Cargill's animal nutrition business has launched a new global nutrition program designed to improve feed efficiency and nutrient use in finisher pigs, saving customers money on feed during the last phase of growth.

"Customers are highly sensitive to feed costs during the finisher stage, given this is the time during a hog's life when approximately 70 percent of its feed is consumed," said Brooke Humphrey, Cargill Animal Nutrition's global swine technology director. "This program aims to help producers see beyond the price of feeds and evaluate the real cost of their nutrition programs. The finisher feeding program leverages our know-how with additives – particularly enzymes, which are widely used globally during this last phase of growth – and customized farm solutions using Cargill's MAX™ system.  Ultimately, this helps customers maximize their profitability and control their cost per unit of gain."

The finisher feeding program includes:

• Nutritional and nutrient packages to support enhanced feed efficiency.  New product designs are based on global standards that can be leveraged to create localized feeding programs. Nutrient packages are also available to support customers' unique needs around genetics, gender and ractopamine. 
• Significant enhancements to Cargill's MAX™ system help customers make better nutrition decisions faster.  The MAX™ system updates contain a number of new features including updated lean gain approach, immunocastration guidelines, liquid feeding, fat quality and intake enhancements.
• Enzyme best management practices to support increased efficiency for the growing hog.

Available as a complete feed or as a customizable nutrition program designed around a customer's specific needs, the program can include: access to global technology and research, localized nutrition applications, best practices from Cargill's additives portfolio, farm services, and financing and credit.

The new finisher nutrition program will roll out regionally over the next year.