Developing the best ways to feed breeding sows and improve their milk yield for their piglets is the goal behind public funding for a study led by Quebec’s federation of ag co-operatives.
La Coop federee on Wednesday picked up $80,000 in federal funding through the Developing Innovative Agri-Products (DIAP) initiative, to study and develop feeding recommendations for maximum milk production through gestation.
“Milk production of sows is vital to producing healthy piglets, as heavier piglets are more vigorous and more resistant to disease,” the government said in a release.
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Researchers in this study are expected to come up with feeding recommendations that will “assist producers in improving performance without creating additional feed costs.”
“This financial support will allow for more extensive research on the workings of mammary glands in lactating sows, in order to maximize milk production,” Yan Martel-Kennes, manager of research operations for animal industries at La Coop federee.
Hog producers, he said, “will be able to operate with greater efficiency and performance.”
The study by Coop federee — which is also well known in the hog sector as the owner of pork processing firm Olymel — will look at the effects and benefits of a “multi-step” feeding regime during gestation on mammary development and lactation performance.
DIAP is a five-year, $158 million program backing “industry-led science and technology projects.” The government requires any DIAP-funded project activities, including invoices, auditing and reporting, to be completed by the end of March 2013.
