How can your sows get more from fewer minerals?

Traditionally, mineral supplementation has been achieved through the use of inorganic minerals. However, developing technologies have ushered in a new era in mineral nutrition.

The newest edition of the “Brazilian Tables for Poultry and Swine” verifies the efficiency of organic mineral supplementation in monogastric animals, with farmers starting to implement organic mineral nutrition and seeing improvements in efficiency and gains in performance. Today, we know that feeding the right form of mineral is key to optimizing herd performance, health and productivity.

Studies show that organic trace minerals (OTM):

• Offer higher bioavailability than inorganic minerals (Close 2006).

• Have high biological activity (Peters and Mahan 2004, 2014).

• Reduce concerns about negative mineral interactions (Peters et al. 2014)

Piglet quality starts with the sow

Switching mineral forms can have a significant impact on your sow productivity and your overall pig production. Sows transfer a  significant amount of minerals to the fetus during pregnancy (Mahan et al. 2009), meaning that the gestation and lactation periods are crucial times in the sow’s productivity and in her piglets’ viability.

A study published in the Brazilian Journal of Animal Science found that sows given the organic form of trace minerals produced piglets with increased weight at birth and, after 21 days, higher iron content in the liver and blood.

“By supplying Bioplex® trace minerals, we are providing the sow with minerals that are better absorbed, which in turn makes the sow more productive, and more minerals are passed on to her offspring,” says  Russell Gilliam, Alltech’s U.S. swine business manager. “The end result is that we are able to lower income cost in producing a weaned pig.”

A “more with less” approach

Alltech’s innovative Total Replacement Technology™ was developed in response to modern production and the mineral requirements that are now demanded by your herd. Alltech has proven that modern management of mineral nutrition can be carried out by the inclusion of organic trace minerals in the form of Bioplex® and Sel-Plex® at significantly lower levels than inorganic trace minerals while still improving performance.