The Case For Precision Feeding

Since feed constitutes by far the largest portion of operating costs, changes in feeding practices promise both small and large hog producers the quickest and easiest productivity gains.

Hog nutritional research has shown that the feed curve for a specific animal will vary according to its genetics and sex, but it may also be influenced by specific farm conditions. Until now there wasn't an affordable way to deal with farm-to-farm variation.

The common current process of "stepped feeding" is designed to lower nutrient density as the hog ages, however a three-step diet makes a lot of compromises and does not change the formula frequently enough to stay close to the curve (see 3-Step chart). In fact, the hog will only be on curve for five brief periods in its entire life.

Changing the feed formulation weekly or even daily (see 30-Step chart) almost matches the curve. By making frequent adjustments to the hogs' diet, the producer can prevent:

• Underfeeding – where the animal isn't growing quickly enough and costs more to produce.
• Overfeeding – where feed is wasted and the excess consumed is excreted by the animals, adding to the producer's manure treatment costs.

The Feedlogic system provides an affordable way to change formulations gradually so that the animals stay on curve. It also allows producers to monitor performance and make adjustments if specific groups of animals stray from the curve.