A survey of added vitamin concentrations used in the U.S. swine industry

Abstract Text: Swine producers and nutritionists representing production systems in the United States were surveyed about added dietary vitamin concentrations in swine diets used from March to June of 2014. In total, 18 respondents participated representing approximately 2.3 million sows (~40% of the U.S. industry).  Respondents were asked to provide vitamin premix concentrations, inclusion rates, and weight ranges associated with feeding phases. Data were compiled into weight ranges that were relatively consistent across participants. There were 3 nursery phases (phase 1, 5 to 7 kg; phase 2, 7 to 11 kg; and phase 3, 11 to 25 kg), 4 finishing phases (early, 25 to 50 kg; mid, 50 to 100 kg; late, 100 to 135kg; and late with ractopamine, 100 to 135 kg), and 4 breeding herd dietary phases (gilt development, gestation, lactation, and boar). In phase 1 nursery diets, supplementation rates were 4.8, 11.6, 4.6, 7.7, 2.3, 1.6, 2.5, and 2.0 times the 2012 NRC requirement for A, D, E, K, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and vitamin B₁₂ (cobalamin), respectively. Vitamin D supplementation rates were the most variable among participants with a standard deviation of 1,046 IU/kg. Meanwhile for late finishing pigs, supplementation rates were 3.2, 5.0, 1.8, 3.6, 1.8, 0.7, 1.8, and 3.3 times the NRC requirement for A, D, E, K, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and vitamin B₁₂, respectively. The average niacin supplementation was below the NRC requirement, likely due to the recent increase in requirement from the 1998 to 2012 publication. Supplementation rates in lactation diets were 5.2, 2.2, 1.6, 7.3, 2.2, 4.6, 2.3, and 2.4 times the NRC requirement for A, D, E, K, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and vitamin B₁₂, respectively. Lactation diets also contained on average added thiamin, 2.2 mg/kg (5 respondents); pyridoxine, 3.5 mg/kg (13 respondents); biotin, 0.29 mg/kg; and folacin 1.68 mg/kg. Understanding current supplementation practices may help develop experimental designs to test future alternative vitamin supplementation practices.

	Nursery phase 1		Late finishing		Lactation
Vitamins	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Mean	SD
A, IU/kg	10,622	378	4,194	454	4,729	418
D, IU/kg	2,561	1,046	747.0	95.0	813.1	158.5
E, IU/kg	74.1	12.6	20.1	3.0	31.9	11.3
K, mg/kg	3.9	0.2	1.8	0.2	1.7	0.5
Riboflavin, mg/kg	9.1	0.5	3.6	0.4	3.7	0.6
Niacin, mg/kg	49.1	5.2	20.2	2.2	20.8	5.3
Pantothenic acid, mg/kg	30.2	1.7	12.6	1.4	12.5	1.7
Vitamin B12 μg/kg	39.1	1.1	16.6	1.6	16.1	2.1

Keywords: survey, swine industry, vitamins