Purdue News
Purdue News
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August 2, 2004 Swine nutrition hogs spotlight at Purdue-sponsored conferenceWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Before pork producers can bring home the bacon, they've got to put a lot of feed into the pig's belly. A daylong conference sponsored by Purdue University and four neighboring land-grant schools examines the latest trends in swine feeding. The fourth annual Midwest Swine Nutrition Conference takes place 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Aug. 31, at the Sheraton Hotel and Suites, 8787 Keystone Crossing, Indianapolis. Registration is $100 through Aug. 20 and $150 beginning Aug. 21. The conference is intended for swine nutrition consultants, feed company representatives, swine veterinarians and pork producers who take an active role in their herd's dietary planning. Despite the rapid advances in livestock management and technology, nutrition remains a central component in pork production, said Tip Cline, a Purdue swine specialist and a conference coordinator. "Not much has changed in recent years with the basics of swine nutrition, even though many things have changed in the industry," Cline said. "Total feed costs still account for somewhere between 60 percent and 75 percent of the total cost of production." All livestock producers grapple with nutrition questions, as well as animal waste issues, Cline said. "Some aspects in swine production are different than cattle, for instance, but many of the issues that face the livestock industry are about the same," he said. "We're all very concerned about nutrient excretion. We're also concerned about the possibility of having to do without feed additives that we've used for close to 40 years." Cline's 11:10 a.m. presentation, "High Quality Protein Sources for Young Pigs," tackles the latter issue. "There are some feed products that we may lose in the swine industry as a continuation of safety issues regarding BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), or mad cow disease," Cline said. "If we should lose some of the byproducts from the slaughter industry, the question becomes, how do we replace them? We're talking about all kinds of protein sources, such as vegetable products, fish products and milk products, which we hope could replace some of the animal products we might lose. But so far we haven't found anything that's completely adequate." Other conference topics and speakers include: • 9 a.m., "Feeding the Modern Sow - Do We Really Know How?" - Don Mahan, Ohio State University. • 9:25 a.m., "Energy Systems for Swine: Net Energy vs. Metabolizable Energy" - John Patience, Prairie Swine Center, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. • 10:45 a.m., "Update on Acidification of Pig Starters" - Scott Radcliffe, Purdue. • 11:35 a.m., "Feeding Considerations for Wean-to-Finish Systems" - Bradley Wolter, The Maschoffs, Carlyle, Ill. • 1 p.m., "Role of Adipocytes in Energy Regulation" - Mike Spurlock, Purdue. • 1:45 p.m., "Nutrition and Health of Swine" - Rod Johnson, University of Illinois. • 3 p.m., "Identifying the Limiting Amino Acids in Complex and Cereal Grain-Based Diets to Minimize Nitrogen Excretion" - Gary Cromwell, University of Kentucky. • 3:25 p.m., "Phytase in Diets and Phosphorus Movement in Soils" - Brad Joern, Purdue. • 3:50 p.m., "Nutrition and Air Quality" - Alan Sutton, Purdue. Registration fees include lunch, conference materials and refreshments. To register or for more information, visit the event Web site, or contact Cline at (765) 494-4846 or by e-mail at tcline@purdue.edu. Writer: Steve Leer, (765) 494-8415, sleer@purdue.edu Source: Tip Cline, (765) 494-4846, tcline@purdue.edu Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722; Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu Related Web sites: Purdue University Department of Animal Sciences
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