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Improving the nitrogen efficiency of pork production is an important factor in reducing emissions and optimizing pig growth. By zooming in on nitrogen efficiency, we can make a real impact on improving the true efficiency of pork production. What is nitrogen efficiency and how can research contribute to improving it?
What is nitrogen efficiency and why is it important?
Nitrogen efficiency is an indicator of the amount of nitrogen that is used by the body, instead of being excreted into the environment. Although nitrogen is often associated with negative effects on the environment, it is in fact an essential building block for plant growth.
It becomes a problem when there is too much of it. This damages the environment and it is of course a waste of essential building blocks. Optimizing the nitrogen efficiency is closely related to the feed composition and the way the pig’s digestive system works.
Nitrogen is a component of essential amino acids: proteins that animals need to grow. For optimal growth, pigs need amino acids in exactly the right proportions. If only one type of amino acid is insufficiently available, the body will not be able to use the other available amino acids to their full extent. Instead, the body will use those proteins as a source of energy and excrete the components that can not be absorbed, among which nitrogen, in the manure and urine. When talking about optimizing nitrogen efficiency, we talk about optimizing the pig’s growth and at the same time minimizing the nitrogen excretion.
Is nitrogen efficiency more important than feed conversion?
Focusing on the nitrogen efficiency is a more advanced way of optimizing the pig’s growth. The usual approach of feed efficiency focuses on the amount of feed the animal consumes, but we can learn much more from looking at the composition of the feed. Quality instead of quantity, so to say. By looking at the biology of the pig and understanding how the pig grows and which processes happen inside the body during that process, we can set much better guidelines for optimal feeding.
How is this related to genetics?
In the research of Topigs Norsvin we look, among other things, at the genetic growth capacity of pigs. How much can a pig grow per day and what are the exact amounts and proportions of proteins and energy needed to fully use that capacity, without exceeding the amount the body can use for growth?
This information can be used today to improve tomorrow’s nitrogen efficiency. We also research genetic differences in protein digestion between the different lines, using NIRS technology to analyze manure samples, because we know some animals have a better nitrogen efficiency than others. This could be valuable for our breeding programmes, although by combining this information with researching microbiota and blood metabolites, we have also learned that environmental factors are at least as important in determining an animal’s nitrogen efficiency as are genetics.
How can pig producers profit from this research?
Based on the guidelines for optimal feeding, we provide manuals for feed producers and pork producers for different Topigs Norsvin lines, so that they know how to feed for optimal nitrogen efficiency. By applying those guidelines, they can reduce their emissions and optimize the pigs’ growth, reducing feed costs.
We could, in future, make even more progress if we manage to apply the results to our breeding programmes, making even more of an impact. Although we actually found that today’s pigs already have a higher score for nitrogen efficiency, suggesting that our current breeding programmes in fact also contribute to improving nitrogen efficiency.
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