POWERSTART™ Solo and the impact of feed budgeting on performance

By Henrique Cemin, Ph.D.

Phase feeding programs are traditionally used during the nursery phase and usually consist of three diets fed from weaning until the end of the nursery period (e.g. 12 to 15, 15 to 25, and 25 to 50 pounds of body weight). The goal of a phase feeding program is to closely meet the pigs' requirements and digestive capabilities.

However, it can be challenging to correctly implement and manage feed budgets in commercial production, especially in large barns with multiple fill days. With that in mind, a single-phase program was designed to be fed from weaning until 25 pounds of body weight with the goal of replacing the two diets commonly used during this period. Results from a meta-analysis of five trials comparing a traditional two-phase program and the single-phase program is presented in Table 1. Our research has consistently demonstrated that pigs fed the single-phase program, POWERSTART Solo, will perform similarly to or at a slightly improved level than those fed a traditional two-phase program.

The typical recommendation is a budget of 15 pounds of the single-phase program from weaning until 25 pounds of body weight. However, it is important to recognize that different producers face unique situations and, in many cases, are presented with challenges that require constant adaption. Non-dietary factors such as weaning age, weaning weight and health status can have a significant impact on the response to nursery diets. Moreover, when making decisions regarding a nutritional program, it is also critical to take into consideration the production targets. Is the goal to optimize growth performance, minimize cost per pound of gain or maximize income over feed cost? The answer to that question will, in many cases, determine which strategy should be adopted.

With that in mind, we evaluated different feed budgets using POWERSTART Solo. A trial using 3,264 pigs from a commercial flow weaning at 12 pounds of body weight was conducted with four treatments based on POWERSTART Solo budgets of nine, 12, 15 or 18 pounds per pig. After receiving their allotted budgets, pigs were provided a common corn-soybean meal diet.

For the first 14 days of the trial (see Table 2), when all pigs were receiving their allotted POWERSTART Solo budgets, growth performance was similar across treatments, as was expected. However, from days 14 to 21, pigs that received 15 or 18 pounds of POWERSTART Solo had significantly improved intake, gain and feed efficiency compared to those fed nine or 12 pounds of POWERSTART Solo that had switched to the corn-soybean meal diet.

This significant improvement was also reflected in the cumulative 21-day performance of the animals. Pigs fed 15 pounds of POWERSTART Solo were 1.8 pounds heavier and presented a 10% improvement in feed efficiency 21 days post-weaning compared to those fed the nine-pounds budget. As expected, a budget of 12 pounds resulted in intermediate performance. Although pigs are able to demonstrate compensatory growth response, those fed 15 or 18 pounds of POWERSTART Solo maintained their weight gain advantage and were approximately two pounds heavier at the end of the nursery period than the others (see Table 3). This confirms the consistent results observed with the single-phase program, as well as the critical importance of determining the correct feed budget.

Our standard recommendation is a budget of 15 pounds of POWERSTART Solo. However, if there is a particular challenge or a specific goal that must be met, data from the current research can be used on the decision-making process regarding feed budgets.