PSVIII-20 Impact of soybean meal inclusion in late gestation on sow productivity and litter performance

Abstract

Abstract Soybean meal (SBM) provides essential nutritional components to the pig beyond amino acid profile. However, the expense of SBM has led to reduced use or elimination from diets of pre-farrowing sows. Therefore, the objective of this project is to investigate the impact of variable SBM inclusion rates of late gestation diets on sow productivity during farrowing and lactation. Sows were assigned to one of four diets, two weeks prior to farrowing: A (n=15; 0% SBM, 13.5% crude protein (CP), B (n=17; 10% SBM, 13.5% CP), C (n=15; 0% SBM, 21.5% CP), D (n=15; 30% SBM, 21.5% CP). At farrowing the total born (TB), born alive (BA), mummies (MM), stillborn (SB), and birth weights (BW) were recorded. After farrowing, piglet weights were recorded daily until d 10 of lactation, and then weekly until weaning. No significant effect of SBM inclusion was observed for MM, SB, or BW (P > 0.44). A numerical increase in TB (P = 0.36) and BA (P = 0.11) was observed in litters produced from sows on diet D, with TB at 13.9 ±1.3, and BA at 13.3 ± 1.1, while diets A, B, and C had TB and BA ≤ 11.3 ± 1.6, and ≤ 10.2 ± 1.1, respectively. Litter BW, wean weight, and average daily gain were not different across diets (P ≥ 0.47). These results suggest that the inclusion rate of SBM has minimal impact on overall performance, however, continued research is needed into understanding the nutritional needs of a sow during late gestation.