ACTIVATE® DA
ACTIVATE® DA nutritional feed acid is a combination of granular organic acids and 2-Hydroxy-4-Methylthio Butanoic acid (HMTBa) (the active component of ALIMET®), a highly available source of methionine. Highly concentrated source of organic acids.
ACTIVATE® DA Provides 2.4 lbs of Gain in Just 21 Days
Summary
ACTIVATE® DA nutritional feed acid is a blend of the gut environment modifiers (GEMs) fumaric acid, benzoic acid and the methionine precursor 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio) butanoic acid calcium salt. This unique blend of GEMs has been specifically formulated to enhance gut barrier protection during periods of minimal antimicrobial use and/or non-medicated windows. The period during which the live oral vaccine is used post-weaning is one example of a pork production non-medicated window. Paylean® use prior to market can be another. With Tylan® as the only approved antimicrobial for use in combination with Paylean, a pork producer’s options for enhancing gut barrier protection during the Paylean period are limited.
Methodology
Trials
Two performance trials (7075 and 8035) were conducted during which ACTIVATE DA inclusion during the Paylean period was compared to feeding diets without supplemental gut barrier protection. Diets were corn-soybean meal based, supplemented with 4% added dietary fat. Synthetic lysine was included in the diet at 0.25 (7075) or 0.30% (8035) with true ileal digestible (TID) amino acid ratios of the total sulfur amino acids (TSAA) and tryptophan to lysine of 0.60 and 0.163 in Trial 7075 and 0.58 and 0.15, respectively in Trial 8035. TID threonine to lysine ratio was maintained at 0.65 across both trials. No DDGs or other by-product feed ingredients were included in the diets in either trial.
Trial 7075 involved approximately 460 pigs assigned to a total of 20 pens. For Trial 8035, there were approximately 370 pigs assigned to 16 pens. Therewere an equal number of barrow and gilt pens within each trial. The 2 treatment groups for both trials included a non-medicated Control (CON) and the CON diet supplemented with 0.1% (2 lbs/ton) ACTIVATE DA. CON diets were balanced to a similar TID TSAA:Lys ratio as the ACTIVATE DA supplemented diets.
Paylean was fed for approximately 21 days in both trials at 6.7 g/ton. Diets met or exceeded the 16% crude protein minimum for Paylean diets and were formulated to 0.95% TID lysine and 1.06% total lysine.
Results
Across the two trials, average daily weight gain was significantly (P<0.01) enhanced, 5.3%, resulting in approximately 2.4 lbs more weight gain over the 21 day Paylean period.
Recommendation
ACTIVATE DA is recommended to be added at 0.1% (2 lbs/ton) to late finishing diets to achieve additional performance benefits during the pre-harvest period. ACTIVATE DA at a 2 lbs/ton inclusion rate supplies 0.6 lbs/ton of methionine activity which should be accounted for in the diet formulation.
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ACTIVATE® DA Provides 2.4 lbs of Gain in Just 21 Days
Summary
The 28-day period pre-harvest represents a significant opportunity for economic gain, or perhaps more importantly, economic loss. Morbidity, mortality, lightweight pigs and decreased feed efficiency contribute to systemic losses during late finishing. Failure to get as many pigs as possible into the “sweet spot” on the marketing grid, or not optimizing weight within the “sweet spot” robs you of profit. Paylean® is often used by producers, generally at a range of 4.5 - 6.75 g/ton to improve gain and efficiency during the pre-harvest period. However, besides Tylan®, there are no other approved pre-harvest in-feed antimicrobials that can be used in conjunction with Paylean®. Therefore, many producers choose to feed antimicrobial-free diets during this period. However, increased competition for feeder space due to pig size, and marketing of pigs, can result in performance-robbing feed disruptions and lead to disturbance in the normal gut microflora.
Other producers, due to adequate finishing space, international pork market destination, or personal preference, have chosen not to use Paylean® and are looking for alternative approaches to improve late finishing performance and economics.
Two previous trials with ACTIVATE DA nutritional feed acid in the Paylean® phase (Combined =18 pens/treatment) indicated that 2 lbs/ton (0.1%) of ACTIVATE DA fed in conjunction with Paylean® resulted in 2.5 lbs (P<0.01) of additional gain (5.6%) and a 0.05 unit reduction (P<0.22) in feed/gain (1.8%).
In previous trials where ACTIVATE DA was fed in late finishing, the pigs had been fed ACTIVATE DA all the way through finishing. Therefore, the trial described here was designed to determine the ACTIVATE DA effect in late finishing Paylean® and non-Paylean® diets where pigs had not been previously fed ACTIVATE DA.
Methodology
Trial Design
A total of 792 pigs, with an initial body weight of 230.2 +/- 0.96 lbs, were fed one of four dietary treatments in a 2x2 factorial arrangement of Paylean® (0 vs. 4.5 g/ton) and ACTIVATE DA (0 vs. 2 lbs/ton). There were 18 pigs per pen and 11 replicate pens per treatment. On day 13, 8 pigs per pen were marketed with the remainder of the pen marketed on day 25.
Pigs were fed corn-soybean meal based diets with 10% distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). Diet description is provided in Table 1.
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Diets were formulated in accordance with how the respective diets would be implemented commercially. Specifically, for the Paylean® diets, the TSAA:Lys ratio was maintained constant while the Control diets TSAA:Lys ratios increased slightly with the addition of ACTIVATE DA.
Results
ACTIVATE DA Improves Gain
During the initial 13 day period, while the stocking density was 18 pigs per pen, ACTIVATE DA improved growth rate 0.1 lbs/day (3.8%) over the growth rate achieved with Paylean®, and 0.19 lbs/day (9.8%) more when pigs were fed the non-Paylean® diet. After the first marketing the stocking density declined to 10 pigs per pen and the ACTIVATE DA benefit for Paylean® fed pigs was 0.06 lbs/day (2.8%) and 0.13 lbs/day (6.8%) for pigs fed non-Paylean® diets. When calculated on average weight gain per pig sold, ACTIVATE DA had a 3.5 lb/pig (9.6%) benefit in non-Paylean® pigs and 1.7 lb/pig (3.6%) benefit in pigs fed Paylean®.
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ACTIVATE DA Improves Pre-Harvest Feed Efficiency
Although not significant, feed efficiency was improved 0.07 units (2.3%) during the first 13 days of feeding ACTIVATE DA in non-Paylean® diets. When ACTIVATE DA was added to Paylean® diets, feed efficiency was numerically improved 0.09 units (3.6%). For pigs remaining after the first marketing, ACTIVATE DA improved feed efficiency 0.16 units (4.6%) in non-Paylean® and 0.07 units (2.1%) for pigs fed Paylean® diets.
Paylean® Effects on Gain and Feed Efficiency
Growth rate was improved 0.585 lbs/day (28.7%) with Paylean® (Table 2) the first 13 days but only 0.185 lbs/day (9.4%) for the last 12 days of the trial. Paylean® improved feed efficiency by 0.55 units (18.8%) the first 13 days of the trial. Feed efficiency was improved 0.23 units (6.8%) for the pigs remaining for the last 12 days of the trial.
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Summary
ACTIVATE DA numerically improved growth rate and feed efficiency during the 2 days pre-harvest. The improved growth rate is important for capturing the most income from the pig through weight optimization and increasing the number of pigs that achieve the minimum target market weight necessary to prevent significant discounts. Feed efficiency improvements are important pre-harvest as this is when feed efficiency is poorest and the margin per unit of additional unit of gain declines. ACTIVATE DA is recommended to be included at 2 lbs/ton of complete feed for at least 28 days pre-harvest to improve performance and economics in finishing pigs.