Collaborative Research & Development AFBI Pig Seminar 10 th November 2015 Direct impact on profitability o Price of pork o Cost of feed or feed ingredients CHALLENGES o New Challenges o Environmental, Planning, IPPC o Concerns over food safety, Dioxins o New disease risks, PEDV o Public / EU concerns over antibiotics CHALLENGES o Industry remains resilient o Desire to expand o Desire to improve efficiencies o Desire to invest in their business o Challenges? CHALLENGES o Government keen to support growth? Going for Growth Report need to grow a sustainable, profitable and integrated supply chain, focused on delivering the needs of the market o Pig Section2020 Target o Increase sow herd by 40% to o Challenges? CHALLENGES o ARINI, Devenish & Thompsons o Co funding from DARD o Support from Producer Group PCM o Key focus on efficiency & profitability o 18 core projects o Nutritional, environmental and management strategies Collaborative Research Sept 2015L R Dr. Kelvin McCracken (Consultant) Dr. Violet Beattie (Devenish) Dr. Elizabeth Magowan (AFBI) Prof. Fred Gordon (Chair) Raymond Bradford (PCM) Producer Group Sam Smyth (John Thompsons) Gordon Donaldson (John Thomspons) o Each doing our own thing? But was it.Credible? Applicable? Relevant? Deliverable? Collaborative Research University facilities Not representative Hygiene Biosecurity Housing & Feeders Stocking Density Lacking science Proper trial design Too many variables Cause & effect No statistics Commercial biased Variability Batch to Batch Pen to Pen Projects Industry driven Properly designed AFBI Scientific evaluation Statistically analysed Digestibility information Cause and effect PCM Producers 1 st commercial application Small scale roll out Farm by farm evaluation Wider Customer Base Large scale roll out Public Dissemination Conferences Scientific Papers 90% of sows in NI VARIABLE RESPONSES o Science to back up farm work o Important commercial farm decisions o Type of diet to use o Type of ingredients to use o Type of additives to use o Risk of using farm data in isolation FCR VARIABILITY Collaboration with CAFRE 5 Core producers 17 B & B units Similar health status, genetics and rearing system 79 batches over 18 months Mean mortality 1.8% Average transfer: 39kg Average kill: 112kg Mean FCR 2.66 VARIABILITY Producer (5x) B & B Farm (17x) Batch (79x) FCR VARIABILITY o Average FCR per unit o FCR 2.47 2.85 o 0.05 FCR = 1.6p/kg deadweight based on average 2014 prices o 12p/kg deadweight o 100 finishers per week o 34,000 ENVIRONMENTAL o Nitrogen & Phosphorus o Nitrates Action Plan, IPPC, Planning o Can N & P levels be reduced o Can we deliver environmental benefit o Without compromising performance o Without compromising welfare o Commercial application ENVIRONMENTAL o Phosphorus o Review of phosphorus requirements o 0.45% P % P o Use of Phytase enzymes o Lead to lower P in diets o 20% reduction in P levels in feed o 50% reduction in soluble P excretion ENVIRONMENTAL o Nitrogen o Initial work CP 21% to 19% in growers o CP in finishers 18% to 15% o Importance of amino acid balance o Importance of pig age o Get these wrong and low protein fails o Science to deliver desired outcome ENVIRONMENTAL o Nitrogen o Reduced N excretion by 680g / pig o Data taken to DEFRA / Brussels o 25% reduction in land requirement Original NAP Figures 2007Revised NAP Figures 2011 Nitrogen Excretion/pigLand required for 2000 pigsNitrogen Excretion/pigLand required for 2000 pigs Finishing Pig2.69kg31.7 Ha2.01kg23.7 Ha Wean to Finish3.41kg40.1 Ha2.39kg28.1 Ha ALTERNATIVE INGREDIENTS o Using cereal by products and oils o Rapeseed Ext and DDGS o Will performance be affected o Intake, digestibility, carcass o What inclusion levels o Ingredient interactions o Economically viable o Cost / kg not just / tonne ALTERNATIVE INGREDIENTS o Evaluated Rapeseed up to 21% inclusion o Inconsistent responses o Can be included at conservative levels o DDGS or different sources up to 30% o Limited local data on DDGS o Can be included if cost effective to do so o Diet digestibility decreased at high levels FEED FORMULATION o Formulating with CONFIDENCE o Most cost effective balance of ingredients o Most digestible mix of ingredients o Most appropriate protein levels o Most appropriate energy levels o Most appropriate amino acid balance o Know performance responses on your farm o Impact of formulation on environment o Development of innovative feed strategies o Based on science o Trialled locally o Predictable responses o Delivered with confidence FEED FORMULATION o DARD Evidence & Innovation Funding o 3 year work programme o Reducing cost of production o Feed efficiency o Novel feeding strategies o Reducing odour and ammonia emission o Early NIEA engagement and acceptance o Improving carcass quality WHATS NEXT SUMMARY o Profitable Pig Farming o Meeting consumer needs o Staying competitive in the market o Meeting legislative obligations Collaborative Research FarmersScientistsNutrition Providers ProcessorsLegislators