Protein and non-protein methionine requirements for first parity gestating and lactating sows

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The Canadian pork industry provides a source of high quality protein and other nutrients for human health, while contributing annually more than $9B to the Canadian economy and more than $3B to the international trade balance. For the pork industry to remain globally competitive, feed costs and nutrient losses into the environment need to be addressed. Precision feeding of reproductive sows is receiving attention because of its potential to improve nutrient utilization efficiency, to reduce feed costs and the environmental footprint of pork production, and to optimize the supply of nutrients to the offspring during gestation and lactation, particularly as the Canadian swine industry is moving away from gestation stalls in favour of group-housing systems. Moreover, precisely meeting the nutrient requirements of reproductive sows is essential to improve sow longevity, sow productivity, and piglet quality - but, we must first accurately estimate nutrient requirements in order to achieve these benefits. Gestating and lactating sows will receive various amounts of dietary methionine to maximize whole-body protein retention for [1] gestating and [2] lactating sows and the abundance of methionine-dependent, 'non-protein' compounds, creatine and phosphatidylcholine, in piglet tissues at birth, at weaning, and in milk, and [3] develop recommendations for dietary methionine to meet both protein and 'non-protein' needs for the sow at various stages of the reproductive cycle; the amount of dietary methionine that maximizes protein retention and the retention of 'non-protein' compounds in piglet tissues and milk will be recommended as the new methionine requirement. This research program will also contribute to the training of 2 MSc and 2 undergraduate students, who will enter the swine industry or continue in academia as researchers. By quantifying and precisely meeting both the protein and 'non-protein' methionine needs for reproductive sows, we could improve piglet survivability, metabolism, and growth performance, as well as the longevity and reproductive success of sows; improving sow annual production by a modest 0.1 pig weaned ($30/pig; value - feed cost) represents $750,000 per year for Ontario alone.