Cargill Announces Piglet Nutrition Program

Jun 30, 2014

Cargill recently presented a global nutrition program to help advance piglet liveability. The program aims to help pig farmers increase the life expectancy of their young pigs through a feeding regime that focuses on neonatal nutrition.

According to Cargill, early research suggests that its neonatal pig nutrition program can increase pig livability by as much as 6 per cent.

"With average global piglet livability of about 82%, the mortality of young pigs is a critical challenge for producers around the world, even in the most advanced operations," Brooke Humphrey, Cargill Animal Nutrition global swine technology director said in a release. "At Cargill, we have discovered ways to leverage piglet nutrition and feed processing to help increase livability through our advanced formulation system."

The feed program concentrates on improving neonatal pig nutrition by helping piglets gain weight during the first 28 days of life. Research has shown that mortality is the highest from birth until weaning, approximately 18 per cent. With the new feeding program, the average weaning weight has increased from 6.5 kg to 8.0 kg. The program seeks to encourage maximum feed intake, which correlates with weight gain and a greater likelihood of liveability.

Cargill’s neonatal program is available in liquid and dry feeds. The feed options is expected to be rolled out regionally across the United States over the next year.

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.