Alltech 2015 Harvest Analysis Confirms Swine, Poultry Feed At Risk For Mycotoxins

Dec 08, 2015

A wet spring and a late dry season took its toll on the 2015 North America crop, producing irregularities in plant growth and now putting poultry and swine at risk for mycotoxin exposure, according to Alltech's North America Harvest Analysis.

The annual study surveyed 100 North American corn samples from across the United States and Canada from September to November 2015, testing for mycotoxin contamination to determine the risk posed to monogastrics. The Alltech 37+® mycotoxin analysis found an average 3.1 mycotoxins per sample that ranged from lower to higher risk for both swine and poultry. Ninety-seven percent of samples tested positive for at least one mycotoxin.

The harvest analysis revealed the greatest prevalence of Fumonisins, Fusaric Acid and Type B Trichothecenes in both the Midwest and East Coast regions. Type B Trichothecenes and Fusaric Acid can interact synergistically with each other, increasing toxicity and elevating the potential to impact livestock and poultry health and performance.

Ingestion of Fumonisins can cause reduced feed intake, damage internal organs such as the liver and lungs, suppress the immune system, increase the number of gut pathogens and susceptibility to disease and cause poor vaccination response.

A similar analysis of 53 wheat crop samples from across the U.S. and Canada showed an average 2.9 mycotoxins per sample, with Type B Trichothecenes and Fumonisins as the most predominant. Due to the levels present, nursery pigs and growers/finishers are at high risk and poultry layers and broilers at moderate risk for performance impacts.

"Management practices to prevent exposure are always the best course of action," said Dr. Alexandra Weaver, Alltech Mycotoxin Management technical specialist. "Producers should consider testing feed samples to understand levels prior to storage and to understand the possible synergistic effects multiple mycotoxins can play in animal health and performance."

According to Weaver, scientific literature shows that on average, the risk levels (moderate) from this year's corn crop may cause nursery pigs a reduction of 6.8 grams per day in average daily gain and an increase of 0.5 percent feed conversion rate (FCR). With this loss in performance and considering current prices, the reduction in net return per nursery pig is an estimated decrease of $6.23 margin over feed per pig. Grow finish pigs could see a reduction in average dairy gain by 24 grams per day with an increase in FCR by 14 percent. With this loss in performance, total carcass profit could see a decrease of $3.09 per pig.

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Video: US Soy: Pig growth is impaired by soybean meal displacement in the diet

Eric van Heugten, PhD, professor and swine extension specialist at North Carolina State University, recently spoke at the Iowa Swine Day Pre-Conference Symposium, titled Soybean Meal 360°: Expanding our horizons through discoveries and field-proven feeding strategies for improving pork production. The event was sponsored by Iowa State University and U.S. Soy.

Soybean meal offers pig producers a high-value proposition. It’s a high-quality protein source, providing essential and non-essential amino acids to the pig that are highly digestible and palatable. Studies now show that soybean meal provides higher net energy than current National Research Council (NRC) requirements. Plus, soybean meal offers health benefits such as isoflavones and antioxidants as well as benefits with respiratory diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS).

One of several ingredients that compete with the inclusion of soybean meal in pig diets is dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS).

“With DDGS, we typically see more variable responses because of the quality differences depending on which plant it comes from,” said Dr. van Heugten. “At very high levels, we often see a reduction in performance especially with feed intake which can have negative consequences on pig performance, especially in the summer months when feed intake is already low and gaining weight is at a premium to get them to market.”

Over the last few decades, the industry has also seen the increased inclusion of crystalline amino acids in pig diets.

“We started with lysine at about 3 lbs. per ton in the diet, and then we added methionine and threonine to go to 6 to 8 lbs. per ton,” he said. “Now we have tryptophan, isoleucine and valine and can go to 12 to 15 lbs. per ton. All of these, when price competitive, are formulated into the diet and are displacing soybean meal which also removes the potential health benefits that soybean meal provides.”