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Maintaining highly productive sows |
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Modern sows have the ability to produce and rear large litter sizes providing their nutritional requirements and those of her piglets are met. Unfortunately many units are not achieving this.
The demand of larger litter sizes pushes many sows into a negative energy balance. Body condition then falls too far and this affects fertility in the following cycle.
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First cycle sow determines success in second cycle |
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About 19% of the sows on a farm are second parity sows. Many of these second parity sows show disappointing reproduction performance. As many as 50% of sows produce less piglets in their second litter than in their first litter. Lia Hoving investigated the causes and consequences of the variation in reproduction performance of second parity sows. On May, 11th, she obtained her PhD degree at Wageningen University. Lia Hoving joins Provimi as technical service manager swine on June, 1st.
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Pre-weaning calf performance and lifetime production |
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From the moment a cow is artificially inseminated, an investment is made in obtaining a replacement animal for the herd. The total cost of producing a pregnant 2 year old replacement heifer is approximately €900. Buying an equivalent animal would currently cost approx €1,200 in the Netherlands, with higher prices in quite a number of other markets. As with any investment you expect a return (on this investment), which is maximised by investing strategically in the right period of heifer rearing. Research has shown that calf management has a long lasting effect on the dairy cow.
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Nutrigenomics |
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Nutrigenomics is a fast developing research area where nutrition meets genomics and performance. It studies the relationship between nutrition and the response of genes, resulting in affecting protein synthesis in general. Knowledge about nutrigenomics will lead to an increased understanding of how diet influences metabolic pathways.
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