Thanks to
the meat and bone meal ban and the difficulty of distinguishing animal protein
sources at the microscopic level, fishmeal is no longer an option for many
farms and feed mills in Europe. The most
common main alternative, potato protein, is under severe upward price pressure.
Seghers-vitamex developed an alternative with promising results.
European
White breed pig lines (Yorkshire, Large White,
Landrace) formed the basic genetic material of most breeding programmes, and in
time have evolved into specialised sire and dam lines. This has also led to a
different level of nutritional requirements for each of these different
lines and forced nutritionists and geneticists to work together closely to
obtain optimal performance records.
Weaning is a problematic time for pigs, especially in
intensive production. A radical solution has been found by using a lectin
obtained from the red kidney bean plant (Phaseolus vulgaris).
The
technique should have major cost benefits for pig producers.
Australian researchers say adding fishmeal to finisher
pig diets can reduce saturated fat and increase levels of beneficial long-chain
omega-3 fatty acids in pork.