Slide 1
Good afternoon. My name is Hans H. Stein, and I'm a professor at the 
University of Illinois in the Department of Animal Sciences. And I would 
like to talk today about some exciting news about swine nutrition, 
because we've just received news that the National Academies of 
Sciences, they have released the next version of the Nutrient 
Requirements of Swine, which is also what we call the Swine NRC. So I'll 
talk a little bit about the process that has led to this point, where we 
are getting a new NRC for swine, and I'll also briefly discuss some of 
the highlights of this new publication.

Slide 2
The first Nutrient Requirements for Swine was published in 1944, and it 
was a relatively small publication, but it has been updated many times. 
And the last version we got was in 1998, and that was the 10th Revised 
Edition. And the 10th Revised Edition of the NRC for swine has served us 
well and has been used all over the world for the past 14 years. 
However, it did become clear several years ago that there was a need for 
a new Swine NRC, and one of the reasons is that we are using ingredients 
today that were not widely used in 1998. These ingredients include 
ingredients from the biofuels industry and also some of the new soybean 
products that are now available. And in addition, the genetic 
developments in pigs are such that nutrient requirements of pigs today 
are different from what they were 14 years ago. We also have new 
technologies in the form of ractopamine treatment and other technologies 
that are available today that were not available 14 years ago. So, for 
these reasons, it was clear that we do need to update these requirement 
estimates for pigs. And therefore, approximately five years ago, work 
started to assemble this information, and in the beginning of 2009, the 
National Academies committed to a new Swine NRC, and in February 2009, 
the project proposal was written. However, these requirement books need 
to be funded, so it was important to secure funding for the publication 
before the work could be done. That was done in the spring of 2009, and 
during the summer and fall of 2009, the new committee was assembled, and 
the committee started working in 2010 and worked throughout 2010 and 
2011, and the last revision of the report was delivered to the National 
Academies by the end of 2011. So, the report we have now is the result 
of several years of work by the committee.

Slide 3
The funding for the project was secured from the National Pork Board, 
the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, the Nebraska Corn Board, the 
Minnesota Corn Growers' Association, the Food and Drug Administration, 
and the American Feed Industry Association via their I-FEEDER 
organization, and finally, some internal NRC funds were also used. We 
are grateful to the sponsors of the publication, that they were willing 
to step up and fund this new Swine NRC. Without their support, we would 
not have had a new Swine NRC today.

Slide 4
The Statement of Task that the National Academies developed for the 
committee included that we had to update energy and nutrient 
requirements for all phases of production. We also had to include feed 
ingredients from the biofuels industry in the publication, and other new 
ingredients, including new soybean products that are now available to 
the industry. The Statement of Task also included a requirement that 
values for digestible phosphorus for ingredients and for animal 
requirements should be included in the publication, and effects of feed 
processing should be mentioned also in the publication.

Slide 5
The Statement of Task also included recommendations that the committee 
would include strategies to increase nutrient retention and reduce 
nutrient excretion from pigs. The committee was asked to expand the feed 
composition tables, to update the computer model, and also to identify 
needs for future research. So, these were the tasks that the committee 
were asked to work through and include in the final document.

Slide 6
The committee that was appointed by the National Academies consisted of 
ten members. Dr. Lee Southern from Louisiana State University was the 
chairman of the committee. And other committee members included Dr. Jack 
Odle from North Carolina State University, Dr. Brian Kerr from USDA-ARS 
in Ames, Iowa, Dr. Kees de Lange from Guelph University in Canada, Dr. 
Phil Miller from University of Nebraska, Dr. Merlin Lindemann from 
University of Kentucky, Dr. Gretchen Hill from Michigan State 
University, Dr. Layi Adeola from Purdue University, Hans H. Stein from 
University of Illinois, and Dr. Nathalie Trottier from Michigan State 
University. So, this is the committee that conducted the work to fulfill 
the Statement of Tasks and to complete the new Swine NRC.

Slide 7
Results of the efforts from the committee are now evident in the new 
Nutrient Requirements of Swine, the 11th Revised Edition. This 
publication includes 400 pages, 17 chapters, and information about 122 
feed ingredients.

Slide 8
In the first chapter, there is a comprehensive description of energy 
systems that are used in swine production. There is mention of energy 
digestibility, of fasting heat production (also called maintenance 
energy), and of factors that influence energy retention, and also effect 
of the physiological state of the animal on energy retention. 
Environmental effects on energy needs are also included in the 
description, and that includes mentioning of energy needs for 
immunocastrated barrows, and also energy needs of pigs that are treated 
with ractopamine. The net energy values that are calculated in the new 
Swine NRC are based on equations from Dr. Noblet in France.

Slide 9
Chapter 2 deals with amino acids. There's mentioning of amino acid 
digestibility, amino acid metabolism, and amino acid composition of body 
pools. The description of the amino acid composition of body pools is 
greatly expanded, and includes many different pools, in particular in 
sows. There is an updated ideal protein, and there's also mentioning of 
efficiency of utilization of different amino acids. Amino acid 
requirements for different groups of pigs are included, and there are 
data for immunocastrated pigs and also for pigs fed ractopamine.

Slide 10
Here's an example of how the committee determined amino acid 
requirements. The committee looked at different experiments in which 
amino acid requirements had been determined based on different body 
weights. These observations were plotted and a regression line was drawn 
through the requirements, and therefore the estimate of requirements for 
each body weight of pigs could be determined.


Slide 11
Chapter 3 is a new chapter, and it is about lipids, and it mentions the 
digestibility and the energy values of different sources of lipids. It 
raises some questions on the net energy of lipids, and it also mentions 
essential and bioactive lipids that may be included in feed ingredients. 
Issues related to the iodine values and pork fat quality of pigs fed 
different sources of lipids are included in this chapter, and the 
quality of dietary fats is also mentioned. Finally, there is a 
comprehensive description of analysis needed to analyze for fat in feed 
ingredients.

Slide 12
Chapter 4 is also a new chapter. It deals with carbohydrates, and it 
describes the classification of carbohydrates into monosaccharides, 
disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. It describes 
different types of dietary fibers, and there is mentioning about 
analysis of carbohydrates and specifically about dietary fibers. 
Digestibility of the different carbohydrate fractions is also mentioned 
in this chapter.

Slide 13
Water, of course, is one of the six classes of nutrients, and it is an 
essential nutrient for pigs. Chapter 5 is the water chapter, and it 
mainly goes through the quality of water that is needed by pigs, and 
also the requirement of water that is needed by pigs.

Slide 14
Chapter 6 is the minerals chapter, and there is mentioning here of 
different mineral sources, and also mineral digestibility and 
availability. One of the new aspects of the 11th Edition of the Swine 
NRC is that a new evaluation system of phosphorus is introduced; it's 
called the standardized total tract digestibility of phosphorus. That 
system involves determining the standardized total tract digestibility 
of phosphorus in all feed ingredients, and also determining the 
requirement of standardized total tract digestible phosphorus for all 
groups of pigs. So, for all feed ingredients included in the 
publication, there are estimates of the standardized total tract 
digestibility of phosphorus, and for all groups of pigs, there are 
estimates of the requirement for standardized total tract digestibility 
of phosphorus. The reason the committee included standardized total 
tract digestibility of phosphorus in the publication is that it is 
believed to give a more accurate estimate of requirements and therefore 
result in less excretion of phosphorus from the animals. This chapter 
also discusses effects of microbial phytase on digestibility of 
phosphorus, and there are requirement estimates for all the minerals 
that need to be included in diets fed to pigs. Phosphorus retention is 
modeled from the nitrogen retention, which is also a new aspect in this 
publication. And in addition, the sodium requirement is increased 
compared with previous estimates. The minerals chapter is, therefore, 
expanded and contains several new aspects due to new knowledge about 
phosphorus, calcium, and sodium requirements of pigs.

Slide 15
Here's an example of how the requirements for standardized total tract 
digestible phosphorus were determined. Results of several estimates of 
phosphorus requirements were recalculated based on standardized total 
tract digestibility values, and it was then possible to draw a 
regression line through these estimates and come up with estimates for 
different weight groups of pigs.

Slide 16
Chapter 7 is the vitamins chapter. Unfortunately, there is not much new 
information about vitamin requirements for pigs, and the requirements 
therefore mostly follow the requirements from the 1998 version of the 
Nutrient Requirements of Swine. There is, however, a short description 
of each vitamin that is included in diets fed to pigs.

Slide 17
Chapter 8 describes the model that is used to estimate nutrient 
requirements for pigs, and there are three models included here: one for 
growing-finishing pigs, one for gestating sows, and one for lactating 
sows. There is, however, no model for pigs of less than 20 kg because 
the committee was not comfortable with the nutrient requirements for the 
younger pigs. There is a description of the different models, and it is 
possible to model the impact of ractopamine and also immunocastration on 
nutrient requirements of growing-finishing pigs. The model also 
estimates the requirements for metabolizable energy, for standardized 
ileal digestible amino acids, for calcium, and for standardized total 
tract digestible phosphorus. There is also estimation of retention 
efficiency of different nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus.

Slide 18
Here's an example of the output that can come from the model. In this 
case, it's the requirement for standardized ileal digestible lysine for 
entire males, for gilts, and for barrows. And it's clear here that as 
pigs grow from 20 to 40 kg, there's very little difference in the 
requirement for lysine among the three groups of pigs. However, as pigs 
get heavier, we see that the requirements start to separate, where 
barrows have a lower requirement for standardized ileal digestible 
lysine per kg of feed compared with gilts; however, the entire males 
have the greatest requirement. So, this is the type of output that the 
model can give in terms of estimating the nutrient requirements for 
pigs.

Slide 19
For sows, there is an estimate of the needs for protein for different 
pools in the body. In this case, it is gestating sows, and there is here 
an estimate for the total protein deposition in the sows, but this total 
protein deposition is partitioned into protein deposition in the 
fetuses, protein deposition in the mammary gland, and protein deposition 
in placenta and fluids. So it's possible via this model to actually 
influence the different pools and if, say, litter size changes, it's 
possible to affect the specific pools that will be affected by this 
change. So the model can specifically estimate nutrient requirements and 
nutrient retentions in different body pools in these gestating sows.

Slide 20
Chapter 9 is a new chapter. It contains a description of co-products 
from the corn and soybean industries. And the reason this chapter is 
included is that specifically from corn and soybeans, we have a number 
of new ingredients that have not previously been described and been 
included in nutrient requirement tables for swine. So, here we have a 
description of co-products from the ethanol and biodiesel industries, 
and there's a definition of each ingredient and also a description of 
differences between ingredients. As an example, it's clearly described 
what the difference between corn germ and corn germ meal is, or 
fermented soybean meal vs. soy protein concentrate, and there are many 
other ingredients mentioned in this chapter. The digestibilities of 
energy and nutrients in each of these products is mentioned, but more 
detailed information about each ingredient is also included in the 
ingredient tables that are included in the new Swine NRC.

Slide 21
Chapter 10 is a chapter that describes what's called the non-nutritive 
feed additives. So there's an overview here of products that may be 
included in swine diets to provide attributes to the diet that are 
different from the traditional nutrients needed by pigs. Products in 
this category include antibiotic growth promoters, probiotics, 
acidifiers, plant extracts, and many other products. There's a 
description of feed enzymes, of feed flavors, of mycotoxin binders, 
pellet binders, flow agents, and other products that may be added to the 
diet fed to pigs. And there's also a description of ractopamine, which 
in the United States is called Paylean, which may also be included in 
diets fed to pigs. The chapter gives a short overview over each of these 
additives and discusses whether or not it is advantageous to include the 
additives in the diets, and under which circumstances a positive effect 
of each additive can be expected.

Slide 22
Chapter 11 is a new chapter. It describes different contaminants that 
may be included in feed, and these contaminants of course are unwanted 
contaminants. The fact that this chapter is included in the new Swine 
NRC does not indicate that we in the United States have a problem with 
feed contaminants. Fortunately, until now, we have not had many issues 
with feed contaminants. We have not seen the problems with some of the 
contaminants that have been reported from Europe over the last few 
years. However, the committee felt that it is important that anyone 
working in the feed industry is aware of the contaminants that may be 
included in feed ingredients or diets. And these contaminants include 
pesticides, mycotoxins, heavy metals, melamine, dioxin, nickel, and many 
other contaminants. These are called chemical contaminants. There are 
also biological contaminants that include what's called TSE, which is 
the agent that causes mad cow disease, and there could also be bacteria 
such as E. coli or salmonella in feed ingredients, which may contaminate 
the diet that we are producing. Finally, there may be physical 
contaminants such as metal, glass, plastic, vermin carcasses, etc. that 
could be included in feed ingredients, and it is important that these 
contaminants are sorted out before the feed ingredient is used in diets 
fed to pigs. So the chapter gives an overview over possible feed 
contaminants; and as I said before, the fact that the chapter is 
included in the new Swine NRC does not indicate there is a problem, but 
the committee wanted to be on the forefront of these issues because we 
have seen in some other countries that feed contaminants have become big 
issues.

Slide 23
Chapter 12 is also a new chapter that was included in response to the 
Statement of Task, and it deals with feed processing and includes 
discussion about grinding, and pelleting, micronization, expansion, 
extrusion, conditioning, and other types of processing that may be used 
to increase the nutritive value of feed ingredients. There is a 
discussion about the effect of each of these technologies on nutrient 
utilization by pigs.

Slide 24
Chapter 13 is also a new chapter, and it deals with digestibility of 
nutrients and energy. In this chapter, procedures for determining energy 
and nutrient digestibility are described, and equations that are needed 
to calculate these values are also provided. Endogenous loss of 
nutrients is discussed in detail, and procedures for calculating 
apparent, standardized, and true digestibility of nutrients are 
provided. The difference between apparent and standardized, or apparent 
and true digestibility is also described. It is concluded that for amino 
acids, the most accurate values are based on standardized ileal 
digestibility of amino acids. For lipids, the most accurate values are 
obtained if the true ileal digestible lipids are calculated or 
determined. For carbohydrates, it can be the apparent ileal 
digestibility or the apparent total tract digestibility depending on 
which group of carbohydrates are discussed. If we are dealing with 
disaccharides or starch, the apparent ileal digestibility values are the 
most accurate, whereas for the oligosaccharides and for the non-starch 
polysaccharides, the apparent total tract digestibility values need to 
be determined. For phosphorus, it's the standardized total tract 
digestibility of phosphorus that needs to be determined, as previously 
discussed. And for energy, there is discussion about determination of 
digestible energy and metabolizable energy. It is the objective of this 
chapter to give a background for all the values that are included in the 
feed ingredient tables in the publication.

Slide 25
Chapter 14 deals with nutrient excretion, because it is recognized that 
livestock production is not possible without excretion of some 
nutrients. In this chapter, there's a discussion about the excretion of 
nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus, sulfur, microminerals, carbon, and 
also gasses that may be emitted from livestock production. Estimates of 
the quantities of each nutrient that may be emitted are also given, and 
discussions about possibilities for reducing the emissions are included 
in this chapter.

Slide 26
Chapter 15 is a new chapter that is also included in response to the 
Statement of Task that the committee was given, and it includes a 
discussion about the needs for further research in the area of swine 
nutrition. As the committee went through the literature that had been 
published over the last few years, it became clear that specifically for 
sows, there is a need for more information about requirements for amino 
acids, calcium, and phosphorus. And one of the reasons for this is that 
the sows we have today are much more prolific than sows we had just a 
few years ago, and it is therefore necessary that we reexamine the 
requirements of nutrients for these animals. Specifically for calcium, 
there is a need for determining the digestibility of calcium in all feed 
ingredients that contribute calcium to the diets, and we also need to 
have more information about the requirements of calcium in pigs. There's 
very little new information about vitamins and in many of our newer feed 
ingredients, we don't have good estimates of the vitamin concentrations, 
so this is clearly an area where we need to have more data. Energy 
values, and specifically digestibility values, for lipids are also 
needed because lipids contribute greatly to the energy of feed 
ingredients, but we don't have good estimates of the digestibility of 
lipids in the ingredients. Values for composition and digestibility of 
nutrients in feed ingredients will continue to be an area where new 
information is needed as we get access to new feed ingredients, new 
co-products, and as some of our common feed ingredients change in 
response to genetic development in agronomy. The effects of enzymes and 
other additives on nutrient requirements also need to be emphasized in 
future research, and the environmental impact of swine production need 
to be assessed and procedures for reducing the excretion of nutrient 
from swine need to be identified. So these are some of the major areas 
in which new research is needed during the next decade.

Slide 27
Chapter 16 includes all the nutrient requirement tables. There are 
tables for growing-finishing pigs. And for growing-finishing pigs from 
20 to 135 kg body weight, there are requirement estimates for pigs with 
a low, or a medium, or a high lean gain, that is equivalent to 115, 135, 
or 155 gram of protein deposition per day. And each of these three 
groups of pigs have separate requirements, which are included in these 
tables. There are tables for the requirement of pigs where the sexes are 
mixed, but there are also tables separately for the requirements for 
barrows, for gilts, and for intact boars. There are specific tables for 
pigs that are less than 20 kg, and in this case, the lysine requirement 
is based on empirical studies, and the ideal protein is then used to 
estimate the requirement for other amino acids. For sows, there are 
tables both for gestating and lactating sows, and there are different 
estimates of nutrient requirements for sows of different weights, and 
also for sows with different litter sizes. It should be emphasized that 
the tables do not include safety margins, so the requirements that are 
listed in the tables are those requirements that are believed to cover 
the requirements for all nutrients in the animals but without any safety 
margins.

Slide 28
Chapter 17 is the feed composition tables. This chapter includes 122 
feed ingredients. Information about each feed ingredient was obtained by 
scanning the peer-reviewed literature over the last 15 years. And all 
information that has been published in the peer-reviewed literature 
about these 122 feed ingredients was included in the tables. For each 
feed ingredient, there is information about the composition of 
nutrients, there is also information about the number of observations 
that went into each number in the tables, and a standard deviation for 
each number is included in the table. Information about the feed 
ingredients include information about proximate analysis, about 
carbohydrates, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, fatty acids, and 
different types of energy in the ingredient. However, it is clear that 
for many ingredients, not all this information is available. So, there 
are some blank spaces in these tables for some of the ingredients, and 
these blank spaces can be used as a guide to where information is needed 
in the future. However, the feed composition tables represent the best 
available information that the committee could obtain for each of these 
ingredients.

Slide 29
Here's an example of one page of the ingredient tables. In this case, 
it's canola meal. And the page is divided into proximal components, 
carbohydrates, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and fatty acids. And as 
it appears from the table, there are not only an average of each 
component given here, but also the number of observations that went into 
that average and the standard deviation. It is the objective of this 
approach to give readers an appreciation of the variability that can be 
expected for each nutrient in a given feed ingredient.

Slide 30
So in conclusion, the committee conducted a considerable amount of work 
to complete the new Swine NRC. The work was completed in 18 months. Most 
readers will find that the efforts did not result in a perfect document, 
but hopefully it's a great step forward with lots of new information and 
with lots of updated information that will make it more accurate to 
formulate diets fed to pigs. The chapter of the identification of 
research needs may also help guide future research, which hopefully will 
result in even bigger accomplishments in the future. And it is already 
evident that we need to start thinking about the next revision of the 
Swine NRC because of the time it takes from when a revision is decided 
until a revision is completed. It is not too early to start thinking 
about when and how to do the next revision.

Slide 31
With that, I want to thank you for your attention. I encourage everybody 
to read the new Swine NRC. I am confident that most readers will find it 
interesting and hopefully also helpful to read the document, and that 
they will be able to formulate diets for pigs more accurately than they 
were before. Thank you very much for your attention.