Toward precision feeding in pig production: optimal phosphorus and calcium dietary levels

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Animal productions are facing many challenges for their successfulness and sustainability such as the constant increases in feeding cost, the growing public opinion about the impact of agriculture, and effective nutrient recycling to minimize environmental damages. Given that the phosphorus (P) both a fertilizer and a pollutant if present in excess, it is important to understand how to maximise its use in animal feed to optimize health and minimise losses and so, the environmental impact. Improving the efficiency of P use by pigs is therefore essential. The practices of providing a single feed to all animals in the herd over prescribed periods of time and providing dietary P at levels intended to maximize livestock performance have been the subject of numerous studies. The best way to improve overall P utilization by pigs would be to provide the exact requirement of each animal on a daily basis. This can be achieved by precision feeding which monitoring individual patterns of feed intake and growth. Production costs can be reduced by up to 4 % and P excretion by more than 30 %, which would increase considerably the sustainability of hog production. However, precision feeding represents a paradigm shift and a considerable challenge in the case of swine, in which minerals such as calcium (Ca) and P interact strongly with physiological status. Optimal mineral levels in diets formulated for precision feeding are difficult to establish for multiple response criteria (e.g. growth performance, bone mineralization, P excretion) and production objectives (e.g. profitability, animal welfare, environment). ***The general goal of this research program is to pursue basic research to optimize P utilization by pigs through the use of feeds formulated for precision diets in conjunction with real-time estimation of Ca and P requirements of individual pigs, based on the findings of my P and Ca metabolism research so far. I intend to achieve this in two steps: 1- increase fundamental understanding of porcine metabolism of P and Ca through animal experiments, and 2- integrate the new knowledge into the model developed so far, use the model to design feeding strategies, test the strategies and adjust the model accordingly.