An animal nutrition group says improving mineral management offers production advantages.
Russell Gilliam serves as United States business leader for Alltech. Gilliam says when it comes to mineral management, farmers must first evaluate production and set a production goal.
?The next thing you need to do is look at the form of mineral you?re feeding,? Gilliam said. ?Just because you?re feeding a certain mineral doesn?t mean it?s necessarily giving you what you expect as far as performance.?
Gilliam suggests producers incorporate bioplex minerals, organic minerals in a form as close to nature as possible, into their operation.
?Feeding minerals in the bioplex form has shown that we can lower the level of mineral in the diet. As a result of that, we?re also able to capture value on the production side by improving reproductive efficiency in sows and performance in nursery and growth finish.?
Alltech reports improved mineral management offers half a pig per litter with gilts and one pig per litter with sows. Alltech offers two different forms of minerals: the bioplex form and sel-plex form.
?We offer the bioplex trace minerals we?re familiar with: zinc, manganese, copper and iron. Then we have sel-plex which is in a selenium yeast form, a form that is much more available than traditional methods. It is also the only form to this day reviewed by the FDA,? Gilliam said.
