Pig meat has enjoyed the position of being the most consumed meat worldwide. Despite some recent disruptions following outbreaks of African swine fever, it will regain its position in the near future and remain a major human protein resource.

The technology of pig production has advanced markedly over the last 30 years. Sow productivity and grower pig feed conversion efficiency have seen great gains. This has come from advances in genetics and management but has demanded parallel advances in nutrition and animal health.

The OSTIS Swine Nutrition Agri-School is a relatively comprehensive course that aims to give participants a good practical knowledge of nutrition and an understanding of the specific nutritional requirements at each stage of production. It also sets standards of performance and highlights the influence of productivity on profitability.

LESSON 1 – BASICS OF SWINE NUTRITION
This is a quick review of nutritional concept and terms, definition of the nutrients involved (energy, protein, fiber, minerals, and vitamins) and the biochemical pathways through which they are assimilated into the animal. It highlights the gastrointestinal physiology of the pig and how it differs from other animal species. We will explain the methods of titrating the optimal nutritional requirement of nutrients such as lysine, and how we apply the ideal protein concept to achieve overall amino acid balance in the diet. It will deal with the characteristics of fat and oils and how this affect pig performance.
The ability of the pig to utilize a broad range of different feedstuffs will be demonstrated and how these can be applied in diets with a practical demonstration of the feed formulation process, including a review of the spectrum of potential feed additives. This section also covers alternatives to antibiotic use in feeds as well as biosecurity as it relates to feed.

LESSON 2 - PIGLET NUTRITION
This lesson will detail how we progress the piglet from the suckling stage to the post weaning stage with minimal gut damage, and performance compromise. Aspects of diet formulation, potential raw materials, dietary specifications by development stage, and useful dietary adjuncts will be discussed.
Feed processing and feeding management practices to optimize performance will be demonstrated. Common problems encountered in commercial production will be listed and strategies to avoid them or resolve them will be detailed.
A table of expected performance standards will be presented as a guide to potential performance that can be achieved when the principles of piglet nutrition are understood and applied.

LESSON 3 – APPLIED ASPECT OF GROWER / FINISHER PIG NUTRITION
To be able to provide appropriate nutrition to growing pigs we first need to understand the growth characteristics of the genetics and sex involved. From this we can estimate the energy and protein input to optimize performance and translate these into dietary requirements.
We need to appreciate the different sources and forms of energy and how they are delivered, extracted, and utilized in the animal.
This lesson will provide an explanation of how nutrient requirements are defined and how they change with sex, protein deposition capacity and metabolism modifiers.
Several technologies to improve energetic efficiency will be explored and its likely limits. A check list of common problems encountered in commercial production and actions to avoid or remedy them will be reviewed.

LESSON 4: FEEDING BREEDER PIGS FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE
Sow productivity is the main driver of profitability in pig operations. It is not a single metric but rather is derived from the multiplicative effects of farrowing index (litters/sow/year), litter size (pigs born alive per litter) and survival through to sale. Each of these aspects has in turn multiple contributing factors so the maintenance of high productivity in sows requires attention to detail across many disciplines.
A key component of success is sow longevity and the effect this has on the parity profile balance. Sow production involves multiple stages of gilt preparation, mating, gestation, lactation, subsequent rebreeding, etc., each requiring a different nutritional focus. The changing requirements in each phase and the feeding management adjustment required will be discussed.
The feed formulation aspects of sow diets and how they need to recognize the gastrointestinal limits of the sow, will be detailed.
Being a delicate biological process, reproduction in the commercial herd can involve numerous potential problems. The cause and strategic resolution of eleven of these problems is discussed.