Wrapping up November: What is new in the world of pigs? November 2018 was a very busy month, with reports on many different novelties and on deals that were closed at...
Soon to be published: The Gut Health Special Pig Progress will soon be publishing a special edition devoted to the theme of Gut Health. The special issue...
Focus on sows in 6th edition of Pig Progress Sows are at the centre of our attention in the 6th issue of Pig Progress. From breeding improvement to insights...
Ukraine’s pig industry reports profits again The average profitability of Ukraine’s pig industry increased during 2017, reaching 3.5%, according to the...
Wrapping up May: What’s new in the world of pigs? As the international show season approaches, May 2018 brought a host of new innovations to the international...
EU to adapt copper reduction plans for pigs The reduction of copper levels for pigs to 25 mg/kg for all age groups is off the table in the European Union....
Herbs and toys enhancing growing pig welfare Environmental enrichment as well as herbal compounds can help reduce stress in growing pigs and thus increase...
Prices for pig feed reach historic lows in Russia The average price of pig feed in Russia has reached historic lows in December 2017. This has led to higher Feed...
How to improve pig house air scrubbers? The performance of air scrubbers on pig farms can easily be improved, according to recent research in Belgium....
Northern Ireland pig herd shows ‘bounce back’ ability Using more prolific genetics as well as increasing the feed intake to lactating sows has helped boost the...
Research aimed at lowering feed conversion on pig farms Belgian institutes have jointly launched a new research initiative to further optimise Feed Conversion Ratio...
Dutch pig sector at comparative disadvantage Increasingly, costs of pig production in the Netherlands is growing faster in comparison to neighbouring...
Project shows lack of knowledge in pig research Gaps in pig nutrition research have been highlighted by a research project in Northern Ireland that has just...
US: Vaccines and biosecurity to replace antibiotics Increased use of vaccines and better sanitation and biosecurity are the 2 most common changes US pig, cattle and...
Benefits for piglets when using TBCC diet additive Adding 100 or 200 mg/kg of tribasic copper chloride (TBCC) to piglet weaning diets has been observed to be...
Algae solutions for pigs prevail at EPP congress Many players in the Irish agribusiness believe that algae could be at the basis of a more sustainable future for...
Is the pig house too hot in summer? Paint it white! The summer of 2018 was a hot one and it looks like there are more of them to come. Are there easy ways to...
BLOG: Presenting about the P of Pigs I had wanted to talk about the subject of the ‘Fourth P’ for some time. The opportunity arose when I had the...
Duckweed Duckweed is an aquatic plant found in marshes. It has a tremendous capacity for rapid growth, being able to...
Cheap Formulas One of the most common requests I receive is for a set of 'cheap formulas'. Is it really possible to attain...
Buying feed in 2011 – the right way to do it Feed is still the biggest on-cost you have to bear. When so many pig industries have their backs to the profit...
IPVS 2010 Vancouver, Canada – What a spectacular event Vancouver lived up to its reputation of being one of the most stunning cities in the world. It was magnificent,...
Glycerol, a liquid with potential Glycerol is a by-product of biofuel production and it may be used as an energy source in diets for pigs but...
Extrusion: the good, the bad, and the ugly side Extrusion of ingredients and complete diets is a thermal processing method that involves progressively...
Breakthroughs in pig nutrition Last month I was honoured to be part of the conference 'Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition' in Armidale,...
Journées de la Recherche Porcine On February 3 and 4, the French research community gathered in Gare de Lyon under the auspice of INRA to discuss...
Replacing plasma - how? Following my last blog on the use of immunoglobulins from hyper-immunised eggs as a means of controlling...
Dietary electrolyte balance (dEB) When we formulate diets for pigs, little attention is paid usually on minerals, apart from meeting certain...
Wheat versus maize Questions whether maize can replace wheat - or the other way round - are frequently asked. Such concerns...
InraPorc As a field nutritionist working for a major feed company, and now as an independent consulting nutritionist, I...
The vitamin C question This is a quite old question, which has yet to receive a definitive answer! Despite the fact that pigs, like...
Feeding sorghum Sorghum has re-surfaced recently as an alternative cereal, especially in Western Europe, where imports,...
Plant proteins can replace animal proteins Nutritionists typically acknowledge animal protein as being a quality, highly digestible feed ingredient that is...
A better method to measure sow herd efficiency Comparing sow herd performance is not always easy as sometimes different farms apply different calculations or...
Seed, feed and weed to improve pig gut health As antibiotics are increasingly on their way out of intensive animal production, it is good to take a look at...
Supporting fat digestion in weaned piglets Modern animal production requires pigs to grow fast and for that reason, energy dense diets are formulated. Oils...
A balanced approach in sow and piglet diets Correct feed and correct feed ingredients help both sows and piglets perform better. If in diets, everything is...
Probiotics in creep feed for piglets With sows being ever more prolific, there is also a growing number of relatively small piglets being born. The...
Better piglet health by enhancing sow diets It is becoming increasingly clear that piglet performance can be increased through providing the right nutrients...
How yeast can help sows to deal with high temperatures Heat stress is not only a problem in tropical countries – also in moderate climates this can have an effect on...
Keep pigs agile to manage the cost-effectiveness of feed Being able to manage all the risks impacting cost-effectiveness of diets is the holy grail of nutrition. But...
Algae extracts to improve piglet gut health At what moment does a piglet need help? At weaning or does protection have to start sooner? Applying a strategy...
Better encapsulated phytogenics improves feed efficiency Limited digestibility is a well-known problem for many pig producers all around the world. A problem that feed...
Does lyso-lecithin improve piglet growth? Does the inclusion of lyso-lecithin in diets make any difference to piglet performance? That was the question...
Is there a universal definition of gut health in pigs? Many companies and institutes speak about it, but it isn’t that easy at all to find a universal definition for...
Taking the next step in sow feeding With ongoing improvements in the genetics of breeding animals, the nutritional requirements of these animals...
Helping the liver to detoxify mycotoxins Mycotoxin strategies have so far focused on binding compounds or detoxifying the compounds by feed additives....
All disease begins in the gut Post-weaning gaps in piglets can easily take 7 to 10 days. Some well-managed farms, however, can contain this to...