A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
International cooperation in feed evaluation
Jaap van Milgen
100 Doctors of Philosophy in animal nutrition Which questions can possibly remain?
Symposium in honor of Martin Verstegen
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
• Role of livestock production systems
• Notions of requirements, values, and responses
• Towards a more unified European system of farm animal nutrition
• One of the challenges in animal nutrition: dealing with variation among animals
• Conclusions
Outline
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
• Role of livestock production systems
• Notions of requirements, values, and responses
• Towards a more unified European system of farm animal nutrition
• One of the challenges in animal nutrition: dealing with variation among animals
• Conclusions
Outline
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
“The livestock sector is one of the most significant contributors to the most serious
environmental problems, at every scale from local to global”
“As it stands now, there are no technically or economically viable alternatives to
intensive livestock production for providing the bulk of the food supply”
The role of livestock production systems
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
products
resources
The role of livestock production systems
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
« animal » or
« system »
production products resources
high flow rate
highly efficient (/ha, /€, or /capita)
in regions with high production densities
The role of (intensive) livestock production systems
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
« animal » or
« system »
production products resources
The role of (intensive) livestock production systems
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
• Role of livestock production systems
• Notions of requirements, values, and responses
• Towards a more unified European system of farm animal nutrition
• One of the challenges in animal nutrition: dealing with variation among animals
• Conclusions
Outline
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
• Your Mn requirement is ~3.5 mg/d
• Your body Mn storage is ~12 mg
• Mn is a co-factor required for a variety of enzymes:
oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, isomerases
A notion of “requirement” and response
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
• Have you had your Mn supply today?
• Do you feel well?
• Deficiency symptoms: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, restless leg syndrome
(no known effects on voting behavior)
• Mn can be toxic: neurotoxicity
A notion of “requirement” and response
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
energy intake =
1.002 x energy expenditure
energy intake =
1.000 x energy expenditure
A notion of “requirement” and response
she knows her energy requirement
he does not know his energy requirementor does he?
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
GE
nutrient requirement DE
ME
NE
total AA
ileal digestible AA
std. ileal digestible AA
ideal AA profile nutrient value
Nutritional systems:
a compromise between “value” and “requirement”
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
• Role of livestock production systems
• Notions of requirements, values, and responses
• Towards a more unified European system of farm animal nutrition
• One of the challenges in animal nutrition: dealing with variation among animals
• Conclusions
Outline
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
• Countries have developed “home-made” nutritional systems, which come in different flavors
• Budget and brains become limiting to account for new challenges in current systems
• Past initiatives to harmonize feeding systems have failed:
– a “my-system-is-better-than-yours” attitude
– personal initiatives without institutional backing or funding – willingness but no commitment
International cooperation in feed evaluation
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
• Methods of evaluation: rapid, cheap, “no animal”, precise
• Technological aspects and feed additives
• A more mechanistic approach towards digestion and absorption (nutrient- nutrient and animal-nutrient interactions)
• Metabolic efficiency
• Account for “non-productive” aspects (e.g., animal health and welfare, product quality, environment)
• “new” animals, new feeds
• Account for variation (feeds, animals)
• Across-species approach
• From a system of requirements to a system of responses
• From models to tools
Challenges for future feeding systems
(EAAP workshop, Bratislava August 31, 2012)
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
• Develop a collaborative initiative on innovation, harmonization and improvement of feed evaluation systems
• Where do want to be10-15 years from now and how do we get there?
• Development of a “reference” system
• Work with the willing but go gently and leave room for history and local “dialects”
• Commitment through funding (EU COST-program)
• Involve stakeholders
• EAAP support
Challenges for future feeding systems
(EAAP workshop, Bratislava August 31, 2012)
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
• Role of livestock production systems
• Notions of requirements, values, and responses
• Towards a more unified European system of farm animal nutrition
• One of the challenges in animal nutrition: dealing with variation among animals
• Conclusions
Outline
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
Used in genetic selection
Many production practices are applied to groups of pigs
Dealing with variation among animals
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
80 90 100 110 120
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
500 600 700 800 900
Supply, % of the requirement of the “average” pig
Requirement coverage, % Population daily gain, g/dDealing with variation among animals
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
Outputs:
• feed intake
• growth
• body composition Inputs:
• type of feed
• quantity of feed
• heating
Sensors Model
Controller
Target
Precision pork production
Wathes et al., 2008
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
Pomar et al., 2009, 2010, 2011
Precision pork production
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
Phenotyping and real-time monitoring is essential
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
• Still in its infancy
• Will help to reduce the use of natural resources and reduce environmental impact
• Can accounts for the requirement or response of individual pigs
• May be seen as an instrumental use of pigs and further industrialization of pork production
Precision pork production
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
• Role of livestock production systems
• Notions of requirements, values, and responses
• Towards a more unified European system of farm animal nutrition
• One of the challenges in animal nutrition: dealing with variation among animals
• Conclusions
Outline
A L I M E N T A T I O N
A G R I C U L T U R E
E N V I R O N N E M E N T
E4
E2E3
E1
proteome
S1 S2
(S3) S4
P
+ + +
membrane
metabolome
catalysts decay
?
+ + +
decay
Cornish-Bowden et al., 2004
100 Doctors of Philosophy in animal nutrition.
Which questions can possibly remain?
How much do we know about biology?
Not much …
(but Martin is not to blame)
