Supplemental Nutrivantage® In Grow-Finish Pigs
Developing products that can help pork producers raise healthier pigs to feed a growing population is an ongoing effort at the Kent
Nutrition Group Product Development Center. NutriVantage® Nutrition Optimizer® for swine is a research-driven feed supplement
designed to help animals achieve optimum nutrition from their diet. Our exclusive NutriVantage formula is made with nutritional
components that consist of a blend of organic macromolecules, trace minerals, antioxidants, and chelating agents. In the following
trial, we evaluated NutriVantage at three levels (1.5, 3, and 4.5 lb/ton of complete feed at an added cost of $1.30, $2.60 and $3.15/ton,
respectively by substituting NutriVantage for corn) in growing-finishing pigs. We utilized 1,896 pigs involving 24 replications per group.
We used a five-phase program with 400 lb/ton of Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles in each diet. The overall performance data are
shown below:
| Groups | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NutriVantage, lb/ton | - | 1.5 | 3 | 4.5 |
| Number of Pigs | 474 | 474 | 474 | 474 |
| Number of Pens | 2.726 | 2.671 | 24 | 24 |
| Final Weight*, lb | 249.4 | 248.9 | 253.7 | 250.5 |
| Days 0-112 | ||||
| ADGc , lb | 1.823 | 1.819 | 1.862 | 1.833 |
| ADFc , lb | 4.761 | 4.724 | 4.830 | 4.738 |
| F/Ga | 2.610 | 2.597 | 2.592 | 2.583 |
| Cost/lb Gainb , ¢ | 21.00 | 21.04 | 21.12 | 21.19 |
| Net Return, $/Pig | ||||
| @$50/cwt live price | 59.19 | 58.92 | 60.07 | 58.90 |
| @$55/cwt live pricec | 69.40 | 69.10 | 70.50 | 69.16 |
| @$60/cwt live pricec | 79.61 | 79.29 | 80.93 | 79.42 |
| @$65/cwt live pricec | 89.82 | 89.47 | 91.35 | 89.68 |
| @$70/cwt live pricec | 100.03 | 99.65 | 101.78 | 99.94 |
| @$75/cwt live pricec | 110.24 | 109.84 | 112.21 | 110.20 |
| Carcass | ||||
| Percent Leanb | 57.18 | 57.24 | 57.29 | 57.33 |
| Dressing Percent | 75.43 | 75.33 | 74.85 | 75.23 |
| Grade Premium, $/cwt | 5.47 | 5.34 | 5.64 | 5.48 |
| aNV linear (P < .05); bNV Linear (P ≤ .09); cNV Cubic (P ≤ .10) *Initial Weight/Group = 45.2 lb
| ||||
DISCUSSION
We observed a response in gain and feed intake when pigs were fed diets with supplemental NutriVantage at 3 lb/ton of complete feed.
In fact, the hogs were 4.3 lb heavier at market weight when the diets contained supplemental NutriVantage at 3 lb/ton compared
to those without. While the optimum level for growth and feed intake was 3 lb/ton, we did see that as the level of NutriVantage was
increased, the improvement in feed efficiency continued, which helped to keep the cost/lb of gain just slightly higher than the pigs on
Group 1 without the NutriVantage. The improvements in gain with NutriVantage fed at 3 lb/ton resulted in very favorable advantages
an as the level of NutriVantage was increased.
SUMMARY
Supplemental NutriVantage for swine (Product # 8101) at 3 lb/ton of complete feed resulted in faster growth rates along with improvements of $1.10/hog marketed (using a live price of $55/cwt).
