swine solutions - Grazix Animal Health

SWINE SOLUTIONS
SMART PRODUCERS, SMART SOLUTIONS
Vol. 13 No. 2 • August 2014
Getting ahead of the game:
New technology for resolving scours quickly, effectively
There’s a new weapon for pork producers in the battle against
vitality-robbing scours in pigs.
Dr. Randy Simonson,
Grazix Animal Health
Grazix™ a new gut-health management tool, has been shown
in studies of more than 65,000 pigs to effectively reduce the
incidence of scours, speed resolution of existing cases and
provide a significant reduction in mortality rates.
And it’s all thanks to plant science.
Grazix was developed through an exclusive, patented process
designed to capture the highly efficient immune response
mechanism plants use in nature, known as Reactive Plant
Immunity (RPI), which enables plants to protect against and
recover from biological assaults at the cellular level.
“When a plant’s cells are damaged, there is an enzymatic
response” says Dr. Randy Simonson, president of Grazix. “That
response seals the injury, stops the proliferation of germs and
neutralizes toxins, allowing the plant to heal and continue
growing.”
Bioactive pathogens have a way of communicating with each
other inside a host – a new-born piglet, for example – where
they organize and replicate, building the population and toxicity
levels necessary to create an infection.
Grazix interferes with that communication process, disabling
the pathogens’ ability to generate an infectious population and
strengthening the pig’s ability to fight off
disease.
The Grazix manufacturing process
captures and stabilizes this natural
protection mechanism so it can later be
activated by animal enzymes, mimicking
the original plant defense process.
“Our patented extraction process,
LiveXtract™, saves the RPI activity until
it is needed,” Simonson explains. “When
administered orally to baby pigs suffering
from scours, it activates to neutralize the
scour-causing pathogens and support
healthy gastrointestinal function,
resolving the majority of scours cases in
an average of two days”
For Ernie Hansen, Manager of Swine Nutrition & Tech Service
for Hubbard Feeds, Grazix technology ticks off the right boxes:
Highly effective; economically priced; and easy for the customer
to manage for successful outcomes.
“If pigs are scouring, you’ve got to treat them with something
if you’re going to prevent significant morbidity and mortality,”
Hansen says. “You want to choose the most effective product
to manage through the disease, the one that will give you the
highest success rate at the most acceptable cost. We’ve worked
with Grazix for a number of years now and we’ve found that it
fits the bill.”
So far, Hansen reports that customer response has been positive,
as well.
“No product can be 100 percent effective in every situation,”
he says, “but when you give Grazix to a farm
manager who is dealing with scouring pigs, and
get a call back 12 hours later saying ‘It works!’
You know you’re on the right track.”
“When you give Grazix
to a farm manager who
is dealing with scouring
pigs, and get a call back
12 hours later saying, ‘It
works!, you know you’re
on the right track.”
Ernie Hansen
Manager, Swine Nutrition
and Tech Service
Hubbard Feeds Inc.
Field Evaluation
Grazix may be new to the market, but it has been
thoroughly researched to help ensure consistent
efficacy and safety.
In one study conducted on a farm owned by a
Hubbard Feeds customer involved more than 500
piglets aged one to eight days from 40 litters
on three sow farms in the U.S. The piglets were
monitored and, at the first sign of scour, were
given a single oral serving of Grazix and the time
to scour resolution was recorded.
- continued on next page
SWINE SOLUTIONS
Getting ahead of the game (cont.)
Results (Figure 1) showed that 11 percent of cases were
resolved on the first day, 72 percent were resolved within 24
hours with another 14 percent resolved 24-48 hours later and
just 3 percent failed to resolve.
Figure 1. Scour-resolution in Neonatal Pigs
Percentage of piglets 1 to 8 days of age in which scour
resolved following consumption of Grazix feed supplement.*
“Grazix has also been shown to reduce the likelihood of
secondary GI tract infections in pigs after scours cases have
been resolved,” Simonson adds.
Figure 2. Mortality Rate Reduction (Netherlands Study)**
Mortality rate reduced by 50%, Scour reduced by 75%
25
3%
20
14%
11%
Within 1 to 8 Hours
Within 24 Hours
72%
Within 48 Hours
Did Not Respon d
*Data provided by Grazix Animal Health
“We’ve seen these results not just in this customer’s case,
but in most of the different situations where we’ve evaluated
Grazix, with the same level of success,” Hansen says.
Of course, to be effective, the product has to be delivered at
the right time with the correct dosing.
“Management is the key. It’s important for the farm manager
and animal care workers to understand how the product and
management fit together,” he says.
“Once a pig is in an active disease mode, if it gets too far
along, you may save the pig, but a lot of the damage has
already been done.”
Reducing Mortality
In a study performed in The Netherlands, 43,000 piglets on
20 farms were monitored for incidence of scour and mortality
for up to three months. One half of the piglets received
antibiotics to treat scours and the other half received only
Grazix in their water for just one day.
The researchers found (Figure 2) that the group treated with
antibiotics had a mortality rate of 21 percent
compared to an 11 percent mortality rate for the
group that received only Grazix added to their
water supply for one day.
15
10
5
0
21%
Anbioc
11%
Grazix
**Data provided by Grazix Animal Health
Mean percent mortality of piglets after administration of either
Antibiotics (N=21,717) or Grazix feed supplement (N=22,028).
Difference in means is p<0.0001.
Supporting GI Health
The added stress of transition can impede immune response,
leaving pigs open to pathogens that can then take hold in the
gut.
“When added to the water supply, Grazix products are
especially effective in helping to develop strong GI function,
and then supporting it through critical transition periods,
such as at birth, weaning and during transfer from nursery to
grow/finish – times when pathogens could gain a foothold”
Simonson says.
By supporting healthy GI function and neutralizing pathogens
and the toxins they produce, helps pigs better absorb the water
and nutrients it needs to stay healthy and thrive.
Try Grazix
Ordering Grazix is as easy as talking to your Hubbard Feeds
dealer. To learn more, contact your dealer today or call
800-869-7219. Visit us online at www.hubbardfeeds.com
SMART PRODUCERS, SMART SOLUTIONS
For Profitability, Piglet Birth Weight Trumps Litter Size
Over the past 10 years, the number of pigs weaned per litter has
steadily increased from nine pigs to 10.38 pigs per litter and
continues to head upward. But does that increase in the number
of pigs actually translate to greater profitability for producers?
The Envelope, Please
Kevin Schleusner, Babcock Genetics vice president, doesn’t
think so.
The study demonstrated that using the 10-year average of $4.26
profit per pig, as established by Iowa State University Extension
in 2011, marketing a litter of 10 piglets weighing an average
of 3.6 pounds at birth resulted in a 57% higher profit margin
compared to a litter of 12 piglets averaging 3.2 pounds at birth.
During a recent gathering with Hubbard Feeds customers,
Schleusner shared the findings of a study conducted by
Babcock Genetics to examine the effect of individual piglet birth
weight on profitability.
Adjusting the profit per-pig figure upward to $15, marketing the
same 10 pigs weighing 3.6 pounds at birth versus marketing a
litter of 12 pigs with an average of 3.2 pounds at birth added 6
percent to the profit margin.
“We’ve been watching the trend toward larger and larger litters
over the past several years,” Schleusner says, “We decided to
look at it in a different way and investigate the true impact of
individual piglet birth weight on per-pig profitability.”
From a pig-performance standpoint, results showed that lighterweight pigs from larger litters recorded higher mortality rates,
reduced meat quality, lower average daily gain and lower lean
gain than the heavier-weight pigs from smaller litters. They also
showed poorer feed conversion when taken to market weight,
resulting in an overall negative impact on profits.
Increase in Litter Size – Pigs Weaned, 2004 to 2013
No Playing Catch-up
In examining the study’s results, Babcock Genetics’ experts also
found that smaller birth weight pigs grow, but they seldom catch
up to the size of pigs born at a heavier weight.
“Even though they’re in the same litter and are the same
gestational age, lighter birth weight pigs have disadvantages in
development,” Schleusner says. “A 2.5-pound pig has an uphill battle. Even supplemented, our study shows it’s still not as
profitable as a pig born at 3.5-pounds.”
What’s Feed Got to Do With It?
While optimal nutrition is important at all stages of an animal’s
life, Steve Toft, Hubbard Feeds Swine Specialist, says nutrition
has little influence over birth weights. (continued on back page)
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Sept. 27, 2013
Research Methodology
A study was designed to capture individual weights of more than
25,000 piglets recorded at four different stages throughout their
lives: Birth, weaning, move-to-finish transition and at market.
Individual ultrasounds were used to record muscling, and
costs of health treatments by birth weight were recorded. Also
included were the cost of mortality to the day of death and how
much the pig was worth at market.
www.hubbardfeeds.com
“Even though they’re in the same
litter and are the same gestational
age, lighter birth weight pigs have
disadvantages in development.”
Kevin Schleusner - Vice President
Babcock Genetics
SWINE SOLUTIONS
SMART PRODUCERS, SMART SOLUTIONS
Miss an issue? Visit our website:
www.hubbardfeeds.com/tipsandtools/swine
PO Box 8500, Mankato, MN 56002-8500
1-800-869-7219
Hubbard is on Facebook and Twitter!
Be sure to find us and keep up with us online!
Profitability/Piglet Birth Weight (cont.)
Profit/pig per birth weight category
“While we can help producers manage their nutritional programs
for efficiencies, it’s difficult to change something that is governed
by genetic traits,” Toft explains. “Variability in piglet size at birth is
the problem. The Babcock Genetics study shows us pretty clearly
that little pigs can be profit robbers at marketing.”
“We have some great marketing tools and dashboards available
to help customers analyze the financial performance of their
operation,” Toft says. “We’re always happy to help customers find
ways to improve the profitability.”
Talk with your local Hubbard Feeds dealer to learn more about
marketing tools and expertise available to you. Online, visit us at
www.hubbardfeeds.com
$15.00
$10.00
$5.00
Piglet Value
Where Hubbard Feeds can help, though, is through careful
monitoring and management of feed-related costs to identify
potential efficiencies or improve pig performance with regard to
environmental and health-related influences in which genetics play
less of a role.
$20.00
$0.00
-$5.00
-$10.00
-$15.00
-$20.00
-$25.00
-$30.00
1.50 1.75 2.00 2.25 2.50 2.75 3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.25 4.50 4.75 5.00 5.25
Birth Weight
*Carcass value, mortality costs, feed costs/credits are summed per
birth weight category to determine an ultimate value of pigs in each
category. All categories are compared to the 3.0-3.25 pound category,
resulting in zero for that category. Source: Babcock Genetics
What Would Dad Say? ‘Told Ya So.’
As a teenager growing up on a farm, Kevin Schleusner, now vice president of Babcock Genetics, was excited about raising his very own pigs.
“I was so proud of my traditional white-line sows and getting 12 or 13 pigs in a litter,” he says.
But when he showed off his best litter to his dad, the response was typical of what most farm dads might say: “A few nice pigs and a bunch of runts.
Once a runt, always a runt.”
“That lesson really stuck with me,” Shleusner says.
All these years later, Babcock Genetics’ individual birth weight study has proven that Dad was right…again.