Márcio A. D. Gonçalves

• DVM, PhD
• Founder at Swine it

This study aimed to investigate the effect of increasing the standardized ileal digestible (SID) total sulfur amino acid to lysine (TSAA:Lys) on the growth performance of nursery pigs raised with or without antibiotics (AGP) and to determine the optimal SID TSAA:Lys in nursery pigs raised without AGP. In Exp. 1, 924 nursery pigs (7.9 ± 1.3 kg), blo...

Limited information is available on lysine requirement estimates of modern, high-producing gestating sows Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of increasing standardized ileal digestible (SID) lysine during gestation on piglet birthweight and reproductive performance of gilts and sows. A total of 936 females (498 gilts...

Due to increasing litter size at weaning, the stocking density in the nursery phase has increased and feeder space reduced. Understanding how both factors work is potentially relevant to reduce the negative implications for piglet growth performance and welfare. A 3 × 4 factorial arrangement with 2160 pigs was used in a 42-day study to investigate...

Our objective was to determine the effects of feeding different net energy (NE) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) on performance of growing-finishing pigs from 30- to 135-kg. A total of 2,058 barrows and gilts (PIC 380×Camborough, initial BW 33.4±0.60 kg) were used in a 97-d growth trial with 21 pigs per pen and 14 pens per treatment in a randomize...

Housing nursery pigs according to body weight is an observed common practice in production systems and, supposedly, improves growth performance and reduces body weight (BW) variation. This 42-day study evaluated the effects of housing nursery pigs according to BW on performance, onset of feed intake, and aggressive behavior. A total of 504 pigs wer...

The effect of increasing the feed level (1.8, 2.5, and 3.2 kg/d) during early gestation in parity 1 (PO1) and parity 2 (PO2) sows on maternal growth and litter size was evaluated. A total of 361 sows were group-housed and fed a diet based on a corn-soybean meal (3.15 Mcal ME per kg and 0.68% SID lysine) from day 6 of gestation until day 30. Sows we...

The effects of increasing weaning age in a commercial production system on nursery and finishing performance were evaluated. A total of 1,176 pigs (PIC 337 × Camborough) were used in a 136-d growth trial with 14 and 10 replications/weaning age on the nursery and finishing phases, respectively. Treatments included weaning litters at 19, 22, 25 or 28...

This study was conducted to evaluate how the amount and type of diet consumed during the wean-to-estrus interval (WEI) affects reproductive performance and WEI duration in sows. A total of 542 sows were distributed into the following treatment groups based on a 2 × 2 factorial design: feed amount during WEI (2.75 or 3.75 kg/day) and diet (gestation...

Bump feeding é uma estratégia alimentar que consiste em aumentar o volume de ração fornecido para as matrizes na fase final de gestação. Tradicionalmente, faz-se esse aumento na quantidade de ração após o dia 90 de gestação. Durante essa fase tem-se como características o crescimento exponencial dos leitões e desenvolvimento da glândula mamária. Co...

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of calcium to phosphorus (Ca:P) ratio in diets adequate in standardized total tract digestible (STTD) P on performance of 26- to 127-kg pigs fed diets with or without phytase. Pens of pigs (n=1,134 in Exp. 1 and n=1,215 in Exp. 2, initially 26.3 and 25.3 kg) were blocked by body weight (BW) an...

A study was conducted to determine the standardized total tract digestible phosphorus (STTD P) requirement for 24- to 130-kg finishing pigs housed under commercial conditions. A total of 1,130 barrows and gilts (PIC 359 × 1050, Hendersonville, TN; initially 24.2 kg) were used, with 26 to 27 pigs per pen with 7 replicates per treatment. Pens of pigs...

Two experiments were conducted to determine the standardized total tract digestible phosphorus (STTD P) requirement for 11- to 23-kg nursery pigs fed diets with or without phytase. A total of 1,080 and 2,140 pigs (PIC 359 × Camborough, Hendersonville, TN; initially 11.4 ± 0.29 and 11.1 ± 0.24 kg) were used in Exp. 1 and 2, respectively. There were...

Our objective was to determine the effects of feeding different analyzed calcium to phosphorus (Ca:P) ratios on performance of growing-finishing pigs from 26 to 127-kg fed diets containing 1,000 phytase units (FYT). A total of 1,215 barrows and gilts (PIC 359×Camborough, initial BW 26 ± 0.71 kg) were used in a 114-d growth trial with 27 pigs/pen an...

Our objective was to determine the effects of feeding different analyzed calcium to phosphorus (Ca:P) ratios on performance of growing-finishing pigs from 26 to 127-kg. A total of 1,134 barrows and gilts (PIC 359×Camborough, initial BW 26.3 ± 0.71 kg) were used in a 110-d growth trial with 27 pigs per pen and 7 pens per treatment in a randomized co...

The present study aimed to determine the optimal ratio of standardized ileal digestible (SID) total sulfur amino acid (TSAA) to Lys for growth performance in 5 to 22 kg pigs under antibiotic-free regime. Experimental diets were formulated to ensure that lysine was the second limiting AA throughout the experiments. A total of 990 weaning piglets (PI...

Research has shown that carcass yield in swine is reduced when ingredients with high neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content. Carcass yield reduction from feeding high-fiber ingredients results from an increase in the weight of intestinal contents. NDF has been shown to result in the digestive contents to swell in the large intestine by absorbing wat...

Heat stress due to increasing extremes in ambient temperature and humidity results in reduced semen quality in boars. This has caused reduced efficiency of the swine industry, requiring more boars to breed the same number of sows. Vitamins such as vitamin C ( VC ) and E ( VE ) have been shown to improve semen quality in boars. Recently, vitamin D h...

Camborough PIC sows (n = 291) were fed 1 of 5 dietary treatments to evaluate the standardized ileal digestible (SID) Thr:Lys requirement during lactation. Sows were blocked by parity (1, 2, and 3+) and randomly allotted to 1 of 5 SID Thr:Lys ratios (52, 60, 68, 76, and 84). SID Lys was formulated to 1.03% and SID methionine and cystine (M + C):Lys...

An experiment was conducted with 430 sows (PIC Camborough, PIC, Hendersonville, TN) to evaluate the ideal standardized ileal digestible (SID) Val:Lys on sow and litter performance during an 18.6-d lactation period. The SID Val:Lys ratios measured were based on previously published literature and then values above and below reported values. Sows wer...

Efficient management of swine production systems requires understanding of complex reproductive physiological mechanisms. Our objective in this study was to investigate potential causal biological relationships between reproductive performance traits in high-producing gilts and sows. Data originated from a nutrition experiment and consisted of 200...

The effects of increasing feed intake (1.8, 2.3, 2.8, and 3.3 kg/d) during late gestation of gilts on piglet birth weight and female reproductive performance were evaluated. A total of 977 gilts were fed a diet based on corn-soybean meal (3.29 Mcal ME per kg and 0.64% standardized ileal digestible lysine) from day 90 of gestation until farrowing. G...

Objective: To determine the effects of varying the number of pigs per feeder hole and group size on feed intake onset, growth performance, and lesions in nursery pigs. Materials and methods: A total of 630 pigs were randomly assigned at weaning (mean [SD] age of 20.5 [0.9] d and weight of 5.59 [0.9] kg) to one of four treatments: 3.75, 5.00, 6.25,...

Efectos en cerdos por la abertura de comedero y tamaño del grupo en el inicio del consumo de alimento, rendimiento de crecimiento, y lesiones de orejas y colas en cerdos de destete con acceso suficiente de espacio

An observational study was conducted on a commercial 5600-sow farm using electronic sow feeders (ESF) to collect daily feed intake and scales to obtain sow body weights. The challenges that emerged during this study and proposed solutions may be useful for future research projects in commercial farms with ESF feeding systems. A total feed delivery...

The increase in the litter size in past decades has caused reduction in the individual piglet birth weight. Therefore, nutritional strategies employed in the last third of gestation in order to improve the piglet birth weight have been studied. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of 2 different feeding levels (1.8 and 2.2 kg/d) in the last thi...

The effects of Standardized Ileal Digestible (SID) lysine (Lys) levels fed to gilts during lactation on their offspring’s growth and carcass performance have not been documented in the literature. The objectives of this trial were to determine long-term carryover effects of the SID Lys levels fed to lactating gilts on wean-to-finish performance of...

The objective of this study was to determine the Standardized Ileal Digestible (SID) threonine:lysine ratio on nursery pigs performance under commercial conditions. A total of 2,262 pigs (PIC 359×Camborough®, 5.7 ± 0.1 kg) were used in a 39-d trial. Pens were assigned to dietary treatments in a randomized complete block based on initial BW and room...

The present study aimed to determine the effects of increasing ratios of standardized ileal digestible (SID) total sulfur amino acid (TSAA) to Lys on growth performance of 7 to 17 kg pigs under antibiotics and antibiotics-free regime. A total of 924 weaning piglets were fed common diet without antibiotics from d 0 to 14 post-weaning. Piglets were b...

Research has shown that carcass yield is reduced when feeding DDGS or other ingredients with high neutral detergent fiber (NDF). Considering the financial implications of changing carcass yield, the objective of this project was to develop a regression equation to estimate carcass yield from dietary NDF withdrawal strategies. Data from 8 trials (43...

A total of 990 sows (PIC Camborough; avg parity = 2.92) were utilized to determine the SID Val:Lys requirement in lactating sows. Upon placement in farrowing, sows were randomly allotted by parity and BW into one of six dietary treatments (0.58, 0.65, 0.72, 0.79, 0.86, or 0.93 SID Val:Lys; 103 to 107 sows/trt) within a randomized complete block des...

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding level and diet type during wean-to-estrus interval (WEI). A total of 542 females (PIC-Camborough®) were used from weaning to the subsequent farrowing. Treatments were distributed in a factorial design 2 × 2 with 2 feeding levels during the WEI (2.6 or 3.4 kg/d) and 2 diet types [gesta...

This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of Standardized Ileal Digestible (SID) lysine intake during lactation on litter and reproductive performance of gilts. A total of 784 gilts (PIC Camborough) were used in a 21-d lactation. Gilt was considered the experimental unit and all fostering was recorded and occurred within 24 hours post-...

One thousand two hundred PIC (337 × Camborough; PIC, Hendersonville, TN) barrows and gilts were used to evaluate lactose levels and organic acid inclusion in newly weaned nursery pigs. At the start of the study, the pigs averaged 6.09 kg. The lightest 10% of pigs were sorted off to form one replication and the remaining pigs were sorted by gender a...

An experiment was conducted with 430 sows (PIC Camborough) to evaluate the ideal standardized ileal digestibile (SID) Val:Lys on sow and litter performance during a 23-d lactation period. The SID Val:Lys ratios measured were based on previously published literature and then values above and below reported values. Sows were randomly allotted within...

A total of 990 pigs (PIC 337 X Camborough) were utilized to determine the SID Lys:ME (g/Mcal ME) requirement from 129 to 149 kg BW. Pigs were randomly allotted by BW to one of five SID Lys:ME levels (1.49, 1.73, 1.97, 2.21, or 2.45 g/Mcal ME) with 12 replicate pens/trt and 14 to 18 pigs/pen (0.85 to 1.10 m²/pig). The low and high Lys:ME levels were...

A study was conducted on a commercial sow farm to evaluate the effects of increasing dietary standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys in gestation on sow growth and piglet birth weight. A total of 971 females (498 gilts, 138 parity 2 and 335 parity 3+ sows; Camborough, PIC, Hendersonville, TN) were group-housed (approximately 275 females/pen) and in...

One thousand two hundred PIC (337 × Camborough; PIC, Hendersonville, TN) barrows and gilts were used to further evaluate the Standardized Ileal Digestible (SID) total sulfur amino acid (TSAA) ratio relative to lysine requirement in 14-27.5 kg nursery pigs. Prior to the start of the study, pigs were fed a basal diet that contained 1.45% SID lysine f...

Knowledge of energy use by the pig is essential to predict, optimize, and formulate diets to achieve expected performance. Taking into consideration the productive and financial implications of the energy density of the diet, the objective of this project was to develop a tool to estimate the dietary NE concentration that yields maximum profitabili...

One thousand one hundred and ninety-one PIC (337 X Camborough) barrows and gilts were used to determine the impact of adding potassium chloride and choline chloride to diets containing high feed grade amino acids. Prior to the start of the study, pigs were fed a basal diet that contained 1.35% SID lysine for three weeks. At the start of the study,...

An experiment was conducted with 351 sows (PIC Camborough) to evaluate the effects of SID lysine intake on sow and litter performance during a 23-d lactation period. Sows were randomly allotted within parity block (parity 1, parity 2, and parity 3+) to one of five corn soybean meal based lactation diets formulated to contain different levels of SID...

Two studies were conducted to evaluate the growth performance and percentage bone ash of nursery pigs fed various combinations of Ca and P provided by inorganic sources or phytase. In Exp. 1, pens of pigs (n = 720, initially 6.1 ± 0.98 kg) were blocked by initial BW. Within blocks, pens were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 treatments (12 pens per treat...

Efficient swine production requires integration of management and complex reproductive physiological mechanisms in females. The study objective was to explore potential causal biological relationships between reproductive traits in high-producing gilts and sows. Data consisted of weight gain during late gestation, total number born and number born...

Two experiments were conducted to estimate the standardized ileal digestible (SID) Val:Lys dose response effects in 25- to 45-kg pigs under commercial conditions. In Exp. 1, a total of 1,134 gilts (PIC 337 × 1050), initially 31.2 kg ± 2.0 kg BW (mean ± SD) were used in a 19-d growth trial with 27 pigs/pen and 7 pens/treatment. In Exp. 2, a total of...

Environmental regulations as well as economic incentives have resulted in greater use of synthetic amino acids in swine diets. Tryptophan is typically the second limiting amino acid in corn-soybean meal-based diets. However, using corn-based co-products emphasizes the need to evaluate the pig’s response to increasing Trp concentrations. Therefore,...

A conversão alimentar pode ser medida de múltiplas formas (Patience et al., 2012) mas tipicamente se refere a conversão alimentar como a quantidade de alimento dividido pela quantidade de ganho de peso (vivo ou carcaça). Do ponto de vista de granja de terminação é, normalmente, considerado o total de alimento entregue à granja dividido pelo ganho t...

A longevidade e efeito futuro da matriz é afetada por diversos fatores como manejo, sanidade, e nutrição. Do ponto de vista nutricional, o desenvolvimento da leitoa, o manejo alimentar da fêmea gestante e lactante são fatores de importãncia. O ponto crítico para maximizar a longevidade das matrizes é minimizar a perda de gordura corporal durante a...

A total of 1,200 PIC 337 × 1050 barrows and gilts (11.4 ± 1.4 kg) were placed in a wean-to-finish facility. The 5 dietary treatments were 1.10, 1.20, 1.30, 1.40, and 1.50% SID lysine. Dietary treatments were randomly allotted to pens (25 pigs/pen) blocked by gender and average pen BW. Pigs were started on experimental diets at approximately 11.4 kg...

Ninety-three sows (Camborough PIC) were used to evaluate the effects of dietary calcium (Ca) inclusion rate in lactating sows. Sows were allotted at the end of gestation into a RCBD (Block = Parity ≤ P2 or ≥ P3) with the following feed treatments: 0.63 vs. 0.79 vs. 0.95% total Ca with total phosphorus (P) constant at 0.63% and available P constant...

Diets containing animal protein sources have more glutamine than plant protein-based diets. AminoGut (Ajinomoto Heartland, Inc., Chicago, IL) is a product containing glutamine and glutamate. This study was conducted to determine the effects of protein source and AminoGut (Gln+Glu) on growth performance in nursery pigs from 5 to 27 kg. A total of 1,...

The objective of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys requirement for PIC finishing pigs under commercial conditions. A total of 27 commercial experiments were used in the meta-analysis with a total of 45,102 pigs. Number of pens/treatment and pigs/experiment ranged from 9 to 16 and 12 to 25, respectively....

A total of 1080 barrows and gilts (PIC; 337 × Camborough, initially 11.4 ± 0.29 kg BW) were used in a 21-d trial to determine the standardized total tract digestible (STTD) P requirement of nursery pigs from 11 to 25 kg. Pigs were allotted to pens at weaning according to BW and gender. There were 6 replicate pens/treatment and 23 to 27 pigs/pen. Pe...

Camborough PIC sows (n = 291) were fed one of five dietary treatments to evaluate the SID Thr:Lys requirement during lactation. Sows were blocked by parity (1, 2, and 3+) and randomly allotted to one of five SID Thr:Lys ratios (52, 60, 68, 76, and 84). SID Lys was formulated to 1.03% and SID M+C:Lys was 55%. Sows were allowed 5.45 kg/day starting o...

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding levels during wean-to-estrus (WEI) and first week of gestation (1WK) on reproductive performance of sows. A total of 543 females (PIC-Camborough) were used from weaning to farrowing. Treatments were distributed in a factorial design 2 × 2 with 2 feeding levels during the WEI (2.8 or 5...

The experiment used 924 piglets weaned at 21 days of age under commercial conditions that were fed experimental diets from 14-35 days post-weaning. The treatment structure was a 2x3 factorial, with or without AGPs included (0.0 or 1.0% Mecadox 2.5) and three levels of SID TSAA: Lys ratio: 1) 51%(low), 2) 58%(requirement) and 3) 66%(high), resulting...

The increased availability of synthetic amino acids has reduced the amount of intact protein sources used in swine diets. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of different CP levels and AA to Lys ratios on growth performance and carcass characteristics in late finishing pigs. A total of 1,682 pigs (327 × 1050, PIC, Hendersonvill...

Diets containing animal protein sources have higher levels of glutamine than diets based on plant protein sources. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of AminoGut (Ajinomoto Heartland, Inc., Chicago, IL) and protein source (animal vs. plant proteins) on growth performance and economic return in nursery pigs from 12 t...

An electronic sow feeding (ESF) system provides the capability of feeding group-housed gestating gilts and sows on an individual basis. One of the most critical and yet often neglected steps in making an ESF system a success is proper gilt training. Different farms have protocols adapted to their particular situation, but the overall goal of gilt t...

There are multiple approaches a swine nutritionist can take in diet formulation: maximize performance, minimize cost, or maximize profit. Within each of these approaches, there are sub-options to decide from: Growth performance basis Maximize average daily gain (ADG) Minimize feed efficiency (F/G) Cost reduction basis Minimize cost per kg of diet...

This practice tip includes a fact sheet on the impact of increased feed intake during late gestation on the reproductive performance of gilts and sows

This practice tip includes fact sheets on sampling procedures for ingredients and assigning net energy values to ingredients.

Advanced methods for dose-response assessments are used to estimate the minimum concentrations of a nutrient that maximizes a given outcome of interest, thereby determining nutritional requirements for optimal performance. Contrary to standard modeling assumptions, experimental data often present a design structure that includes correlations betwee...

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of AA and energy intake during late gestation on piglet birth weight and reproductive performance of high-performing (14.5 total born) gilts and sows housed under commercial conditions. At d 90 of gestation, a total of 1,102 females (PIC 1050) were housed in pens by parity group (gilts or sow...

Advanced methods for dose–response assessments are used to estimate the minimum concentrations of a nutrient that maximizes a given outcome of interest, thereby determining nutritional requirements for optimal performance. Contrary to standard modeling assumptions, experimental data often present a design structure that includes correlations betwee...

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of AA and energy intake during late gestation on piglet birth weight and reproductive performance of high-performing (14.5 total born) gilts and sows housed under commercial conditions. At d 90 of gestation, a total of 1,102 females (PIC 1050) were housed in pens by parity group (gilts or sow...

Citation: Landero, J. L., Young, M. G., Touchette, K. J., Stevenson, M. J., Clark, A. B., Goncalves, M. A. D., & Dritz, S. S. (2016). Lysine requirement titration for barrows and gilts from 25-to 75-kg. Journal of Animal Science, 94, 95-95. doi:10.2527/msasas2016-201

Citation: Vier, C. M., De Souza, I. B., De Jong, J. A., Goncalves, M. A. D., Jones, A. M., Goodband, R. D., . . . Dritz, S. S. (2016). Determining the standardized ileal digestible lysine requirement of 6.8 to 15.9 kg pigs. Journal of Animal Science, 94, 191-191. doi:10.2527/msasas2016-408

Citation: Goncalves, M. A. D., Tokach, M. D., Dritz, S. S., Bello, N. M., Touchette, K. J., Goodband, R. D., . . . Woodworth, J. C. (2016). Effects of standardized ileal digestible valine-to-lysine ratio on growth performance of twenty-five- to forty-five-kilogram pigs under commercial conditions. Journal of Animal Science, 94, 19-20. doi:10.2527/m...

This practice tip includes fact sheets on phytase sources for pigs and effects of superdosing phytase on growth performance of nursery and finishing pigs.

ncreasing the feed allowance in late gestation for gilts and sows is known as ‘bump feeding’. However, the effect of bump feeding on piglet birth weight, particularly in herds of high prolificacy (>14.5 total piglets born/sow), is unclear. Further, the relative contributions of dietary amino acids and energy on potential improvements in piglet birt...

A total of 360 weanling pigs (Line 400 × 200; DNA Genetics, Columbus, NE, initially 13.0 lb) were used in a 28-d trial to evaluate the effects of Zn source and level on nursery pig growth performance. Each treatment had 8 replicate pens with 5 pigs per pen. The 9 dietary treatments were arranged as 2 × 4 + 1 factorial and consisted of a control die...

The objective of these experiments was to determine the effects of SID Val:Lys ratio in low CP and low lysine diets on the growth performance and economics of finishing pigs from 55 to 100 lb. In Exp. 1, a total of 1,134 gilts (PIC 337 × 1050, initially 68.8 lb BW) were used in a 19-d growth trial with 27 pigs per pen and seven pens per treatment i...

Lysine is the first limiting amino acid in swine diets, thus providing the appropriate level in the diet is critical to growth performance. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys requirement of nursery pigs from 15 to 35 lb. A total of 300 maternal line barrows (200 × 400, DNA, Columbus,...

The objective of this study was to estimate the nutritional requirement of standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys on growth performance and economics of 230- to 280-lb finishing pigs housed in a commercial environment and fed diets not containing ractopamine HCl. A total of 1,101 gilts (PIC L327 × 1050, initially 233.4 lb BW) were used in a 28-d g...

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of amino acid (AA) and energy intake during late gestation on piglet birth weight and reproductive performance of high-performing gilts and sows housed under commercial conditions. At d 90 of gestation, a total of 1,102 females (PIC 1050) were housed in pens by parity group (P1 or P2+), block...

Two experiments were conducted to estimate the standardized ileal digestible (SID) Trp:Lys ratio requirement for growth performance of nursery pigs. Experimental diets were formulated to ensure that lysine was the second limiting AA throughout the experiments. In Exp. 1 (6 to 10 kg BW), 255 nursery pigs (PIC 327 × 1050, initially 6.3 ± 0.15 kg, mea...

A total of 270 pigs (PIC 327 × 1050, initially 7.1 kg) were used in a 28-d trial to evaluate the effects of increasing levels of a peptone blend on nursery pig performance. The peptone blend is derived from pharmaceutical extraction of chondroitin sulfate from bovine cartilage and then drying on a soybean hull carrier. Each treatment had 8 replicat...

A total of 180 nursery pigs (PIC 327 × 1050; initially 12.6 kg) were used in an 18-d study to determine the effects of pellet mill conditioning parameters and feed form on pig performance. All diets were similar, and different feed processing parameters were used to create experimental treatments. Factors considered were conditioning time (15, 30,...