PEOPLE ▶▶▶


Danish Pig Genetics The board of directors of Danish Pig Genetics appointed Karsten Due as new CEO; he has experience in national and international top management positions. Since 1 April, he has been using that experience to drive the development of the genetics company.


Animine Animine, a French supplier of precision minerals for animal nutrition, hired José Ramón Pérez H to consolidate its commercial presence in Latin America. He has been part of the company’s Latin American team since 1 January 2021. In this new position, he will be in charge of establishing new commercial networks with clients in Latin America.


Deutsche Tiernahrung Cremer Deutsche Tiernahrung Cremer has appointed Daniel Stjern as chief supply chain officer (CSCO) at the Düsseldorf, Ger- many-based animal nutrition company. From 1 July 2021, he will be responsible for digital- ised planning, organisation and control of all flows of goods.


Skiold Since 1 March, Torben Jensen has been export manager for Skiold, focusing on Europe for both pig and cattle equipment. He joins from R2 Agro.


Devenish Global agri technology company Devenish, headquartered in the UK, has expanded its business operations in Australia and New Zealand and has appointed Russell Trainor to the new role of area manager for Australasia. He will be re- sponsible for driving sales growth and managing key ac- counts.


Acuity Acuity Genetics recently wel- comed Ian Brooke, director of supply chain and operations, to the team. Brooke’s role oversees two components: leading the operations of three nucleus farms and Acuity performance testing centres, and managing multiplier and genetic supply logistics.


32 ▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 37, No. 4, 2021 Sow food can improve piglet survival


The feeding of the additive HMB to di- ets for highly prolific sows has been found to improve piglet welfare and significantly increase productivity, a British study showed. The study was performed by scientists from the Uni- versity of Leeds, United Kingdom, com- missioned by ABN, a division of AB Agri, and published in the peer-re- viewed title Animal Feed Science and Technology. The study was part of an effort to fur- ther understand how maternal nutrition may affect piglet survival. In their scien- tific article, the researchers explained that positive effects have been reported from the feed additive β-hydroxy β-me- thyl butyrate (HMB) on reproductive


performance, growth rate and health. They added that research into its effect on sow and litter performance so far had been limited and results would have shown inconsistencies. After a four-year study, the researchers concluded that overall HMB supple- mentation to sows at a minimum dose of 15mg/kg body weight for 15 days prior to parturition significantly in- creased litter weight at birth with ten- dencies for litters and average piglet weights to remain heavier at weaning. Supplemental HMB, they concluded, significantly increased the concentra- tion of IgM in colostrum with a signifi- cant interaction between diet and ex- periment for IgG concentration.


Weaners can benefit from folic acid


A recent Chinese study determined that dietary folic acid supplementation can improve the growth performance and intestinal morphology of weaned pig- lets by maintaining the balance of epi- thelial cell renewal. The study was pub- lished in the journal Animal Nutrition and was conducted by researchers from Hunan Normal University and the Chi- nese Academy of Sciences in Changsha. Their aim was to evaluate the effect of dietary folic acid levels on the growth


performance, intestinal morphology and functions, and intestinal epithelial cell renewal in post-weaning piglets fed an antibiotic-free and zinc oxide-free diet. The authors wrote that dietary supple- mentation with folic acid increased vil- lus height, villus height-to-crypt depth ratio and villus surface area and signifi- cantly increased the lactase and su- crase activities in the jejunal mucosa of weaned piglets.


PHOTO: ACUITY


PHOTO: DANIEL STJERN


PHOTO: CLAUS LILLEVANG


PHOTO: ABN


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