Jen Roth: Hello, my name is Jennifer Roth, and I work in communications in the Stein Monogastric
Nutrition Lab, and today I'm here talking with Maryane Oliveira. She is our newest postdoc in the
Stein Lab, and I'll just let her introduce herself, give a little bit of her background. Maryane?

Maryane Oliveira: Hi, Jen. Thank you for inviting me. So, my name is Maryane Oliveira, and today I´m
going to talk about the development of swine production in Brazil. First, I will let you know about
my background. I am in Animal Sciences. I got my PhD at State University of Sao Paulo, in Brazil,
with a focus on the effects of insoluble fiber on diets for finishing pigs. So, during my PhD
program, I got a great opportunity to join the Stein Lab team as visiting scholar and now I've
returned to the Stein lab as a postdoctoral research associate.

JR: Can you tell us a little bit about the swine industry in Brazil? Just give us an overview.

MO: OK. So, the swine industry has been developing in the last few decades in Brazil. There have
been some good changes such as improvements in health management, nutrition and genetics. So,
nowadays Brazil is the fourth largest country for production and exportation of pork in the world.
In terms of production statistics, Brazil produces 3.7 million tons of pork and exports 24.3% of the
total produced to other countries such as China, Japan, and Mexico.

JR: You talked  about some of the improvements that Brazilian producers are making, including in
genetics. Can you talk a little bit more about that?

MO: OK, Jen. So, the production of swine in Brazil is totally based on hybridization to produce
animals with great growth performance and deposition of meat on the carcass instead of fat. So, the
Brazilian breeders import pigs from Europe and the United States, such as Large White, Landrace,
Duroc and Pietran, and then breed their own hybrids from that stock.
 
JR: And what are some of the primary feed ingredients that are in use in Brazil, and how does that
compare with what's in use in the United States?
MO: So, just like in the United States, corn and soybean meal are the premier sources used in diets
fed to pigs in Brazil. But for reducing the cost of feed, there has been research evaluating the
potential of including co-products of industry such as fiber sugar cane, and distillers dried grains
of corn.

JR: Also, you talked about improvements in health management for producers in Brazil; can you go a
little bit into what kinds of improvements and innovations people are implementing?

MO: Yeah, so, there has also been research evaluating the effects of the direct fed microbials on
growth performance in pigs, with the objective of replacing antibiotics in pig diets. The reason for
this is that the law prohibits the use of certain antibiotics in the pigs diets (such as colistin
sulfate, and eritromicina). Also some importing countries in Europe bans the use of antibiotics in
diets.

JR: So without the use of antibiotics in the diet, since you're phasing those out, what are farms
doing to maintain the health of the pigs?

MO: So, farms use biosecurity measures to keep infectious disease out, such as physical barriers,
visitor control, and vaccination programs. 

JR: What about the intensity of swine production? For instance, in the US, the trend is more toward
very intense raising, a lot of pigs on farms. What's the situation like in Brazil?

MO: So, yes, the same things have been happing in Brazil. Farms are become larger and pigs are kept
in close confinement. But because there is a tropical country with high temperatures and humidity,
this factor can affect the pigs performance. That's why the biggest challenge is to develop better
technologies for reducing heat stress in pigs, and also reduce the dissemination of diseases. 

JR: OK, Maryane, well, thanks for that overview. Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about
pork production in Brazil?

MO: So, even though Brazil has high production, the pork consumption per person is lower than
chicken and beef there. That’s why the swine industry is keeping on marketing on quality meat and
looking for ways to let people know the benefits and quality of pork.

JR: OK, great, well, thank you very much for taking the time to come in and talk with me today.

MO: So, thanks a lot, Jen. I hope this has given a small overview over the swine industry in Brazil.
And thank you for listening.