17 The Business of Canadian Hog Farming Better Pork | April 2024 Trace Minerals The grow-finishing period in commercial swine production represents the phase of production with the longest time frame (ranging from 80 to 180 days) and therefore the greatest opportunity to improve pig health and welfare, as they are tightly correlated. Improving the health and resilience of grow-finishing pigs improves overall efficiency, ensures a more homogenous herd, and lowers the need for antibiotics. As feed intake is also highest in this period of production, any improvement in feed conversion can lead to substantial economic benefits. Minerals can play a very important role here, given their involvement in inflammatory responses and the anti-bacterial effects they can have. Zinc, for example, is involved in over 300 enzymes and 2,000 transcription factors, and has the greatest impact on growth rate of all micronutrients, making nearly every metabolic pathway zinc-dependent. The animals’ requirements for these trace minerals are not static, as they are defined largely by both external as well as internal factors. The animal’s age, health status and sex are examples of internal factors, whereas temperature, humidity, disease pressure, and stocking density are examples of external factors. Heat stress, for example, increases the animals’ requirements for minerals as there is an increased need for electrolyte balancing and oxidative responses. To ensure animal requirements for these minerals are met, the animal nutrition industry includes trace minerals OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE AND UNIFORMITY IN GROW-FINISHING PIGS. TRACE MINERAL NUTRITION By GAVIN BOERBOOM, PhD, PROGRAM MANAGER, TRACE MINERALS, TROUW NUTRITION Jodie Aldred photo Figure 1. Effect of different copper sources on the percentage of non-hydrolyzed phytate in vitro after 60 minutes at 40 to 41 C. Phytate can form complexes with minerals such as copper, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc, making them less bio-available for absorption in the digestive tract. 100 80.0 60.0 40.0 20.0 0.0 0 100 200 300 400 500 CuSO4 vs. IntelliBond C % Non-Hydrolyzed Phytate Cu level (ppm) CuSO4 IntelliBond Cu y = 0.1787x R = 0.9021 y = 0.0241x R = 0.94 FOR SALE 600 sow Farrow to Finish hog farm with feed mill near Eatonia, Saskatchewan. Price $2,750,000 plus stock. For viewing contact: David Resch 306-967-2308 or email chesterfield@sasktel.net
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