Annual VFO Board of Director’s Award winner announced

Mar 10, 2021

Veal Farmers of Ontario (VFO) was pleased to announce this year’s VFO Board of Director’s Award winner at its recent Virtual Annual General Meeting held on March 3, 2021.

The VFO Board of Director’s Award recognizes the contributions that many make to help the VFO Board achieve their goals. This year, Larry Witzel, President of the Ontario Livestock Exchange, and Chair of the Livestock Financial Protection Board was recognized for his involvement in the veal cattle industry.

“Larry has always been a valued industry partner, and we are fortunate to have his perspective and insight on the many projects and issues over the years and of course his input and support on the Veal Industry Advisory Committee,” says Pascal Bouilly, VFO Chair.

Witzel is both Past President and a current director of Livestock Markets of Canada, and President of the Ontario Livestock Auction Markets Association. He has contributed to several VFO projects and initiatives over the years, and his insights and expertise have been greatly appreciated.

“I am honoured and grateful to receive the VFO Board of Director’s Award,” says Witzel. “The veal industry in Ontario is strong, aggressive, and has great vision as it continues to move forward into the future.”

“We thank Larry for his dedication and commitment to the Ontario veal sector, he is truly deserving of this recognition, and we look forward to continuing to work together to serve Ontario’s veal farmers,” says Bouilly.

Source : Veal Farmers of Ontario

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.”