The International Conference on Swine Nutrition was held on August 11-12th in Ames, Iowa and showcased Iowa State University’s role as a world-leader in swine nutrition. The theme of this one-time event was Bringing the World of Swine Nutrition to Iowa.
The 275 conference attendees represented pork producers, major feed companies, suppliers to the feed and pig industry, consultants, university faculty and graduate students. It was estimated that nutritionists attending the conference are involved in feeding at least 80% of total U.S. production.
This conference brought together the best speakers from around the world to discuss the latest information on swine nutrition and to look at where it is headed in the future.
Global experts from all over the world including Australia, China, Denmark, Spain, Canada and the U.S. shared their expertise with attendees and represented professionals in both academia and industry.
The lead-off speaker for the conference was Dr. Defa Li, Director of MAFIC and Professor at the China Agricultural University, both located in Beijing, China. Dr. Li was recently appointed to the Chinese equivalent of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. MAFIC is the largest and most prestigious research institute for swine nutrition in China, and is home to more faculty and graduate students in swine nutrition than all of the U.S.
Dr. Li talked about the development and future of swine nutrition research in China, a large competitor to U.S. swine production. One of his major achievements was developing a database of ingredient composition specifically for Chinese feed ingredients, so the industry can formulate accurate diets for their nation’s hog industry.
The program also included three panel discussions that focused on implementing decisions at the feed mill, raising pigs without antibiotics or other technologies, and a discussion on topics raised by the audience. Specific nutritional challenges were discussed, such as how pigs affected by a health challenge can be effectively fed and the role of enzymes and microbiome in swine nutrition.
Attendees also celebrated the recent retirement of Dr. John Patience. Dr. Patience expressed his appreciation to the industry for its support of the applied swine nutrition program in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University over the past 13 years.
This event was co-organized by the Applied Swine Nutrition Program in the Department of Animal Science and by the Iowa Pork Industry Center.
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The Iowa State University department of animal science is excited to announce the creation of the Dr. John Patience Chair in Animal Nutrition honoring John Patience, professor emeritus and global leader in swine nutrition education and research. Read more here.
For information or to contribute to the Dr. John Patience Chair in Animal Nutrition, please visit www.foundation.iastate.edu/JohnPatienceChairFund.