"The contribution that enzymes can make at all stages of pig production, from weaners through to finishers, has been consistently demonstrated, yet some feed manufacturers and pig producers have still been relatively slow to adopt this proven technology," comments Dr Gary Partridge, the company’s Global Technical Director.

With cereal prices at new highs, there is great pressure on the industry to utilise ingredients more efficiently and to get more energy out of pig rations. He says that pig producers will continue to fall short of reaching their target performance and economic potential unless they fully harness the benefits offered by feed enzymes.

"It's becoming increasingly important for feed manufacturers and pig producers to appraise their feed strategy and fully harness the benefits of enzyme technology. Diets for young pigs have historically been the primary focus for enzyme use, but their introduction into grower-finisher diets has also been gathering pace in recent years," said Dr Partridge.

Danisco Animal Nutrition pioneered the development and use in pig and poultry feeds. It beleives that current market pressures mean thatporoducer do need to target greater performance and consistency and enzymes can make a significant contribution by reducing variability, increasing throughput and lowering production costs.

Consistency
In practical feed formulations the addition of a specific xylanase (Porzyme®) has produced more consistent diet performance, increased daily gain, improved feed efficiency and more uniform pigs. And this offers feed manufacturers and pig producers the option of either maintaining the same level of performance, but reducing feed costs by adjusting dietary nutrient specifications, or of increasing overall pig performance by adding Porzyme to an existing formulation.

The recently launched Porcheck™ service supports the benefits using xylanase by quantifying the enhanced nutritional value of cereal-based diets. It provides information which enables pig diets to be accurately reformulated, providing the opportunity to reduce feed costs by approximately €2.50/tonne, while minimising variability in performance which could otherwise cost producers around €1.50 per pig in reduced net margin.

“In the past, some producers have regarded enzyme inclusion for grower/finisher pigs as being expensive relative to the perceived benefits, but with raw material prices increasing, more competitive enzyme pricing and flexible dosing of enzyme products now possible the actual cost of inclusion is very advantageous, generating greater returns on investment," said Dr Partridge.

Enzymes can also offer additional benefits, such as drier manure, reduced faecal volume and lower levels of nitrogen excretion - elements that are also important considerations for the global pig industry.