbor the virus for up to six months.
• The ASF virus has been estimated to survive for up to 15 days in feces and five days in urine at 21°C.
• It takes 30 minutes of cooking at 70oC to deactivate ASF in meat products and 30 minutes at 60°C for serum and body fluids.
• Curing or smoking pork products does not destroy the virus.
• ASF can be transferred via feed (Niederwerder, et al., 2019). It is important to work with trusted suppliers and vendors to verify ingredient sources and determine what their biosecurity and quality programs entail.

The importance of feed safety and a favorable health status

Studies have shown that feed can be a carrier of certain harmful pathogens (Dee, et al., 2018). As an added layer of protection, put safeguards in place and utilize feed intervention technologies, such as acidifiers, to support the integrity and quality of your feed.

Acidifiers are known to have beneficial properties that “control bacterial growth in feed, […] inhibiting growth of pathogenic microbes” (Jacela, et al., 2009).

Products such as Guardicate™* have been shown to be effective for promoting feed safety and can be used as an important component of your farm’s greater biosecurity program. Over almost four years of research, Guardicate has shown its effectiveness as an acidifier, as it addresses feed quality concerns by helping maintain a favorable feed environment.

Together with other solutions, like Sel-Plex®, Bioplex® and Actigen®, Alltech’s nutritional technologies provide peace of mind that you are safe from the risks that could negatively impact your production while promoting a positive health status for your animals.

Improper mineral supply can have major consequences for the health and productivity of your herd. Improved mineral status has been shown to have a positive effect on immune function. The Alltech Mineral Management program focuses on feeding organic minerals such as Sel-Plex and Bioplex, which are better absorbed and utilized by the animal and, thus, can meet their nutrient needs for optimal health.

Gut health and the microbiome also play a key role in maintaining the overall health status of the pig. Actigen is able to support immune function, gut microbial health and gut function and development, promoting overall animal health and performance.

*Guardicate is only available in select countries.

References:

Dee, S. A., Bauermann, F. V., Niederwerder, M. C., Singrey, A., Clement, T., de Lima, M., & Petrovan, V. (2018). Survival of viral pathogens in animal feed ingredients under transboundary shipping models. PloS one, 13(3), e0194509. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194509

Jacela, J.Y., DeRouchey, J.M., Tokach, M.D., et al. Feed additives for swine: Fact sheets – acidifiers and antibiotics. J Swine Health Prod. 2009;17(5):270–275. https://www.aasv.org/shap/issues/v17n5/v17n5p270.pdf

Niederwerder, M. C., Stoian, A., Rowland, R., Dritz, S. S., Petrovan, V., Constance, L. A....Hefley, T. J. (2019). Infectious Dose of African Swine Fever Virus When Consumed Naturally in Liquid or Feed. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 25(5), 891-897. https://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2505.181495

I would like a FREE Feed Safety Guide.