Duration: 10/01/2009 to 09/30/2014

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Statement of Issues and Justification

The overall stability of US economy continues to significantly depend on efficient production agriculture. Swine production and nutrition form inseparable components of US production agriculture. Maintenance and improvement of the current level of US competitiveness in the global market continues to be of vital importance. The evidence is that high-quality and timely swine nutrition research conducted by the North Central Coordinating Committee has made significant contributions to this competitiveness.

The North Central Coordinating Committee (NCCC) on Swine Nutrition (NCCC042) has a rich history, spanning more than 40 years, of conducting cooperative research. Research conducted by the committee has provided answers to specific practical issues dealing with swine nutrition that individual stations would not likely have been able to accomplish alone. The main advantage of these combined activities is the use of similar experimental designs, diet formulations, and experimental protocols so that these normally confounding factors are incorporated into the experiment and subsequent interpretations drawn. Research published by the NCCC042 clearly represents a multi-state approach that has resulted in a scientifically productive effort by the members to provide sound nutritional recommendations to the swine industry. Current NCCC042 members have expertise in nutrient utilization, feed analyses, molecular nutrition, mineral metabolism, biotechnology, protein/amino acids biochemistry, and growth and muscle physiology. The committee has also recruited and enlisted the services of biostatistician, agricultural economist, and animal behaviorist.

With the potential development and use of new technologies (low-nutrient-excretion diets, improved genetic lines, nutrition-environment interrelationships, metabolic modifiers, etc.) in the swine industry in the future, specific questions relating to nutritional requirements will need to be answered more rapidly, with more validity, and with broader implications through a cooperative, multi-state effort rather than by individual stations working independently.

The NCCC042 Committee has historically developed projects on a continuing basis rather than completely at the outset of the approval process. This allows the committee to respond quickly and promptly to issues as they emerge. The advantage of this type of approach is the quick attention given to research questions that need to be solved on a regional basis without the restriction to specific experiments revised periodically. This is especially useful considering the declining funding in the field of animal nutrition. Collaborative multi-state approach is as relevant in the future as has been in the past. The evidence is that this approach has contributed to a large quantity of quality, robust, timely research. The emphasis on applied nutrition is by design and a unifying strength is the proactive stance on identification of critical issues facing the swine nutrition industry. Members of the Committee maintain close ties to the swine and feed industries and are keenly aware of basic and applied questions that need to be answered. Representatives from these industries participate in our annual meeting to keep the Committee informed on high-priority areas of swine nutrition that are researchable on a multi-state basis. In addition, representatives from this Committee participate in the annual meeting of the Swine Nutrition Council of the American Feed Industry Association to exchange information on high priority research needs.

Many of the research studies of the NCCC042 Committee would not have been possible had they not been conducted in such a way that allowed for pooling of data among stations that produce meaningful results. For example, sow reproductive data are extremely variable and large numbers of animals are needed to detect real treatment effects. Most stations working independently could not have researched important issues due to limited numbers of animals. This type of research approach done on a multi-state basis produces results that have broad inferences across many environmental and management conditions.

The NCCC042 Committee has an enviable history of addressing important researchable problems relating to swine nutrition and has an excellent record with respect to publishing their research in the scientific literature. Research conducted by the NCCC042 committee members has made major contributions to swine nutrition and provided technical information to improve efficiency of pork production. Goals of the NCCC042 are consistent with the priority research objective of North Central Regional Association of Agricultural Experiment Stations to develop improved animal production systems that are competitive, profitable and environmentally sound. The NCCC042 is regarded as a national model for what a Coordinating Committee should be doing and how it should operate. No other regional Committee can boast of the following: record attendance of greater than 90% at annual meetings in the last 5 years; record participation in cooperative projects; record publication of 26 refereed journal papers in the Journal of Animal Science and presentation of 37 abstracts at sectional or national meetings of the American Society of Animal Science during its 45-year history. In addition, Committee members have written two editions of a comprehensive textbook entitled Swine Nutrition. Since the last project approval, there has been publication of 6 refereed journal papers in the Journal of Animal Science and presentation of 6 abstracts at sectional or national meetings of the American Society of Animal Science.

Accomplishments and Highlights Since Last Approval:

A. Held joint meetings with the Regional Research Committee on Nutrition and Management of Swine for Increased Reproductive Efficiency (S-1012) in January 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Discussed, during these meetings, research topics of common interest and cooperated on several research studies. In addition, subcommittee meetings were held in October 2005 at ADM Alliance nutrition in Decatur, IN; September 2006 in Indianapolis, IN; September 2007 in Indianapolis, IN; and August 2008 at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.

B. The following feed industry/National Academy of Science representatives were in attendance during NCCC042 meetings in January 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008: Dr. Ron Moser, Chair of the Swine Subcommittee of the American Feed Industry Association in 2005; Dr. Chad R. Risley, Representative of the American Feed Industry Association in 2006; Dr. Austin J. Lewis (Board of Agriculture and Natural Resources, National Research Council) provided an excellent and detailed presentation on the history of the National Academies, the previous NRC Swine publications, and next revision of NRC Swine publication in 2006; Dr. Mark Franklin , Chair of the Swine Subcommittee of the American Feed Industry Association in 2007; Dr. Jim Sullivan, President of the American Feed Industry Association in 2008.

C. There were regular and periodic interactions between the committee and CSREES representative. In 2005 and 2006, Dr. Gary Cromwell served as the CSREES representative on the NCCC042, and in 2007 and 2008, Charlotte Kirk Baer served as the CSREES representative on the NCCC042. These CSREES representatives attended all the annual meetings and were important contributors to deliberations during the meetings.

D. The committee took on the following research projects:
"Evaluation of the response of barrows and gilts to different dietary lysine levels
"Comparative efficacy of inorganic zinc sources for weanling pigs
"Selenium content of pig tissues from various regions of the United States
"Inorganic versus organic zinc sources in the diets of weanling pigs
"Vitamin B supplementation of pig diets
"Lactose levels in Phase 3 diets for nursery pigs
"Digestibility of phosphorus in monocalcium phosphate by growing pigs
"NCCC042 vitamin-trace mineral premix for starter and grower pigs
"Assessment of Distillers Dried Grains and Solubles (DDGS) from ethanol production on performance and carcass quality of growing-finishing swine
"Acidification of the diets of nursery pigs

Objectives

Procedures and Activities

The committee will engage in integrated and collaborative research that is aimed at reducing feed costs and enhancing the sustainability of pork production. This will be accomplished by investigating ways to reduce feed costs, improve energy utilization, and increase the usage of co-products from the fuel ethanol industry and other alternative feed ingredients. To this end, the committee will:
1) conduct research that evaluates new feed ingredients
2) continue to assess value of co-products from the ethanol industry,
3) measure energy and macro nutrient digestibility,
4) evaluate bioavailability of micronutrients.

Expected Outcomes and Impacts

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Educational Plan

The NCCC042 Committee consists of prominent swine nutritionists from the North Central Region along with a few surrounding states and has been in existence since the early 1960's. It has been involved in cooperative research for nearly 45 years and is recognized as one of the most effective regional committees of its kind. The committee meets annually in January to plan experiments with a common protocol, present research results from such experiments conducted during the previous year, review publications in progress written by the committee, and share pertinent information regarding swine nutrition.
In addition to the annual meeting, three subcommittees meet and function during the year to develop initial protocols. The subcommittees are: 1) wean/grow/finish, 2) sow, and 3) nutrient digestion/metabolism. The general objective of each subcommittee is to investigate those industry concerns involving the nutritional problems of the various phases of swine production. Subcommittees meet annually to develop plans for their respective area. Generally prior to the annual meeting, ideas are solicited from the entire committee, reviewed by the subcommittee, and project proposals are developed. At the annual meeting, the entire body of members vote to collectively conduct studies based on an agreed-upon protocol. The experiments to be conducted use the same design and protocol but under differing experimental facility and environmental conditions. The composited replicates from this procedure allows the use of large number of animals and replicates such that the results can be more widely applied than if the study was conducted at one site. All members of the NCCC042 committee are asked to participate in approved NCCC042 projects within a proposed time frame. The general objectives of each subcommittee are as follows:
Wean/Grow/Finish. The committee plans experiments using standardized protocols such that large numbers of animals can be used to investigate areas of nutritional concern in these three swine production phases.
Sow. Sow nutrition experiments have historically been conducted using low sow numbers and inadequate number of replicates which poses problems with interpretation of data. The experiments planned and conducted by the committee using a large number of sows generally eliminate those concerns. The sow committee investigates those nutritional issues that are of concern to the swine and feed industry such that valid conclusions can be made.
Nutrient Digestion/Metabolism. The nutrient content and nutrient digestibility of feed ingredients and premixes vary by source. To ensure that diets contain adequate amounts of digestible nutrients and that the amounts of nutrients being excreted from growing and reproducing swine are minimized, precise estimates of nutrient digestibility coefficients are needed. The committee plans to cooperatively conduct digestibility and metabolism studies using a common set of protocols.
The results from the research conducted by the committee is disseminated through presentations at national and international meetings in the form of both abstracts and invited talks by members. In addition, research results are published as reviewed journal articles, symposia proceedings and book chapters. Key industry groups such as AFIA, NPB and the USPCE are involved in the annual meeting and NCCC042 members serve on key committees of these organizations. Finally, committee members have been integrally involved in writing the previous versions of the National Academy Press Publication: Nutrient Requirements of Swine and are currently in the process of determining how to best produce a new version of that publication.

Organization/Governance

The recommended Standard Governance for multistate research activities include the election of a Chair, a Chair-elect, and a Secretary. All officers are to be elected for at least two-year terms to provide continuity. Administrative guidance will be provided by an assigned Administrative Advisor and a CSREES Representative.

Literature Cited

Published the following scientific papers (2004 to present):

Refereed Journal Papers

1. Mahan, D. C., J. H. Brendemuhl, S. D. Carter, L. I. Chiba, T. D. Crenshaw, G. L. Cromwell, C. R. Dove, A. F. Harper, G. M. Hill, G. R. Hollis, S. W. Kim, M. D. Lindemann, C. V. Maxwell, P. S. Miller, J. L. Nelssen, B. T. Richert, L. L. Southern, T. S. Stahly, H. H. Stein, E. van Heugten, and J. T. Yen. 2005. Comparison of dietary selenium fed to grower-finisher pigs from various regions of the United States on resulting tissue Se and loin mineral concentrations. Journal of Animal Sciences. 83:852-857. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

2. Hollis, G. R., S. D. Carter, T. R. Cline, T. D. Crenshaw, G. L. Cromwell, G. M. Hill, S. W. Kim, A. J. Lewis, D. C. Mahan, P. S. Miller, H. H. Stein, and T. L. Veum. 2005. Effects of replacing pharmacological levels of dietary zinc oxide with lower dietary levels of various organic zinc sources for weanling pigs. Journal of Animal Science. 83:2123-2129. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

3. Mahan, D. C., E. P. Berg, J. H. Brendemuhl, S. D. Carter, L. I. Chiba, T. D. Crenshaw, G. L. Cromwell, C. R. Dove, A. F. Harper, G. M. Hill, G. R. Hollis, S. W. Kim, M. D. Lindemann, C. V. Maxwell, P. S. Miller, J. L. Nelssen, B. T. Richert, G. C. Shurson, L. L. Southern, T. S. Stahley, H. H. Stein, E. van Heugten, and J. T. Yen. 2005. Comparison of dietary selenium fed to grower-finisher pigs from various regions of the United States on resulting tissue Se and loin mineral concentrations. Journal of Animal Science 83: 852-857. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

4. Hill, G. M., S. K. Baido, G. L. Cromwell, D. C. Mahan, J. L. Nelssen, H. H. Stein NCCC-42 Committee on Swine Nutrition. 2007. Evaluation of sex and lysine during the nursery period. Journal of Animal Science 85: 1453-1458. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

5. Mahan, D. C., S. D. Carter, T. R. Cline, G. M. Hill, S. W. Kim, P. S. Miller, J. L. Nelssen, H. H. Stein, T. L. Veum The North Central Coordinating Committee on Swine Nutrition (NCCC-42). 2007. Evaluating the effects of supplemental B vitamins in practical swine diets during the starter and grower-finisher periods - A regional study. Journal of Animal Science 85: 2190-2197. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

6. Stein, H. H., C. T. Kadzere, S. W. Kim, and P. S. Miller. 2008. Influence of dietary phosphorus concentration on the digestibility of phosphorus in monocalcium phosphate by growing pigs. Journal of Animal Science. jas.2008-0867v1

Journal Abstracts
2008
1. 197 Supplementing inorganic or organic Se to diets using grains grown in various regions of the United States. D. C. Mahan*1, J. E. Pettigrew1, M. D. Lindemann2, G. L. Cromwell1, P. S. Miller1, E. van Heugten1, S. W. Kim1, T. D. Crenshaw1, M. J. Azain2, and C. R. Dove2, 1NCCC-42 Committee on Swine Nutrition, 2S 1012 Committee on Swine Nutrition. J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 86, E-Suppl. 2 page 175

2007
2. 147 Effects of the dietary phosphorus concentration on phosphorus digestibility in monocalcium phosphate. H. H. Stein*1, C. T. Kadzere2, S. W. Kim3, P. S. Miller4, and J. T. Yen, 1University of Illinois, Urbana, 2North Carolina A&T, Greensboro, NC, 3Texas TechUniversity, Lubbock, 4University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 5Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, NE. J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 85, Suppl. 2 page 89

2006
3. M99 Validation of the NCCC-42 vitamin-trace mineral premix in starter pigs. T. D. Crenshaw*1, M. J. Azain2, G. H. Hill3, P. S. Miller4, and NCCC-42 Swine Nutrition Committee1, 1University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2University of Georgia, Athens, 3Michigan State University, East Lansing, 4University of Nebraska, Lincoln. J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 84, Suppl. 1/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 89, Suppl. 1 Page 39

4. T123 Validation of the NCCC-42 vitamin-trace mineral premix in grower pigs. T. D. Crenshaw*1, M. D. Lindemann2, H. H. Stein3, and NCCC-42 Swine Nutrition Committee1, 1University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2University of Kentucky, Lexington, 3South Dakota State University, Brookings. J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 84, Suppl. 1/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 89, Suppl. 1 Page 200

2005
5. 204 Effects of dietary organic and inorganic trace minerals at NRC or elevated levels on sow reproductive performance over four parities. J. C. Peters* and D. C. Mahan, The Ohio State University. J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 83, Suppl. 2 Page 80

6. 286 Evaluation of gender and lysine during the nursery period. G. M. Hill*, S. K. Baidoo, G. L. Cromwell, D. C. Mahan, J. L. Nelssen, and H. H. Stein, NCCC-42 Committee on Swine Nutrition. J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 83, Suppl. 1/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 88, Suppl. 1 Page 212

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

GA, HI, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, OH, OK, SD, WI

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

USDA-ARS/Iowa