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Using Models to Enhance Sow Productivity

Modern swine production demands precision in feeding high-prolific sows to ensure both longevity and optimal performance. Over the past decade, advances in sow genetics and feeding systems have reinforced the need for accurate nutritional programs that prevent overfeeding or underfeeding individual sows. Advanced sow nutritional and management models offer swine nutritionists reliable, data-driven insights to support long-term productivity. When provided with accurate information on sow genotype, productivity, feed programs, and barn environmental data, these models have proven effective in helping producers refine feeding strategies, optimize production, and reduce feed costs. Even minor improvements in feeding precision can result in substantial economic benefits.

The role of models in sow nutrition
Advanced analysis and predictive modelling capabilities can assist swine nutritionists in designing sow feeding programs by integrating complex data on genetics, production history, and environmental conditions. Overfeeding or underfeeding sows can negatively affect their body condition and reproductive performance, ultimately shortening their productive lifespan. Nutritional models, such as the advanced NutriOpt Sow Model, help farmers fine-tune feeding strategies, ensuring that each sow receives the right nutrients at the right time, avoiding these challenges.

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Rowan, now an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, grew up surrounded by cattle on his family’s Charolais operation in Iowa. His family has been farming and ranching there for more than a century — long enough for the rhythms of agriculture to get in his blood.