Progress in Precision Nutrition for Sows: Current Understanding and Future Direction

Abstract Nutrient requirements of lactating sows vary greatly based on parity, litter size, milk yield, and body condition. On commercial farms, sows are commonly fed a single diet during lactation based on the average nutrient requirements of the whole herd, not the requirements of an individual sow. Precision feeding is a strategy that can be used to target an individual sow’s requirements and avoid underfeeding or overfeeding nutrients. Recent research indicates that precision feeding can be used to reduce feed cost and nutrient excretion with similar litter growth performance compared to traditional feeding strategies of a single diet. Strategies to precision feed sows during lactation include using electronic feeders to blend diets to target specific nutrient intakes, multiple feed lines that allow more than one diet to be fed, and hand feeding based on stage of lactation, sow parity, or other factors that affect nutrient requirements of lactating sows. However, important factors must be considered before adopting precision feeding strategies on commercial farms. Implementing precision-feeding equipment requires financial investment, so producers must carefully evaluate expected return on investment before adopting these systems. An important component of precision feeding is accurately predicting nutrient requirements of lactating sows. Models are available to predict requirements of lactating sows based on factors such as parity, litter size and growth performance, and sow body weight. However, validation research is needed to better understand the nutrient requirements of lactating sows in commercial settings in order to fully optimize precision feeding strategies. To avoid underfeeding or overfeeding nutrients, lactation feed intake must be predicted accurately to meet nutrient intake requirements for precision feeding strategies to achieve its full benefit potential. Producers should use caution when predicting lactation feed intake and include a buffer to account for discrepancies between predicted and actual feed intake to avoid underfeeding nutrients. Future research using electronic feeders should focus on computer programs that automatically adjust diet blends based on a sow’s actual feed intake. In this approach, nutritionists would input the formulated diets and nutrient requirements, producers would input the sow parity and litter size, and the system would automatically modify the blend to ensure each sow receives adequate nutrient intake. In conclusion, precision feeding lactating sows is a promising strategy to decrease feed cost and nutrient excretion, while achieving similar or improved litter growth performance and minimizing sow body weight loss.