Animal science scholars, researchers and swine industry experts will gather in Omaha, Neb., Oct. 20-22 to share the results of five years’ worth of in-depth studies on swine feed efficiency, gathered from multiple industry vantage points and ranging from pig health, nutrition and physiology to genetics, feed manufacturing and pork quality.

A collaborative event presented by Iowa State University and Kansas State University, the conference will feature research findings presented by research and extension faculty from ISU and KSU, supplemented by speakers from Michigan State University and the University of Illinois.

International speakers will include researchers and industry experts from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.  The program will also feature speakers from industry, such as Cargill, Christensen Farms, Murphy-Brown, Nutreco and Topigs Norsvin.

“As the culmination of five years of multidisciplinary studies on swine feed efficiency around the world, this conference will deliver insights that will influence the way we think about feed efficiency in the production of swine for years to come,” says John Patience, Ph.D., professor of animal science at ISU and conference co-chair.

The research, funded by National Institutes of Food and Agriculture of the USDA, has generated a body of knowledge which will have relevance pork producers interested in learning how to most effectively manage feed efficiency on their operations; for allied industry serving the needs of swine producers around the globe; and for the research and animal science community interested in the science surrounding feed efficiency.

“I would encourage those interested in swine feed efficiency to attend this conference,” Patience says. “The learnings acquired here will have application across the swine industry, whether you’re a nutritionist, a feed manufacturer, a geneticist, a veterinarian or a pork producer.”

The International Conference on Feed Efficiency in Swine will be held at the Omaha Hilton from Oct. 20, through noon Oct. 22.

Registration fee is $50 through Oct. 1 and $75 thereafter. Students who register by Oct. 1 will receive complimentary registration. After Oct. 1, the student register fee will be $25.

For the full conference program and to register, visit www.swinefeedefficiency.com.

This project is supported by Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2011-68004-30336 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.